Game Coverage
Friday, Sept. 14 | 7 pm Madison, Wis.
Game Coverage
Sunday, Sept. 16 | 12 pm Madison, Wis.
MADISON, Wis. -Â The Badgers not only remain at home, but they open up Big Ten play. UW will host Northwestern on Friday at 7 p.m. CT and Illinois for "PAC the MAC" at 12 p.m. Fans can also watch Sunday's home game streamed live on BTN Plus and follow the team on Twitter (@BadgerWSoccer).
1. HIT THE REWIND: Wisconsin continued its winning ways, defeating Illinois State, 1-0, and Loyola-Chicago, 2-1, both at home. Freshman Natalie Viggiano scored her first career goal at Wisconsin against Loyola-Chicago. Junior defender Grace Douglas scored her first goal of the season against Illinois State. Douglas' goal proved to be the winning goal, pushing Wisconsin past the Redbirds, 1-0. Wisconsin keeper Jordyn Bloomer logged her second career shutout, notching five saves on six shots against the Redbirds.
2. FIVE IS FAB: The Badgers are now on a five-game win streak dating back to Aug. 26. Since then the team has scored 10 goals and allowed four, posting one shutout.
3. PAC THE MAC: The Badgers hold a 5-2-2 record in the annual "PAC the MAC" matches and will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event this Sunday. Wisconsin has won its last four "PAC the MAC" matches, including the last two, which both went into overtime.
4. SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: Wisconsin leads the all-time series with Northwestern 17-8-1 and 9-2-0 in Madison. However, the Wildcats have won their last three meetings. Northwestern has not lost a game this season, sporting a 6-0-1 record with big wins against Iowa State and Missouri to extend their third-longest undefeated streak in program history. The team's current shutout streak sits at 611:47 minutes. Natalie Viggiano's older sister (Marisa) is a senior on the Wildcats, who earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
5. SCOUTING ILLINOIS: Wisconsin trails the all-time series with Illinois, 9-11-3 but is tied overall in Madison, 4-4-1. The Badgers have won two of the last four meetings and tied the other two. The Fighting Illini are 5-2 on the year so far with big wins over No. 3 Duke (2-1) and No. 14 Oklahoma State (2-1), as well as a dominant 8-0 win over Northern Illinois.
BONUS:Â The Badgers have a 9-8-5 record in conference openers and won last year's opener against Minnesota, 1-0.
