The UW-Whitewater men’s soccer team won their opening WIAC game over UW-Stevens Point 1-0 at Fiskum Field Oct. 4. The Warhawks kicked off their conference journey with a strong win against a strong Stevens Point side.
The only goal of the game came from junior forward Aiden Glancey. In the 22nd minute of the first-half, the Warhawks got a throw-in, in which Glancey gained possession after the ball was inside Stevens Point’s penalty box. His goal was assisted by senior defender Adam Kaup, who came on as a substitute just before the throw-in.
“I can’t take much credit for it honestly,” Glancey said. “Cooper saw us winning the throw-in and Adam [Kaup] had a really good throw-in into the box. I just happened to be in the right place in the right time. They cleared it of that line and I was right there, and I just had to get something on it.”
As the second half kicked off, both teams went with high intensity. As the Warhawks looked to extend their lead, Stevens Point went on defense with a counter-attacking style of play. As the rest of the game played out, both sides picked up a total of six yellow cards as the heat of the WIAC came into effect.
With multiple set pieces and fouls during the second half, the Warhawks started conference play on a strong note. As head coach Tony Guinn looks to make his side win all of the remaining matches for the rest of the season.
“I think this team could win 10 games in-a-row,” Guinn said. “In my little mind, today was one and we have nine more. And I believe we can win nine in-a-row.”
With the coach’s confidence, other players of this Whitewater squad have their eye in making a good conference run. Senior captain Copper Re felt positive of his fellow teammates. Despite Re being a forward, he and his teammates show how valuable the defense can be in conference play.
“We got a couple guys who are unbelievably [good] at heading the ball,’ Re said. “Anything that comes their way we are grateful. Because when it goes their way, we know it’s going to get headed out. That’s kind of a luxury we have.”
A luxury as the Warhawks show how air time defense can be valuable in preventing their opponents from scoring.
As the Warhawks aim to win the WIAC title, they showed how tough the first match can be for the conference, especially as the intensity of the second half played out. Sophomore forward Luka Breslin recapped how the hard work of his teammates helped in beating this strong Stevens Point side.
“It was a difficult game back and forth, a lot of headers, a lot of defensive pressure for us,” Breslin said. “We worked very hard as a unit and very happy to come out with a 1-0 win tonight.”
The Warhawks walked off Family Fest night with a much needed win as they look to win this year’s conference title. The team is looking to give it their all.
“Winning the WIAC is the biggest thing for us,” Glancey said. “We are just going to keep working hard, keep training, keep being positive and keep working for each other.”
The Warhawks play their next game at UW-Stout Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
