UCLA vs. Wisconsin women's soccer: preview, how to follow

Although the history of UCLA and Wisconsin's women's soccer series has been lopsided — UCLA has won all four of the previous matchups — Saturday's scrum between the two ranked teams will give both squads an opportunity to build some momentum before heading into conference play. 

No. 22 Wisconsin will travel to Los Angeles to take on the 5th ranked Bruins this Saturday. UCLA started the season undefeated before losing last Thursday

We're back on the road this weekend against another tough opponent! #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/zRpIPtM86H

— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerWSoccer) September 10, 2019

Both the Bruins and the Badgers will look to bounce back after they fell in this week's rankings. UCLA dropped from No. 2 in the nation to No. 5 after its heartbreaking loss to Santa Clara. Wisconsin fell from No. 16 to No. 22 after a double-overtime 1-1 draw with Loyola-Chicago and a 2-0 victory against Green Bay. 

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These Badgers have been the queens of overtime so far this season. Four out of their six matches have gone into extra time. Wisconsin has gone 2-1-1 over that span, with their only loss coming to defending champion Florida State. 

UCLA versus Wisconsin won't just showcase an inter-conference battle between two ranked teams, the match will also feature two squads chock-full of talent and MAC Hermann Trophy contenders. 

The Bruins are led by premier do-it-all goal scorer, Ashley Sanchez. The versatile junior led the team last season in goals (10), assists (15) and points (35). She also leads the team in assists so far this season with three. UCLA's other weapon, Jesse Fleming, is just as lethal. Missing a good portion of last season due to her participation in World Cup qualifying with the Canadian National team, Fleming still was able to rack up 15 points, with five goals and five assists. The senior is tied with UCLA's #10 Mia Fishel as the leading goal-scorers so far this season. Both players have netted two goals through five games. 

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With Wisconsin's midfield maestro and first-team All-American Victoria Pickett out for the season with a knee injury, the Badgers' offensive prowess falls on emerging goal-scoring senior Dani Rhodes. Rhodes led Wisconsin in goals (10) and points (22) last season and is making her mark on the 2019 campaign, already racking up two goals and two assists through six games.  

After Saturday, Wisconsin will head into Big Ten play and take on Maryland on Sept. 20. UCLA, on the other hand, still has a couple of weeks until they open up play in a tough Pac-12. The Bruins will travel to Hawaii after Saturday to participate in the Rainbow Wahine Shootout. Their first match is against Pepperdine on Sept. 19. 

UCLA-Wisconsin women's soccer: How to watch, listen

UCLA versus Wisconsin will kick-off Saturday, Sept. 14 at 9 p.m. ET. The game has not been scheduled for a live television broadcast, but a radio broadcast will be streaming live on UCLA's website. You can also follow along live via UCLA's and Wisconsin's Twitter accounts and follow live stats here. 

UCLA-Wisconsin women's soccer history

As mentioned earlier, the all-time series has been dominated by UCLA. The Bruins have won all four of the previous matchups between the two, including the most recent match in 2015. 

Take a look at the all-time series history below: