There are two winless teams in the Big Ten, and one could get its first conference victory this weekend.

Saturday’s 7 p.m. matchup at the Iowa Soccer Complex between Iowa and Illinois pairs two teams with parallel seasons thus far.

Both the Hawkeyes (8-6, 0-4) and the Fighting Illini (5-5-3, 0-2-2) started out their respective seasons hot, rolling through their nonconference schedules. Since then, however, neither team has won a Big Ten match, and the two occupy the bottom spots in the conference standings.

“Our spirits aren’t down,” Iowa midfielder Jackie Kaeding said. “It’s tough to lose games, but that’s part of the sport. Our attitude right now is that we have to practice as hard as we can. [Illinois is] going through the same thing we are.”

Coming off road losses to No. 25 Ohio State (3-2) and Penn State (0-4) last weekend, Iowa’s attitude remains optimistic.

“I think we have to be positive,” head coach Ron Rainey said. “We have to take what we did well in those games and replicate it against Illinois, who’s a real good opponent.”

This week’s poll includes No. 18 Purdue, No. 19 Ohio State, and No. 22 Indiana, with Minnesota and Michigan State receiving votes as well. Illinois had been ranked as high as No. 22, but the Illini have since dropped out.

“The conference is real strong,” Rainey said. “Each opponent we play, if they have a good day, is going to be real effective in the Big Ten. We have to be prepared for Illinois’s best game and be able to raise our level so we can match them.”

As a fifth-year senior, Kaeding has been around the Big Ten block before.

“We have to play our very best every single game to be able to win,” she said. “They’re not just going to give it to us. I think that definitely shows how strong the conference is.”

The top eight conference finishers qualify for the Big Ten Tournament. Winless in the conference with only six games to play, Iowa players are feeling a sense of urgency to get on the winning track before time runs out.

“Yeah, it’s go time,” freshman forward Alyscha Mottershead said. “I definitely think we’re looking at it like that. But at the same time, I think we kind of need to step back and take it one game at a time. Otherwise, we’re going to kind of get ahead of ourselves.”

Kaeding, a cocaptain, said that despite the team’s struggles, expectations are not dropping. Iowa is still focused on making its third-consecutive Big Ten tournament.

“We know we need to win, and we’re expecting to win,” she said. “It’s not really panic mode right now at all. We need to look at things we did well. We out-shot Penn State. The stats show how much better we’ve gotten.”

Illinois leads the all-time series against Iowa, 9-5, but the Hawkeyes upset the No. 16 Illini, 1-0, last season in Iowa City. Rainey knows the Hawkeyes’ confidence will play a major role in pulling off another upset this year.

“We want to have a good week of practice so that we can mentally feel confident taking the field against Illinois,” Rainey said. “That’s our biggest thing that we have to do right now. If we do those things, and we work hard for each other, then I think we’ll be able to feel good about the results no matter what they are on Saturday.”