After a miraculous last-minute goal by senior defender Reese Borer to defeat then-No. 20 Michigan, Nebraska (3-3-5) faces No. 20 Wisconsin (7-2-2) on Sunday, Oct. 4.
NU is seeking back-to-back ranked Big Ten wins, which would make program history.
The Huskers have an opportunity to match a 24-year-old milestone. Nebraska hasn’t won consecutive ranked games since the 2002 Big 12 Tournament, when the Huskers defeated No. 5 Texas and No. 3 Texas A&M. Nebraska hasn’t achieved the feat during its Big Ten era.
The Huskers are coming off their first conference win, and the Badgers are coming in on their first conference loss.
Wisconsin entered last Sunday with a 3-0-1 Big Ten record, after defeating Maryland, Indiana and Northwestern, but fell to Rutgers 3-1. The Badgers gave up two second-half goals, leaving Piscataway with a loss. After starting Big Ten play with two scoreless conference matches, Nebraska has scored five goals in three games, leading to a ranked win and draw.
Matchup and Big Ten history
The Huskers defeated Wisconsin 1-0 in their first-ever matchup in September 2002, two months before their consecutive ranked-win feat. However, the Badgers took down Nebraska 2-0 in their first match after the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.
The Badgers come to Lincoln with a 5-1-4 record against Nebraska in their last 10 matchups. 19-year head coach Paula Wilkins holds a 7-4-5 record against the Huskers.
In 2024, in its most recent matchup, Nebraska scored within the first two minutes and 30 seconds and entered halftime ahead 2-0, but gave up two second-half goals, including one in the final 24 seconds to Wisconsin sophomore defender Hailey Baumann. She scored the game-winning goal against No. 9 BYU on Wednesday, Aug. 19.
Since arriving in Madison in 2007, Wilkins has led Wisconsin to two regular-season conference championships and a conference tournament championship.
In 2014, after finishing second in the Big Ten regular-season standings, the Badgers defeated Iowa 1-0 in double overtime to win the program’s third conference tournament championship. A year later, Wisconsin won eight of nine conference games to close out the regular season and were co-Big Ten champions with Penn State. In 2019, the Badgers won the regular-season Big Ten title outright, going undefeated in conference play (10-0-1).
Wisconsin has reached the Sweet 16 five times in the NCAA tournament under Wilkins, but hasn’t gone further.
Leading the pack of Badgers
The Badgers have three players who’ve scored multiple goals this season. Senior midfielder Erin Connolly and freshman midfielder Margaret Sisk each have three goals, and several other players have two.
Additionally, Wisconsin freshman midfielder Izy Traub has eight assists this season, leading the Big Ten.
Before allowing three goals in the Rutgers loss, fifth-year senior goalkeeper Drew Stover also had a significant start to Big Ten play. She allowed zero goals in the Badgers’ first four conference games, and Wisconsin outscored its opponents 5-0.
No. 20 Wisconsin comes to Lincoln hoping to avoid another upset loss, and Nebraska aims to make history by winning back-to-back Big Ten ranked matches. The match will be at Hibner Stadium and begins at 12:35 CDT. It will be televised on Big Ten Plus.
