By Kevin Cunningham

By defeating the UW-Oshkosh Titans 1-0 on Saturday night, the UW-Whitewater women’s soccer team accomplished multiple season goals, including an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

“It’s always a goal of ours to win the WIAC Conference, both the regular season and the tournament,” head coach Ryan Quamme said. “I’m very proud of the group. We’ve worked extremely hard, and it’s a great accomplishment for our program having the right to host [in the NCAA Tournament].”

The one-goal victory clinched the WIAC title for the Warhawks, which marks the second consecutive WIAC championship won by the team.

By earning the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, this will be the third consecutive tournament appearance for the team.

WIAC Tourney Recap

Entering the WIAC Tournament, the ’Hawks were the No. 1 seed hosting the tournament. In the semi-final round, the 14-0-4 ’Hawks beat the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds, 3-0.

Freshman forward Carina Krausert headed the ball into the net in the 12th minute and the team never gave up its lead.

In Saturday’s final against UW-Oshkosh, the lone goal was scored in the first minute of the game as freshman forward Brianna Reid slid one past the Titans goalkeeper off an assist by Carly Pottle. The goal marked Reid’s team-leading 12th of the season.

In the two WIAC Tournament games, junior goalkeeper Jordan Myers recorded two shutouts, increasing her season total to eight.

“Compared to other years here, I haven’t had to make nearly as many saves just because I haven’t been shot at as much,” Myers said. “Our whole team has been performing really well and keeping the ball away from my end.”

NCAA Preview

The ’Hawks enter the NCAA Tournament with a 16-0-4 record and are hosting the first two rounds of the tournament, which take place on Saturday and Sunday at Fiskum Field. The St. Scholastica Saints will be the ’Hawks first-round opponent.

“To go through a year with zero losses is pretty remarkable,” Quamme said. “There are 435 teams in Division-III, and I believe one of our women told me there were three or four teams left with no losses in the column. It’s a hard thing to do with the schedule we’ve played.”

The Saints enter with an overall record of 18-2-1 and are riding an 18-game winning streak. During the streak, the Saints have won every game except one by two or more goals.

In the 18 games, the team from Duluth, Minn., has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 94-2.

The team hasn’t played the Saints this season but got the opportunity to see them in a preseason tournament last year.

“Even though we didn’t play them, we know their coaching staff pretty well,” Quamme said. “One of the things that will help us is that we’re a little more battle-tested competition-wise. I think if we stick to our game plan and play well, we’ll be satisfied with the result, win or lose.”

Looking ahead in the ’Hawks’ region, the other two teams in the group of four are the University of Chicago Maroons (11-4-3), who are ranked No. 25 in the latest D3soccer.com rankings and the Capital University Crusaders (16-4-1), who enter the tournament unranked.

The winner of the game between the Maroons and Crusaders will take on the winner of the Warhawks and Saints game.

Within the ’Hawks’ section of eight teams, the undefeated WIAC champions are the highest-ranked team, coming in at No. 14.

The next highest-ranked team is Hanover College (17-1-2), who fall just outside the top-25, receiving 31 votes.

In the same section of 16 teams as the ’Hawks in the bracket, the No. 2-ranked Washington-University of Saint Louis Bears are the top-ranked team, entering the tournament with a 17-1-0 overall record.

In 2012, the ’Hawks were eliminated in the second round, while in 2011, the team got knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen.

Both losses came at the hands of Wheaton College. Despite only being a freshman and going through an undefeated season to this point, Reid is aware of the task at hand.

“I was nervous about [Saturday’s] game, but I’m definitely more excited than nervous now because it’s going to be my first time being in the NCAA Tournament,” Reid said. “Having an undefeated season has helped our confidence. I feel like we can get to the finals if we keep playing the way we’ve been playing.”

Having an undefeated regular season helps team morale, but often times when looking back on a season, teams wish they had suffered a loss to keep the team’s mindset right. For Myers, she said losing a game along the way wasn’t necessary.

“Even though we haven’t lost yet, the fact that we’ve battled back in multiple games and won, that’s what’s prepared us mentally more than having a loss on our record,” Myers said.

More information on the NCAA Tournament bracket can be found at www.ncaa.com.