Following a successful home stand last week, the Wisconsin women’s soccer team (3-4-1 Big Ten, 10-5-1 overall) prepares for a tough road trip. The Badgers are set to face the Purdue Boilermakers (2-5-1 Big Ten, 7-7-2 overall) Friday and the Indiana Hoosiers Sunday at noon.
Although the Badgers have crawled back into reach of the playoffs, this weekend’s set of games will be essential to remain in contention.
The Boilermaker’s currently stand 11th in the conference going into Friday’s game, while the Badgers have worked their way into sixth. Purdue has an impressive home record of 6-1-2 so the Boilermakers will be looking to continue their dominance at home when the Badgers arrive in town Friday night.
Senior midfielder Monica Lam-Feist commented on her team’s mindset when travelling this weekend to play two teams that are below the Badgers in the conference standings. “[Coach Wilkins] tells us it doesn’t really matter who we’re playing, we just have to implement our game plan and we should be fine. We want to do the simple things like we did this past weekend and work hard to continue our streak.”
UW looks to contain Purdue’s point leaders junior Jordan Pawlik (17) and sophomore Alex Hairston (16) Friday night as the Badgers try for their fourth straight victory.
Wisconsin returns to the pitch on Sunday against Indiana to close out their weekend series. Like Purdue, IU holds a notable home record as well, posting a 6-2 record, the Badgers look to spoil another Hoosier home victory Sunday afternoon.
“These are two hard places to play—Purdue and Indiana—so it’s going to be a challenge for us,” said Coach Wilkins. “All of the details here at the end are going to be vital.”
“Last weekend’s success was really important for us and we want to continue that momentum on the road as well,” said Lam-Feist.
As the regular season wraps up this coming week, the Badgers understand the significance of picking up six points this weekend to maintain their conference standing while not looking too far ahead.
“We’re just looking game by game to get points so we can get in [to the Big Ten Tournament],” said Wilkins. “It’s our first priority so I think three points at a time and not even looking as far as the tournament is going to be important for us.”
