The University of Wisconsin women’s soccer team continues their Big Ten campaign this weekend, taking on the Purdue University Boilermakers Friday night and the Indiana University Hoosiers on the road Sunday afternoon.
The Badgers (3-3-4, 0-1-1 Big Ten) are coming off a rough start to their 2016 Big Ten campaign after losing to Pennsylvania State University and tying Ohio State University last week. But the slow start is not an indicator for how the season is expected to play out for the Badgers.
If anything, it’s a sign of greater things to come for the Badgers, who had a similar fate last year. After losing 0-4 to Penn State and finishing in a 0-0 draw with the Buckeyes last season, the Badgers went on to win their next eight Big Ten matchups.
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If this season does wind up resembling the 2015 campaign, then fans have every reason to believe this weekend will yield good results for the Wisconsin team. Last year, the Badgers wound up taking down the Boilermakers 1-0 and rolling past Indiana 3-0.
With both teams fresh off a Big Ten loss, Purdue and Wisconsin will take the field fighting to regain their footing within the conference Friday night. Both teams will be looking to gain momentum to continue a month of intense conference scheduling.
The good news for the Badgers is that Friday night will mark the beginning of a three-game road stretch. They’re currently struggling to produce wins at home so far, posting a 1-1-3 record on the season.
That record gets immensely better when they are away, however, with UW jumping to a 2-2-1 record against its opponents on the road. It might just be that Wisconsin needs to spend some time away from McClimon Memorial Complex to get the momentum that they need.
The Badgers aren’t worried about their current standing in the Big Ten right now, though. This is familiar territory for them and according to freshman Camryn Biegalski, Wisconsin knows how to come back from less-than stellar starts to their Big Ten campaigns.
“We started out like this last year and ended up winning a Big Ten Championship,” Biegalski said. “So I think from here on out its grind time and I think we can win out.”
The Badgers and the Boilermakers will find themselves under the bright lights of Folk Field Friday night at 6 p.m. The game will also be televised by BTN2GO. Then the Badgers head down to Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers Sunday at noon, with coverage available on BTN Plus.
