Men's Soccer Team To Host Four NCAA Tournament Teams
Home contests against four teams that participated in last year's NCAA Division III Championship highlight UW-Oshkosh's 17-match schedule for the 2015 men's soccer season.
UW-Oshkosh, which compiled a 14-5-2 record in 2014, kicks off its 32nd season by hosting Loras College (Iowa) on Sept. 1 at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
Loras College went 17-3-2 last season and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship. The Duhawks, who enter the 2015 season ranked 11th in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, played to a 2-2 tie with UW-Oshkosh a year ago.
UW-Oshkosh welcomes 2014 national runner-up Wheaton College (Ill.) to its home venue on Oct. 7. The Thunder, a two-time NCAA Division III champion, posted a 22-4 record last season after losing a 4-2 decision to Tufts University (Mass.) in the national title match. Wheaton College comes into the 2015 season ranked second nationally.
UW-Oshkosh also hosts 2014 national postseason participants Milwaukee School of Engineering on Sept. 16 and UW-Whitewater on Oct. 24. UW-Whitewater (14-5-4) lost in the second round of last year's national tournament while the Milwaukee School of Engineering (17-5) suffered defeat in the first. The match with UW-Whitewater closes the Titans' home schedule.
UW-Oshkosh's remaining home contests are against Chapman University (Calif.) on Sept. 13, Central College (Iowa) on Sept. 20, North Central College (Ill.) on Sept. 27, St. Norbert College on Sept. 30 and Luther College (Iowa) on Oct. 21.
The Titans' road schedule features visits to 2014 NCAA Division III postseason qualifiers North Park University (Ill.) on Sept. 5 and The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) on Oct. 11. Both opponents lost in the opening round of last year's championship, with North Park University concluding the season with a 13-6-1 record and The College of St. Scholastica at 20-3.
Following its season opener against Loras College, UW-Oshkosh travels to Salem, Ore., for matches against first-time opponents Southwestern University (Texas) on Sept. 4 and Willamette University (Ore.) on Sept. 6. The trip is the first for the Titans to the state of Oregon.
UW-Oshkosh closes its season at Finlandia University (Mich.) on Oct. 28. The match marks the first time that UW-Oshkosh has played an opponent other than UW-Whitewater in its regular-season finale since 2003.
Other road games for the Titans are against Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sept. 9, Lakeland College on Sept. 22 and UW-Platteville on Oct. 17.
UW-Oshkosh, which is riding a string of 30 consecutive winning seasons, returns 20 letter winners from last year's team that recorded eight shutouts and outscored its opponents by a combined 44-14 score. The Titans won the 2014 WIAC title with a 1-0 victory over UW-Whitewater in the championship game of the league's postseason tournament.
The top returnee for UW-Oshkosh is junior midfielder Jacob Hernandez. Last season he received NCAA Division III All-North Region Second Team honors after scoring eight points on two goals and four assists.
Hernandez was one of five Titans named to the 2014 All-WIAC First Team. The other four selections also return in junior goalkeeper Sam Gabrilska, senior defenders Karl Bock and Jonathan Stanley and sophomore forward Javier Simon. Gabrilska was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year after recording six shutouts and a goals-against average of 0.49.
UW-Oshkosh began practice for its 2015 season on Wednesday (Aug. 19). Wyste Molenaar, who has guided the Titans to a five-year record of 68-19-4, coaches the team.