MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's soccer team continues its run in the NCAA tournament with a second-round battle against UC Irvine on Friday in Fairfax, Virginia. The Badgers and Anteaters will meet at 12:30 p.m. CT at George Mason Stadium with the winner advancing to the third round to face the winner of Georgetown/Santa Clara on Sunday in a 12:30 p.m. CT match.
Friday's match can be seen live on
ESPN+. Tickets for the match are $10 per person, cash only, and can only be purchased on the day of the game.Â
1. LAST TIME OUT: The Badgers are coming off of a 2-1 win against Butler in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Natalie Viggiano recorded a brace, scoring in the first half to give UW a 1-0 lead before tallying the game-winning goal late in the second half to help UW advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the fifth-straight time. Viggiano, who collected second-team All-Big Ten honors this season, now ranks second on the team with seven goals, four of which have been game-winning efforts.
2. DANCING SHOES: UW improved to 21-21-2 all time in NCAA tournament games, including a 7-4 record in its last 11 NCAA tournament contests. The Badgers are making their 14th appearance in the second round of the NCAA tournament and look to make their fourth-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance with a win on Friday. UW advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2009, 2018 and 2019.
3. FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: UW will take on UC Irvine for the first time in school history on Friday morning. The Badgers could also face a new opponent on Sunday if they advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 as the Badgers have never faced Georgetown in its program history. The only team that UW has previous history with is Santa Clara as UW trails the all-time series 1-2-1 with the last meeting taking place on Sept. 4, 2016.
4. D.C. CONNECTIONS: This weekend will be a homecoming for a pair of Badgers as UW junior
Macy Monticello and senior
Cammie Murtha are both from the Washington D.C. area. Monticello is from Arlington, Virginia and her mother played women's soccer at George Mason while Murtha hails from Kensington, Maryland.
5. ABOUT THE ANTEATERS: UC-Irvine is coming off of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history as they defeated second-seed UCLA, 1-0, in the opening round of the championship. The Anteaters have pitched five-straight shutouts and are led by Gio Hinojosa, who has 10 clean sheets this season and was named the Top Drawer Soccer Player of the Week after her shutout of the Bruins. Scarlett Camberos leads the UC Irvine attack with 13 goals and 7 assists.Â
