In a year that many prognosticators did not see coming, Northwestern women’s soccer is off to its best start since 2016, when the team went 16-3-4 and won the Big Ten regular season title. On Thursday, the Wildcats can shut down preseason doubters once-and-for-all and solidify their place as conference and national title contenders.
No. 8 Northwestern will get the opportunity to prove it is worthy of the team’s highest ranking in program history when No. 10 Rutgers comes to Evanston Thursday. The reigning Big Ten Champions pose the greatest challenge of the season so far, and despite their respective rankings, a victory for the upstart Wildcats over powerhouse Scarlet Knights would most certainly be considered an upset.