By Josh Sinclair
Nov. 18, 2015
For the second time in school history, the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women’s soccer team will advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Warhawks (19-4) defeated Carroll University and Wheaton College to advance to the third round of the tournament.
“It feels great being the second team to make it this far,” forward Brianna Reid said. “We’ve worked hard to get this far and it’s paying off now. We know we are capable of winning any game.”
The Warhawks have already proven they can win in the tournament. The ’Hawks defeated Carroll University on Nov. 13, 1-0.
The Warhawks outshot the Pioneers 26-14 and earned 10 corner kicks to their one.
“The girls attention to detail and execution of our game plan has been crucial to our success and we look forward to continuing that approach this weekend,” coach Ryan Quamme said.
The game against Carroll started fast, with each team getting 10 shots in the first half. Freshman goalie Erin Doody had five saves to preserve the shutout for UW-W.
After 90 minutes of play the game remained tied and the teams went into overtime. The game ended just two minutes into overtime when freshman defender Adria Schueler crossed a ball into the box and found Reid for the game-winning header.
It was Reid’s 10th game winner of the year, which leads the nation.
“Each season we attempt to play a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare our team for post season play,” Quamme said. “Our schedule this year has been challenging with multiple competitive home and away matches. Our schedule has allowed our team to face many difficult situations and moments to grow from throughout the season for both as a team and individually.”
In a complete reversal of the first tournament game, the Warhawks got out to a fast start. Whitewater earned two corners in the first seven minutes to put immediate pressure on the Thunder.
In the eighth minute, forward Carly Pottle tipped a ball into the air to midfielder Marie Lesperance who headed it in for a 1-0 UW-W lead.
The score remained the same heading into halftime with the Warhawks clinging to the smallest of leads.
In the 72nd minute Reid received a pass from Morgan Beaty and doubled the lead. It was the 20th goal of the season for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference offensive player of the year.
The Warhawks held onto the 2-0 victory to advance to the sweet 16. With the win on Saturday, Whitewater set a school record for wins with 19. The record breaks last year total of 18.
Since losing to UW-Lacrosse and UW-Oshkosh, the Warhawks have won five consecutive “win or go home” games.
“Whatever losses we had this year, we didn’t let it affect us,” Reid said. “We’ve bounced back and learned from our mistakes as a team. If anything, it has helped motivate us to play even harder.”
The Warhawks next game is a rematch against Illinois-Wesleyan, who the Warhawks lost to 1-0 early in September.
The ’Hawks will face Illinois-Wesleyan University, at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 20 in St. Louis, Missouri. The ’Hawks previously lost to the Titans 1-0 in the first game of the season.
