Big Ten Soccer Weekly Recap: Week Three

Our resident soccer-knower, J.J. Scoops, will be here every Monday with a weekly recap of Big Ten women’s and men’s soccer action.

Wisconsin men’s soccer had a pretty good week, to say the least. One match against a ranked conference foe, one win against a ranked conference foe will do that. Andrew Akindele was the difference at McClimon, slotting home the only goal in a 1-0 home victory.

With the win, our Wisconsin Badgers are…2-0-1 in conference and, wait for it, MORE IMPORTANTLY ARE TIED FOR FIRST PLACE IN THE BIG TEN. AND THEY ALSO NOW HOLD THE TIEBREAKER OVER FELLOW SEVEN POINT SIDE MARYLAND. I don’t want to be the one to say it, but, ya know…

In all seriousness, who knows how sustainable this start to the year is, especially for a team whose out of conference results were as inconsistent as they were maddening, but the improvement from last year’s Badger team that finished dead last in the Big Ten is noticeable.

It was a bit more rough for Wisconsin women’s soccer. Facing two of the Big Ten’s best teams at home on Thursday and Sunday respectively, the Badgers unfortunately dropped both matches. And while falling victim to magnificent performances by two of the conference’s most talented (and underappreciated) players Penn State’s Sam Coffey and Purdue’s Sarah Griffith is understandable, the losses all but certainly end Wisconsin’s bid for a Big Ten regular season title.

In more general Big Ten women’s soccer content, a whole lot of wacky stuff happened this week. Rutgers continues to look like a wagon, downing Ohio State for their second win against a prospective first-place challenger. Purdue, with a close loss to Michigan and then a road win over Wisconsin, is proving they might be a legitimate top seed contender. And most stunningly of all, Penn State, after appearing to finally get their season back on track by beating the Badgers to end a three game conference skid, got absolutely pummeled by Minnesota 4-1.

Michigan State continues to chug along, picking up a four point week with a draw to Nebraska and a win over Iowa capping off a two game road trip. They’re joined by Purdue and Rutgers in the current top four along with, don’t look now, Northwestern, who picked up a pair of wins this week against Illinois and Nebraska.

And that’s your Big Ten soccer Week 3 roundup! I’ll see you next Monday with another weekly post, and until then, here are some matchups to keep an eye on this week:

Women’s:

Michigan @ Rutgers (Wednesday, October 6th)
Ohio State @ Michigan State (Sunday, October 10th)
Iowa @ Rutgers (Sunday, October 10th)

Men’s:

Penn State @ Rutgers (Tuesday, October 5th)
Michigan State @ Michigan (Tuesday, October 5th)
Wisconsin @ Ohio State (Friday, October 8th)