CHICAGO (August 23, 2022) – With the 2022 season officially off and running, the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team (1-1) is set for a pair of road tests this week.
 
The road swing begins on Thursday in Madison, Wis. where host Wisconsin will provide the opposition in a 5 p.m. kickoff at the McClimon Soccer Complex.  Loyola will then turn its attention south on Sunday for a 2 p.m. matchup against SIUE at Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola split a pair of games to open the new campaign last week, downing South Dakota, 1-0, before falling to Miami (Ohio) by an identical scoreline.  In Thursday's road win over the Coyotes, Madeleine Barone delivered the game's deciding strike in the 49^th minute, scoring off a free kick, while Naya Lipkens tallied three saves in goal in her Loyola debut.
 
vs. Wisconsin: Unbeaten through its first two games of the 2022 season, Wisconsin enters Thursday's matchup with the Ramblers at 1-0-1 overall.  After battling No. 7 TCU to a scoreless draw this past Thursday, the Badgers struck twice over a 35-second span en route to a 2-0 win at Baylor on Sunday. 
 
Led by veteran head coach Paula Wilkins, who led Wisconsin to a third Sweet Sixteen appearance in four seasons in 2021, the Badgers landed fourth in the Big Ten Conference's Preseason Poll, with Emma Jaskaniec, Aidan McConnell, and Natalie Viggiano all being tabbed to the conference's Players to Watch List.
 
Jaskaniec and Viggiano were both forces in the final third in 2021, each registering eight goals and four assists.  Jaskaniec has already opened her 2022 account after tallying the opener in the Badgers' win over Baylor.  McConnell was a rock along the backline last season, playing in all but 24 minutes of game action for a Wisconsin defensive unit that finished the year with 10 shutouts.
 
vs. SIUE: Reigning Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Tournament Champion SIUE sits at the .500 mark, owning a 1-1 record.  The Cougars, who topped the OVC Preseason Poll, downed Indiana State, 2-1, on Thursday ahead of dropping a 3-2 decision to IUPUI on Sunday.
 
Piloted by head coach Derek Burton, SIUE returns a pair of First Team All-OVC selections from last season in Lily Schnieders and Maria Haro.
 
Named an OVC Player to Watch prior to the start of the 2022 campaign, Schnieders finished second in the league in overall points (19), racking up seven goals and five assists.  She found the back of the net against IUPUI last Sunday.  Haro is coming off a terrific 2021 of her own that saw her match Schneiders goal tally of seven in addition to dishing out four assists.
 
Series Stuff: Thursday's tilt in Wisconsin's state capital marks the ninth meeting in the all-time series between Loyola and Wisconsin.  After coming up on the short end in each of the first six encounters, the Ramblers have grinded out draws with the Badgers in the last two meetings, most recently playing to a scoreless stalemate last season in Rogers Park.
 
Loyola owns a 2-0-1 record in three previous clashes with SIUE.  The Ramblers picked up a convincing victory over the Cougars last season at Loyola Soccer Park, with two early goals from Megan Nemec setting the tone in a 3-0 triumph.
 
Up Next: Loyola returns home on Thursday, September 1 to welcome No. 24 Xavier to Loyola Soccer Park.  The Ramblers close out the week by visiting Western Illinois on Sunday, September 4.