By Josh Sinclair
Oct. 21, 2015
The 14th-ranked UW-Whitewater women’s soccer team had won 33-straight WIAC regular season games. That streak ended on Oct. 17 when the ’Hawks lost 1-0 in overtime against UW-La Crosse.
The setback drops the ’Hawks to 13-3 overall and 4-1 in the WIAC. The Eagles take over first place in the league with an overall record of 12-3 and a league record of 5-0.
“La Crosse is an organized team who plays to their strengths extremely well and are playing with a great deal of confidence at the moment,” head coach Ryan Quamme said.
In four seasons as head coach, Quamme had never lost a conference game.
“It was a great and exciting game as both created numerous opportunities and in the end,” Guamme said. “La Crosse should be awarded for their hard work on and off the ball and capitalizing on their chances.”
In the first 90 minutes, the Warhawks fired off 18 shots to the Eagles 11. In overtime, UW-W’s offense was in command, taking four shots while La Crosse got off just one, but the Eagles made their shot count.
It took 95 minutes of scoreless, physical play, before La Crosse scored to end the match and take home the win.
After the match, senior Jenna Woodson was recognized for her four years of play at UW-W. She will go down as one of the most decorated athletes in school history.
“Playing at Whitewater is like nothing else I can imagine,” Woodson said. “The best part about playing soccer here, is all the friends I’ve made. Every year our team has become a family. I just can’t explain the feeling of togetherness, we just have it.”
Prior to the loss, the Warhawks played extended its streak.
The Warhawks went to Fond du Lac to take on the Marian University. The Warhawks walked away with a 4-0 victory, led by junior Brianna Reid who scored a pair of goals.
Reid scored a goal just six minutes into the game. The rest of the first half was relatively quiet, but the second half had more to offer for UW-W.
Sophomore Marie Lesperance had a goal and an assist just four minutes apart and the ’Hawks took a 3-0 lead. Freshman Karina Rosales scored a goal in the 73rd minute to top off the 4-0 score.
“We’ve had a couple of girls take big strides forward this year and it has really helped our team get better,” Quamme said.
On Oct. 14, UW-W was able to shutout UW-Platteville and took a 3-0 victory from the Pioneers.
The Warhawks defense allowed zero shots on goal in the match.
The ’Hawks offense was strong with a goal in the 13th minute of play by sophomore Morgan Beaty to give the Warhawks some breathing room. The Warhawks bombarded the Platteville goalie with 20 shots in the first half alone.
The last Warhawk goal was an own goal by Platteville, which ended the scoring with a final score of 3-0.
“We still have two important road games remaining in the season and the goal will be to win those two games to put us in position for the highest WIAC finish possible and the ability to host the WIAC Tournament,” Quamme said.
The ’Hawks will play again at 2 p.m. on Oct. 24 in Menominee to take on UW-Stout.
