NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State soccer team will look to rebound from its first loss of 2012 when they face No. 15 Wisconsin, Sunday at 2:30 p.m., in Madison, Wis. The Badgers join Illinois as Big Ten and ranked foes of the Redbirds in 2012, with Sunday's match marking the first time in program history that ISU has played two ranked teams in the regular season.
"Big Ten teams have a physicality and athleticism about them, so there are not very many lulls in those types of games," head coach Drew Roff said. "You have to be ready to compete for 90 minutes. Teams of that caliber will make you pay more consistently for mistakes you make. We have to be very organized, we have to be disciplined and we have to play at our highest level, but that is a challenge that we like."
The Redbirds (3-1-2) are coming off their first loss of 2012, a 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Western Michigan last Sunday. The Badgers (4-1-0) played two matches in California last weekend, losing their first game of the season to No. 2 UCLA 2-0 before knocking off Loyola Marymount 4-2. Before losing to the Bruins, Wisconsin had shutout all its previous opponents, outscoring them 10-0 overall.
The fourteen goals through five games for the Badgers is the program's highest offensive output to start a season since 2004. Redshirt-junior Paige Adams, freshman Kinley McNicoll and redshirt-sophomore Kodee Williams lead the team in scoring with seven points apiece. Between the pipes for the Badgers is senior Lauren Gunderson. Despite having to replace 2011 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Michele Dalton, Gunderson has recorded three shutouts while allowing just two goals through the season's first five games. Last season, the Badgers went 10-7-3 (5-3-3) on their way to a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten. Picked to finish fourth again in 2012, the Badgers return five of 11 starters and 15 letterwinners in head coach Paula Wilkins' sixth season.
Rachel Tejada is coming off her first scoreless game of 2012. The sophomore leads the Missouri Valley by wide margins in goals (8) and points (17), while being second in shots with 21. Her game-winning goal at Northern Illinois on Aug. 31 moved her into a tie with Jess Carlson for second on the program's all-time goals list with 29.
The Redbirds and Badgers have met two times before, in 2001 and 2002. Illinois State defeated Wisconsin 2-1 in 2001 before falling the next season 3-0 in Madison. Illinois State holds an 8-19-2 record against teams from the Big Ten all-time.
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