The Wisconsin Women's Soccer Team (3-2-3 Big Ten, 8-5-3 overall) returns home to the McClimon Soccer Complex for their final weekend series against Purdue on Friday at 7 p.m. and Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. after playing their last three games on the road.
The Boilermakers (3-4-1 Big Ten, 6-9-2 overall) started off the Big Ten season 0-2-1 but, as of late,won their last two of three games, beating Ohio State and Indiana. In those two wins, the Purdue offense was extremely effective, scoring two goals in four minutes against the Buckeyes in a 2-1 win and tying a program record with eight goals against Indiana in a 8-2 win. Purdue's offense boasts newly named Big Ten Freshmen of the Week, Chinyelu Asher, as she scored two goals and assisted on another against Indiana on Thursday.
""With [Purdue] coming off that hot of a streak, we have to make sure to get good pressure on the ball and staying compact as a unit is going to be pretty important,"" head coach Paula Wilkins said. ""Letting them have opportunities to get shots off, they have proven they can get results.""
The Hoosiers (2-6-0 Big Ten, 6-9-1 overall) have struggled thus far in the Big Ten as they have lost three straight games to Penn State, 3-0, Ohio State, 8-2, and Michigan State, 2-1. During that stretch, they were outscored 13-3. Their lone wins in the conference have come against Nebraska, 2-1, and Northwestern, 1-0. The Hoosiers are led defensively by senior goalkeeper Lindsay Campbell who allows on-average two goals a game with a save percentage of 73 percent. Offensively, they are led by Colombia native Orianica Velasquez, who leads the team with seven goals and 16 total points.
Wisconsin is currently No. 5 in the Big Ten standings with 12 points with three games remaining to solidify their seeding for the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Even though the Badgers have dropped in the standings as of late, Wilkins is still confident in her team.
""This team for the last two years have dealt with the pressures of getting into the NCAA [tournament] and being in the NCAA [tournament],"" Wilkins said. ""They are a mature team that understands what pressure is and I think that this experience will help them in the stretch of these three games.""
