By Kali Schmieding Nov. 5, 2014

Freshman midfielder Marie Lesperance led the UW-Whitewater women’s soccer team with her first collegiate hat trick in their final regular season game against Marian College.

The 8-0 victory on senior night extended their 14-game win streak. The team improved to 17-2 tying the school record of 17 wins in one season from 2013.

Sophomore forward Brianna Reid wasted no time by scoring the first goal of the game within the first two minutes. She was assisted by senior midfielder Kaitlyn Fritsch.

“We came out very strong and got on Marian very early,” senior goalie Jordan Myers said.  “We were expecting more of a tough fought battle for that game, but we put them away in the first ten minutes of the game and that made the rest of the game easy.”

Less than a minute later, Lesperance scored her first of three goals of the game off an assist by senior goalkeeper Emily Haeger.

Lesperance went on to score the next goal of the match in the 11th minute.  The goal was assisted by sophomore forward Carly Pottle and junior midfielder Jenna Woodson.

“Marie Lesperance had three goals,” head coach Ryan Quamme said. “So whenever someone gets a hat trick that is a very good game for them.  Brianna Reid scored an early goal in the first minute and that kinda set the tone.”

Two minutes later, senior midfielder Sarah Sedlar scored the fourth goal of the match off an assist from freshman forward Jordan Jackson.

Sophomore defender Sierra High scored right before the half to take the 5-0 lead over Marian.

At the start of the second half, Pottle assisted Jackson on her third goal of the season.  Jackson’s goal was followed by Lesperance’s third goal of the game. Jackson went on to score the final goal assisted by Pottle again.

“I think the game was excellent,” Quamme said. “It was senior night and sometimes that can be a big distraction, but I think it helped us. I think we were motivated, very focused, and we executed early on. It made the game a lot easier to watch.”

The ’Hawks earned a first round bye in the WIAC conference tournament. They will host the lowest remaining seed after two quarterfinals games on Nov. 4.

“I expect whoever we get on Thursday whether it’s Stout, Lacrosse or River Falls to give us a good game just like they did the first time we played them,” Quamme said.  “I think there is a lot of depth in our conference so there is no easy game especially when you get to this point. Those teams are playing for the rights of the NCAA tournament as well, so we expect a good match on Thursday night.”

Quamme and Myers both said they have a lot of confidence in the team entering postseason play.

“Somebody’s gotta win it, why not us?” Myers said.

The ’Hawks semi-final game of the WIAC tournament will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 6 on Fiskum Field.