WSOC faces Wisconsin and Michigan this weekend

Weekly Notes (PDF)

MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University women's soccer team faces a pair of Big Ten Conference foes this week, beginning with a match at in-state rival Wisconsin on Thursday evening.

The Golden Eagles will face the Badgers at the McClimon Soccer Complex in a 7 p.m. start before returning to Milwaukee to host Michigan in their home opener on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

Live streaming video coverage of the UW match will be provided by BTN+, while the Michigan contest will stream live through GoMarquette.com's All-Access player.

Marquette faced both squads in back-to-back matches last season, dropping a 2-0 decision to Wisconsin before a 3-2 loss at Michigan in which it led 2-1 in the second half. MU is 5-8-2 all-time against the Badgers but holds a 4-2 edge in the series with the Wolverines.

Following this weekend's matches, MU will continue its foray into the Big Ten with a matchup at Minnesota on Thursday, Sept. 5 match.

MARQUETTE (0-2-0): The Golden Eagles dropped their first two matches of the year for the first time since 2016 with a 2-0 loss at Colorado State and a 1-0 defeat at Ball State … Marquette out-shot the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon, 11-6, but allowed a 72nd minute goal to BSU's Sam Kambol … Freshman Alex Campana and redshirt sophomore Rachel Johnson earned their first career starts on Sunday, while freshman Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock did the same in Thursday's season opener … Goalkeeper Maddy Henry made 10 saves in the lid-lifter against the Rams to become MU's all-time saves leader.

No. 15 WISCONSIN (1-1-0): The Badgers moved up one spot in the United Soccer Coaches Poll to No. 15 after a 1-0 win at UCF and a 1-0 overtime loss at No. 1 Florida State on Sunday … Senior forward Dani Rhodes scored the winner in the season opener against the Knights in the 64th minute and is one of three preseason all-conference selections on UW … Cameron Murtha and Claire Shea are the other preseason conference honorees … The Badgers were out-shot 14-8 at FSU but it took the Seminoles until the 99th minute to break onto the scoresheet … UW is picked to finish third in the Big Ten behind Penn State and Rutgers.

MICHIGAN (2-0-0): The Wolverines won their season opener 5-0 over Marshall and knocked off Utah Valley, 2-1, on Sunday in overtime … Meredith Haakenson scored twice against Marshall on Aug. 22 and Michigan held a 23-3 edge in shots … Sarah Stratigakis, who scored in the opener and leads the team with six points (2 goals, 2 assists), scored the OT winner against UVU in the 93rd minute … Stratigakis, Nicki Hernandez and Hillary Beall earned preseason all-league honors, while U-M was pegged fifth in the Big Ten … Michigan hosts Florida Gulf Coast on Friday.

HENRY IS MARQUETTE'S CAREER SAVES LEADER
• Senior goalkeeper Maddy Henry enters her fourth season as a full-time starter in 2019 and became MU's all-time saves leader against Colorado State on Aug. 22 with 10 stops. She now has 298 in 63 career games and passed Mo Bothwell (288 saves, 1997-00) to move into the top spot. The Omaha, Nebraska native entered her final campaign ranked fifth all-time in minutes played (5,605:30) and eighth goals against (1.25). She also sat second in saves per match (4.68), fifth in save percentage (.786), sixth in career victories (29) and fifth in shutouts (19).

• Henry performed at her best against the top competition MU faced last season. She gave the Golden Eagles a chance at upsetting No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18, 2018 with 10 saves against the Hoyas, including a PK stop in the 66th minute on Kyra Carusa. It was her second-highest save total of the season, ranking just behind the season-best 11 she posted against Colorado on Sept. 6. Henry also stepped up her play earlier in the year against then-No. 12 Duke and No. 3 North Carolina in the Duke Nike Classic.

2019 SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
• The Golden Eagles begin the year with their first three regular season contests on the road before commencing their home slate against Michigan on Sept. 1.
• Against common non-conference opponents from last season, MU went 1-2 in 2018 with a win over Milwaukee and losses to Wisconsin and Michigan.
• MU plays a rare non-conference home-and-home series with Colorado State. The Golden Eagles face the Rams in the season lid-lifter on Aug. 22 and welcome them to Milwaukee for a Sunday, Sept. 22 matinee.

NEWCOMERS IN KEY ROLES
• Three newcomers played key roles during MU's two exhibition matches and a few others made contributions as well. Freshmen Josie Kelderman and Addie Shock started in the midfield and at center back respectively, while graduate transfer Natalie Yass scored twice in the midfield during the exhibition opener on Aug. 14. Both Kelderman and Shock started the season opener at Colorado State and freshman Alex Campana made her first career start at Ball State on Aug. 25.

SPRECHER LOOKING FOR BOUNCEBACK CAMPAIGN
• Forward Kylie Sprecher had a standout campaign as a first-year player in 2017 and is one of many Golden Eagles looking to bounce back to form after an injury-plagued 2018. She scored her lone goal last season against No. 4 Georgetown on Oct. 18, 2018 after leading the squad with six assists and three goals as a BIG EAST All-Freshman selection in 2017.

WETHERELL AND BOMBACINO RETURN AFTER ALL-FRESHMAN CAMPAIGNS
• Sophomores Katrina Wetherell and Alyssa Bombacino are expected to step into bigger roles following All-BIG EAST Freshman Team seasons in 2019. The pair each recorded six points as freshmen, while Wetherell led the team with four assists while starting every match in the midfield on her way to All-BIG EAST Second Team honors. Bombacino started six of the 16 matches in which she played, scoring three goals, including a pair of match winners.

• Wetherell was honored with All-BIG EAST Preseason Team accolades in the league's annual head coaches survey.

JAEGER WAS MU'S MINUTES LEADER IN 2018
• Center back Bri Jaeger played big minutes for the Golden Eagles last season, leading the team with 1,675 played in 18 starts after starting 14 of 17 matches in 2017. Jaeger has scored a pair of goals in her career, both on headers and roughly a year apart. She scored the winning goal against Milwaukee on Sept. 17 last season in the 73rd minute and tallied her first career marker on Sept. 10, 2017 at Rhode Island.