Titans To Play Five NCAA Postseason Teams From 2015
Defending WIAC women's soccer champion UW-Oshkosh begins its quest for a third consecutive NCAA Division III postseason appearance when it hosts Concordia University Wisconsin on Sept. 1 at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.
UW-Oshkosh's 2016 opener against the defending Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) champion is one of seven home dates on its 18-match schedule. The Titans own a 12-2-1 record in the series with Concordia University Wisconsin (14-2-3 record in 2015), including a 2-0 victory over the Falcons last season.
UW-Oshkosh also hosts non-conference opponents Wartburg College (Iowa) on Sept. 18 and Marian University on Oct. 24.
Wartburg College (15-5-3), which advanced to the third round of last year's NCAA Division III Championship, is ranked 18th in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The Knights reached the national postseason by winning the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Tournament.
UW-Oshkosh has won its last nine meetings with Marian University (7-12), including a 7-0 decision over the NACC opponent last year.
UW-Oshkosh's home schedule also includes matches against WIAC rivals UW-River Falls (9-8-2) on Oct. 1, UW-Stout (8-8-3) on Oct. 15, UW-Stevens Point (4-15) on Oct. 19 and UW-La Crosse (12-7-2) on Oct. 29.
The Titans lost 2-1 to UW-River Falls last year while shutting out both UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point and tying UW-La Crosse. UW-Oshkosh shared its WIAC title of a year ago with UW-La Crosse.
UW-Oshkosh will play five teams that participated in the 2015 NCAA Division III Championship. In addition to Wartburg College, the Titans will also play Milwaukee School of Engineering, The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.), 10th-ranked UW-Whitewater and Wheaton College (Ill.).
Rounding out the Titans' non-conference schedule are road matches against University of Dubuque (Iowa) (10-7-2) on Sept. 3, College of Saint Benedict (Minn.) on Sept. 5, The College of St. Scholastica on Sept. 10, St. Olaf College (Minn.) on Sept. 11, St. Norbert College (11-6-2) on Sept. 15, Loras College (Iowa) (11-5-4) on Sept. 22, Wheaton College on Sept. 24 and Milwaukee School of Engineering on Sept. 29.
The College of St. Scholastica (12-6-2) earned a share of last year's Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) championship and won the league's postseason tournament for the eighth time in nine seasons. The Saints lost to Wartburg College, 1-0, in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
Wheaton College (16-7) competed in the NCAA postseason for 19th straight year in 2015. The Thunder won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament before losing to UW-Whitewater, 2-0, in the second round of the national tournament.
Last year, Milwaukee School of Engineering (15-7) captured its first NACC Tournament title before losing to Calvin College (Mich.), 3-2, in its NCAA postseason opener.
College of Saint Benedict (7-8-2) and St. Olaf College (4-10-4) placed eighth and ninth, respectively, in the 12-team Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings.
Completing UW-Oshkosh's schedule are WIAC road matches at UW-Whitewater (20-5) on Oct. 5, UW-Platteville (3-13) on Oct. 8 and UW-Eau Claire (6-10-3) on Oct. 22.
The Titans and UW-Whitewater split a pair of games in Oshkosh last season. UW-Oshkosh eked out a 2-1, double-overtime win in the regular season, but the Warhawks edged the Titans, 1-0, in the WIAC Tournament final. UW-Whitewater advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship before falling to Washington University (Mo.), 1-0.
UW-Oshkosh will attempt to win its sixth straight match over UW-Eau Claire, with the previous five meetings ending in a shutout. The Titans own a 19-3-1 record against UW-Platteville, including a 3-1 victory over the Pioneers a year ago.
Last season, UW-Oshkosh produced a 14-4-3 record and claimed a share of its first WIAC title. The Titans received one of 20 at-large bids to the NCAA Championship, where they fell in the first round to DePauw University (Ind.) on a penalty-kick shootout after the teams played to a 1-1 tie following two overtime periods.
The Titans and UW-La Crosse shared the 2015 WIAC title with 5-1-1 records, followed by third-place UW-Whitewater (5-2), fourth-place UW-Eau Claire (4-3), fifth-place UW-River Falls (3-3-1), sixth-place UW-Stout (2-4-1), seventh-place UW-Stevens Point (2-5) and eighth-place UW-Platteville (0-7).
UW-Oshkosh returns 16 letter winners from last year's team that outscored opponents by a combined 46-17 score and recorded eight shutouts.
Spearheading 13th-year UW-Oshkosh head coach Erin Coppernoll's returning roster is senior midfielder Robyn Elliott, a three-time all-conference and all-region selection. Elliott finished second on the team a year ago with 18 points, seven goals and four assists.
Other returning starters back for the Titans are senior forward Rachel Elliott, junior forward Megan Paulick and junior defender Ally Vandenberg. Elliott was an all-conference award winner in 2014.
UW-Oshkosh begins practice for the 2016 season on Friday (Aug. 19).