With the Big Ten title still in the balance, the Wisconsin women's soccer team (6-1-2 Big Ten, 9-4-4 overall) hopes to end its regular season on a positive note Monday night at home against Northwestern. The Badgers currently sit in third place in the conference, and their chances of overtaking either Penn State or Ohio State depend on a stumble by either squad.
The match against Northwestern figures to be important if the Badgers are going to move up in the standings as both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions sit just one point ahead of the Badgers with one game yet to play.
With both a dominant victory over Michigan State and a dramatic double overtime triumph against Michigan last weekend, the team is high on confidence going into its final regular season match. As the NCAA tournament looms, the Badgers will need to ride their current form in order to avoid complacency against a Northwestern squad that has won just two conference matches. The Wildcats have had some tough breaks in Big Ten play this season, never losing by more than one goal.
The contest between the Badgers and Wildcats last season saw the Badgers come out on top in Evanston, lll. thanks to a remarkable last-minute goal by midfielder Erin Jacobsen. Wisconsin will hope to get on the board early in the match this time around to avoid getting into a late battle in a must-win match.
If the Badgers were to move up and finish in first or second place in the Big Ten standings, it would mark their highest finish since the 2000 season, when they took second. The Badgers received some help from Indiana this weekend, as the Hoosiers took down Ohio State 1-0 on Sunday. However, Penn State routed Purdue in West Lafayette on Sunday to tie the Buckeyes for first place in conference standings.
With a win against Northwestern on Monday, the Badgers would finish their regular season with 23 points in the Big Ten, and they would move into first place. In order to retain that position, both Ohio State and Penn State would have to lose their final matches. Both teams play at home, as the Buckeyes take on Michigan State and PSU will take on Michigan. If the Badgers were to tie against Northwestern, they would move into a tie for first place at 21 points and would need both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions to lose in order to earn a share of the title.
In any case, the Badgers know they need a result against the Wildcats to cap off a great regular season. Failing to find a victory in their first six contests of the year, the Badgers have lost just one game in their last 14 matches.
After Monday evening, Wisconsin will then play the waiting game until conference play wraps up next weekend with NCAA seedings released the following week.
