Titans To Host Falcons In First Round Of WIAC Championship
UW-Oshkosh's quest for a third WIAC Women's Soccer Championship title begins with a first-round home match against UW-River Falls on Tuesday (Oct. 31). The action starts at 6 p.m. from J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh (7-7-4), seeded third in this year's six-team WIAC Championship, claimed league postseason titles in 2011 and 2014.
Sixth-seeded UW-River Falls (5-13-1) is seeking to advance out of the first round of the WIAC Championship for the first time in three seasons.
Tuesday's contest will be the fifth meeting between UW-Oshkosh and UW-River Falls in the WIAC postseason. UW-River Falls eliminated the Titans from the league tournament in 1999, 2003 and 2012, while UW-Oshkosh ousted the Falcons in 2003.
Fourth-seeded UW-Stout (8-5-5) will host fifth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (9-7-2) in Tuesday's other first-round matchup.
Top-seeded UW-La Crosse (16-1-2) and second-seeded UW-Whitewater (13-3-3) both earned first-round byes and will host semifinal games on Thursday (Nov. 2).
The highest remaining seed will host the WIAC Championship final on Saturday (Nov. 4). The winner of the WIAC Championship secures the league's automatic berth into the 64-team NCAA Division III Championship that begins Nov. 10.
UW-La Crosse won all seven of its WIAC contests during the regular season to capture the third league championship in school history. UW-Whitewater finished second to the Eagles with a 4-2-1 conference record while UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout shared third place with 3-1-3 marks.
UW-Stevens Point finished fifth in the league standings with a 2-3-2 record while UW-River Falls placed sixth at 2-4-1, UW-Eau Claire seventh at 2-5 and UW-Platteville eighth at 0-7.
UW-Oshkosh owns a 3-1-1 record in its last five meetings with UW-River Falls while the Falcons own a 13-12-3 overall mark in a series that began in 1994. The teams played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 30.
The Titans enter the WIAC Championship with two straight losses after compiling a 4-0-3 record over their previous seven contests. UW-Oshkosh, which has a 5-3 record at home this season, leads the WIAC with 136 saves and 7.56 saves per game.
UW-River Falls heads into the WIAC Championship with just two wins during its last 11 games. The Falcons clinched a berth into the conference tournament field with a 3-0 triumph over UW-Platteville in the regular season finale on Saturday (Oct. 28).
UW-Oshkosh has recorded eight shutouts this season while tallying 28 goals in 18 games.
Kendra Jepson, Alek Kleis and Maddie Morris pace the Titans with nine points each. Jepson has scored a team-leading four goals, including a pair of game-winners, while Kleis and Morris have recorded three goals and three assists apiece.
UW-Oshkosh's Addie Schmitz has attempted a team-high 31 shots, placing 20 on goal.
UW-Oshkosh goalkeeper Jessica Galason has played a role in seven of the team's eight shutouts this season. She went the distance in goal during four shutout victories and shared time in three others.
Galason has registered a 1.15 goals-against average and made a league-leading 115 saves in more than 1,200 minutes of action this year. Her .878 save percentage ranks second in the WIAC.
UW-River Falls has recorded four shutouts and narrowly outscored opponents, 24-23, on the year.
The Falcons' Abby Soderholm leads the WIAC with 113 shots and paces the team with 19 points on six goals and a league-best seven assists. Soderholm has attempted nearly six shots per game while UW-La Crosse's Alex Cording ranks second in the league at 3.5 per contest.
Kayla Windingstad has added 10 points on four goals and a pair of assists for the Falcons, who have also received three goals apiece from Maggie Koehler and Mariah Troje.
UW-River Falls goalkeeper Haley Crosby has made 86 saves while ceding 13 goals and producing a 1-10-1 record with two shutouts.
UW-La Crosse, which won its lone WIAC Championship title in 1996, leads the conference in nearly every statistical category this season, including per-game shots (20.84), goals (2.95), assists (2.58), goals allowed (0.63) and shutouts (11). The Eagles' Kaitlyn Villars paces the WIAC with 30 points and 12 goals.
UW-Whitewater, the two-time defending league tournament champion, has taken a WIAC-leading 136 corner kicks and lists second in the league with 43 goals.
UW-Stout enters the tournament unbeaten in its past seven games, including four straight victories, while UW-Stevens Point's Sarah Peplinski and UW-Stout's Lynn Johnson are tied for the conference lead with five shutouts.
UW-Stevens Point has won 15 of the 25 WIAC Championship titles, including three straight from 2008-10. UW-Whitewater is next with four conference tournament championships and UW-Eau Claire follows with three.