Game Coverage
Thursday, Sept. 20 | 5 pm Ann Arbor, Mich.
Game Coverage
Sunday, Sept. 23 | 12 pm East Lansing, Mich.
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin women's soccer is officially in the midst of the Big Ten season. Following a tie over No. 12 Northwestern and a double-overtime win over Illinois, the Badgers (7-1-1, 1-0-1) will head out of town to compete against Michigan (5-4-0, 1-1-0) and Michigan State (5-2-2). The game against Michigan will be live on the Big Ten Network.
1. RIDE THE GOLDEN RHODES: Junior Dani Rhodes showed up and showed out in Wisconsin's two conference matches this past weekend. Rhodes scored the tying goal against Northwestern, the junior's first of the season, and the very next game won the match for Wisconsin in double overtime against Illinois. Adding onto her two assists on the season, Rhodes now has six points in 2018.
2. SCOUTING MICHIGAN: Sitting at 5-4 overall on the season and 1-1 in conference play, the Wolverines have suffered losses to Louisville, Wake Forest, Florida Gulf Coast and Indiana. Three of the team's four losses came in a consecutive stretch of three games, while the loss to Indiana was the Big Ten opener on the road. The Wolverines have shut out two teams and been shutout once on the season. Michigan's star up to this point has been Nicki Hernandez, scoring six goals and logging five assists for a total of 17 points.
3. SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE: The Spartans hold a 5-2-2 overall record this season, including a 0-1-1 conference mark. Michigan State started 2018 on a six-match unbeaten streak, winning four games in a row and tying one before winning another. The Spartans have loss to Colorado and Indiana getting shutout and allowing three goals in each defeat. Camryn Evans leads the Spartans in points, with 12, all off of goals [6].
4. HISTORY LESSON: Wisconsin holds a 13-12-7 all-time series record against Michigan and a 28-4-2 all-time record against the Spartans. The first contests played against the two opponents came in 1994 [Michigan] and 1986 [Michigan State]. In the team's most recent meetings, Wisconsin suffered an overtime 1-0 loss to Michigan, at home, and a 2-1 victory in Madison over the Spartans.
5. PRODUCTIVE BADGERS: Wisconsin has eight athletes with a goal this season, for an average of 1.56 goals per game. Nearly double the team's opponents. Sophomore Lauren Rice leads the team with four goals on 28 shots. Juniors Emily Borgmann and Rhodes and sophomore Cameron Murtha each have two on the season. Junior Jordan McNeese logged her first career assist against Illinois, making that ten athletes with an assist on the season.
