Soccer Thursday 10-15
Recapping the Illini
Sunday's 1-0 loss to Wisconsin was disappointing on many levels. The Illini remain winless in the Big Ten, and are now tied for ninth place with Michigan, as they only have two points in the standings. Any loss in the conference is tough, but a home loss is especially hard to swallow. Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Sunday's defeat was how much more Wisconsin seemed to want the ball. Badger midfielder Alev Kelter was winning balls all over the field, which didn't allow the Illini to mount much of an attack. In fact, the Illini went without a shot on goal for the entire match. The surprising Badgers are now tied for first place in the Big Ten with Minnesota.
Big Ten Wrap-up
Thursday 10/8:
Purdue at Indiana PPD until 11/3
Friday 10/9:
Sunday 10/11:
Wisconsin 1 Illinois 0
Best Weekend: Minnesota. With Sunday's win at Purdue, the Gophers took control of the Big Ten conference race. They're tied in points with Wisconsin, but hold the tiebreaker over the Badgers with a win in Madison earlier this season. Count me as one who didn't expect the Gophers to follow up last season's Big Ten regular season co-championship with another high league finish. The Gophers will be tested this weekend with Ohio State and Penn State, but both matches are in Minneapolis, where Goldy is very tough.
Worst Weekend: Illinois. There's not really a way to sugarcoat Sunday's loss to Wisconsin. Yes, the Badgers are tied for first in the Big Ten, but the Illini really needed a home win. It's one thing to lose to a more talented team, but Illinois was outworked by the Badgers. That's unacceptable to Janet Rayfield and her coaching staff. They'll need to turn up the effort meter a few notches on Saturday to win at Iowa. The Hawkeyes are also winless in Big Ten play, but beat the Illini 1-0 last season in Iowa City.
Conference Standings
| Big Ten | Overall | ||||
| Team | Record | Pct. | Pts. | Record | Pct. |
| 1. Minnesota | 3-0-1 | .875 | 10 | 10-2-2 | .786 |
| Wisconsin | 3-1-1 | .700 | 10 | 7-5-2 | .571 |
| 3. Ohio State | 3-1-0 | .750 | 9 | 10-2-1 | .808 |
| Penn State | 3-1-0 | .750 | 9 | 7-5-1 | .577 |
| 5. Purdue | 2-1-2 | .600 | 8 | 7-3-3 | .654 |
| 6. Michigan State | 1-1-2 | .500 | 5 | 7-1-4 | .750 |
| 7. Indiana | 1-2-1 | .375 | 4 | 9-3-1 | .731 |
| Northwestern | 1-3-1 | .300 | 4 | 4-8-2 | .357 |
| 9. Michigan | 0-1-2 | .333 | 2 | 5-6-2 | .462 |
| Illinois | 0-2-2 | .250 | 2 | 5-5-3 | .500 |
| 11. Iowa | 0-4-0 | .000 | 0 | 8-6-0 | .571 |
What's On Tap
Last week's predictions were a bit better, as I went 4-2-1 with one game postponed. That puts the prediction total at 11-6-6 this season. Not a great percentage, so we'll see if we can pick it up a bit this week. As always, my winners are in bold.
Thursday 10/15
Michigan at Purdue. My easiest prediction of the week. The Boilers will be fired up after losing to Minnesota on Sunday. Michigan continues to fight, but will be outgunned today in West Lafayette.
Michigan State at Loyola IL. I'm not counting non-conference games in my "official" predictions, but Sparty should have no trouble with the Ramblers tonight.
Friday 10/16
Ohio State at Wisconsin. This should be a good matchup in Madison. The Badgers are riding a wave of confidence after Sunday's win at Illinois. I'd probaby pick this one the other way if it were in Columbus.
Penn State at Minnesota. Penn State had Minnesota's number last season, defeating them in the regular season and in the Big Ten Tournament. I think both teams have fallen off a bit from a year ago, but I'm beginning to believe in the Gophers after that win at Purdue.
Saturday 10/17
Illinois at Iowa. The Illini are the more talented and dangerous team. Both they and the Hawkeyes are desperate for a victory. Three of Iowa's four conference losses are by one goal, and in the other (4-0) they actually outshot Penn State. Both Illini losses are also by one goal. Interestingly, Illinois has actually played better on the road in Big Ten games this season, so I'll take the Illini here.
Sunday 10/18
Penn State at Wisconsin. A nice storyline here, with Paula Wilkins guiding the first place Badgers against the program she took to the College Cup. It looks like the Nittany Lions solved some of their offensive woes last weekend, so I'll give Penn State the edge.
Ohio State at Minnesota. The danger for teams playing Penn State and Ohio State in the same weekend has traditionally been that it can be easy to overlook the Buckeyes. But this time it's Ohio State that enters the week in the national rankings. I'm still not completely sold on Ohio State, as Northwestern gave them a scare in Columbus last week. When in doubt, go with the home team.
Indiana at Michigan. The Wolverines might be able to eek out a tie here if they can keep Velasquez-Herrerra from getting in behind them. I don't think they will.
Michigan State at Northwestern. All the elements are here for an upset. MSU has some injuries they're trying to deal with, the Wildcats played very well in their last match at Ohio State, and Northwestern has the home-field advantage. Ask Indiana how difficult it is to win at Lakeside Field.
To the Polls
I'm feeling a bit lazy today, so we'll just link to this week's rankings:
On the Recruiting Front
Top Drawer Soccer has released their latest rankings of the top 100 high school/club players in the class of 2010, and the top 15-20 players in each region. Three Illini commitments (according to the women's soccer recruiting website) are mentioned in these rankings.
Vanessa DiBernardo is the lone Illini commitment listed in Top Drawer's National Top 100, where she checks in at #50. Janelle Flaws and Kassidy Brown are both listed in Top Drawer's Midwest Top 20, where they are named as #10 and #12, respectively. DiBernardo is ranked at #7 in the regional rankings.
Illinois' fourth commitment in the class of 2010, forward Megan Pawloski of Belleville, is not listed in the Top Drawer Rankings, but Pawloski was named the Area Player of the Year by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this spring.
The aforementioned women's soccer recruiting site also lists Allina Weykamp as the first Illini commitment for the class of 2011. Weykamp is a central midfielder from Grand Haven, Michigan who plays club ball for the Michigan Hawks. Top Drawer's rankings for the class of 2011 will be released sometime next week, so we'll see if Weykamp makes their list on a national or regional level.
Coverage This Week
I'll be talking with Illinois coach Janet Rayfield tomorrow before the team leaves for Iowa. I'll post that interview on IlliniHQ.com tomorrow afternoon for you to enjoy. Our next soccer broadcast on WDWS is one week from today when the Illini host Ohio State. Thanks for reading.
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