Titans Edge Falcons In WIAC Debut

UW-Oshkosh began defense of the WIAC women's soccer title it captured a year ago with a 2-1 victory over UW-River Falls on Saturday (Oct. 1) at J. J. Keller Feld at Titan Stadium.

Robyn Elliott was involved in both UW-Oshkosh scores while goalkeeper Madelyn Runyan preserved her team's win by saving seven UW-River Falls shots.

UW-Oshkosh (6-4-1, 1-0 WIAC), which shared last year's WIAC championship with UW-La Crosse, jumped ahead of UW-River Falls (3-6-1, 0-1 WIAC) on Elliott's third goal of the season during the game's 30th minute (29:46) of play. Elliott's six-yard header into the net followed a pass from Ashley Baalke.

The Titans doubled their lead on a brilliant execution of a corner kick in the 50th minute (49:37). Alyssa Arnold went into a crowd near the UW-River Falls goal and headed a three-yard shot into the net after receiving a corner boot from Elliott. The goal was Arnold's second of the season.

UW-Oshkosh's two-goal advantage held up for just 138 seconds as Rachel Windingstad tapped a five-yard shot into the net following a pass from her sister, Kayla, in the 52nd minute (51:55).

Runyan then secured UW-Oshkosh's victory by stopping UW-River Falls shots launched by Abby Soderholm in the 62nd minute and Carrie Anderson in the 84th.

UW-Oshkosh attempted 19 shots, including 12 on goal, and earned seven of the game's 12 corner kicks. Rachel Elliott owned five of the Titans' shots, while AJ Jackson and Kendra Jepson had three apiece.

UW-River Falls sailed 15 shots into the air, including 11 in the first half when Runyan tallied four of her saves. The Falcons, who had eight shots on goal, were led by the five overall shots attempted by both Anderson and Soderholm.

Erica Cimochowski guarded the UW-River Falls goal and saved 10 shots.

UW-Oshkosh visits UW-Whitewater on Wednesday (Oct. 5) for another WIAC contest.