The McClimon soccer complex in Madison will be filled with fans as the Badgers women’s soccer team takes on in-state rival University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Badgers lost to the Panthers 1-0 last season in Milwaukee and will be looking for revenge in an important game preceding the start of the Big Ten conference schedule.
The Panthers are currently 3-3 and on a two game losing streak, but they have faced tough opponents thus far, including 8th ranked Boston College. The team is relatively young, with only four seniors compared to 10 freshmen on the roster.
The Panther defense is extremely strong, with junior goalie Erin Kane holding down the back line. She has only allowed four goals in the team’s six games, letting in only one goal in each of the team’s three losses. The offense is lead by midfielder Nicole Sperl, who has netted two goals, six games into her freshman season.
The Badgers are coming off a big 1-0 victory over Northern Arizona that pushed their record to 3-2-1. In a tough conference and facing a talented team, the Badgers realize how big this game is to their season.
“It’s very important,” senior Ann Eshun said. “We need another victory. It’s one of those that when it comes to the NCAAs will be very important. When it’s a team from in-state, you want to be best in the state, which makes it pretty much a grudge match every year. It’s going to be an especially important one for us.”
To beat their in-state rival, the Badgers have some things they still need to work and improve on. Both the offense and defense has struggled at times, and as the bulk of the schedule begins, the team needs to get these issues straightened out.
“We still need to get more numbers in the final third and more possessions in the final third to create some more chances offensively,” head coach Paula Wilkins said.
“The biggest thing is we are looking to connect one or two passes, and obviously that would let us switch the point of attack, and that’s something we’ve worked at throughout the season and need to get better at before the Milwaukee game and the start of the Big Ten schedule.”
The Badgers will look to continue their success when they take on the Panthers tonight.
