In the final preparation for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament next weekend, the Illinois State soccer team hosts Wisconsin Friday at 2:45 p.m. at Adelaide Street Field.
The Redbirds enter Fridays contest with a 12-4 record and are ranked No. 10 in the Great Lakes Region while the Badgers come to town with an overall mark of 4-10-3.
In essence they are having an unlucky year and have lost a few games, head coach Pete Kowall said of Wisconsin. They are as good as some of the other teams we have played lately.
In last weekends play, the Birds knocked off then No. 23 Oakland, 3-1, at home on Friday before dropping a 1-0 decision on Sunday at Illinois. For their efforts in the two games last weekend, juniors Annie Wayland and Lynley Hilligoss were recognized as Valley Offensive Player of the Week and Valley Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
This is the last game before the conference tournament, Kowall added. Hopefully we can start a little better than we did on Sunday and capitalize on a surge at the beginning.
