Pioneers prepare for Homecoming, men’s soccer stays hot, cross country to honor 1970 team

Platteville, Wis.-After a year break from in-person Homecoming celebrations, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville will celebrate in person in 2021. The weeklong celebration will end when the Pioneer football team plays host to UW-Stevens Point at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.

Pioneers' cross country have personal best performance, will honor 1970 team Saturday

UW-Platteville's men and women's cross country teams competed at the Drews/Newbauer Invite, hosted by UW-La Crosse on Oct. 15. The top five runners in the men's 8,000-meter race and women's 6,000-meter race set a personal best. The women placed 12th out of 20 teams, while the men placed 15th out of 23 teams.

Junior Caleb Christiansen finished 55th with a time of 26:23.49. Kaitlyn Galgon finished 14th with a time of 22:42.62.

Drews/Newbauer Invite recap, men's results, women's results, and photos

The Pioneers will return to UW-Whitewater on Friday, Oct. 22 for the Warhawk Open. The women's race will start at 4 p.m. and the men will follow at 4:45 p.m.

UW-Platteville will honor the 1970 cross country team Saturday during the football game. The 1970 cross country team won the Wisconsin State University College cross country championship and went on to finish 13th in the national meet.

Members and supporters of the 1970 team will have a social gathering Friday, Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. at the Platteville Country Club. Head Coach Tom Vail and members of the team will be in attendance. On Saturday, Oct. 23 they plan to attend the Homecoming parade before heading over to the football game where they will be honored. The celebration will end with attendance at the traditional lighting of the "M."

For more information on the 1970 cross country reunion and Homecoming events, visit this link.

Tom Antczak is in his 30th year at UW-Platteville.

Men's soccer runs unbeaten streak to 12 with three road wins 

The men's soccer team spent the last week on the road where they picked up three victories to continue their winning ways. The Pioneers opened the week by defeating Coe College 4-0. Freshman Lucas Godon got the Pioneers on the board in the 17th minute of the first half. Goalkeepers Chase Werner, Will Sulivan and Erik Eilertson split time in goal. For a second consecutive game, the Pioneers did not allow a shot on goal.

Coe Recap

Freshman Jacob Keller scored the lone goal in the 37th minute of the first half as the Pioneers knocked off Loras College on Oct. 15. Chase Werner stopped all seven shots he faced. The shutout was the fourth in a row for the Pioneers.

Loras Recap

The Pioneers traveled to Minneapolis to battle Bethel on Oct. 17. The Pioneers scored four goals in the second half to run away with a 5-1 victory. Sophomore Jack Gentilli continues to find the back of the net, getting the Pioneers on the board in the first half. Gentilli would score the game winning goal early in the second half.

Bethel Recap

The Pioneers (10-2-2) will open the week on the road when they battle Augustana College on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. The Vikings enter the contest with a 4-8 record. Sebastian Gabrielson and Jarrett Baumgartner lead the Vikings with four goals each. The Vikings are allowing 2.5 goals a game, while only scoring 1.25.

The Pioneers will return to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Friday, Oct. 22 when Luther College visits for a 7:30 p.m. start. The Norse enter the week with a 9-4-2 record. Will Overberg leads the Norse with 13 goals. The Norse average 3.07 goals a game, while allowing only 1.13.

Gentilli leads the Pioneers with 11 goals and six assists. The Pioneers average 2.64 goals a contest while giving up 0.90. Seven Pioneer freshmen have scored at least two goals on the year, and nine freshmen have at least one goal. Werner has started 11 of the 14 matches. He allows 0.61 goals a match with an 85.7 save percentage.

Sam Koenig is in his third year at UW-Platteville with a career record of 18-10-5.

Pioneers sweep UW-River Falls on senior night, host Yell Night 

UW-Platteville honored four seniors on Oct. 15 before facing off against UW-River Falls. After senior introductions, the Pioneers quickly swept away the Falcons. Senior Kaite Asche had a memorable senior night with a career high 12 blocks. Asche missed the school record by one block, which was set by Katie Jones in 2017 in a four-set match vs. Westminister (Mo.)

Senior Olivia Kudronowicz led the Pioneers with nine kills while senior Lita Solbrig had seven.

UW-River Falls recap and photos

The Pioneers dropped the first match of the week to Coe College 3-0. Asche led the Pioneers in both blocks and kills with seven and four.

Coe recap

Asche was named WIAC Kwik Trip Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts vs. Coe and UW-River Falls.

The Pioneers (11-12, 1-4 WIAC) will welcome nationally ranked UW-Whitewater (20-1, 4-1 WIAC) to Williams Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. for Yell Night. The yearly Homecoming tradition pits campus organizations in a yelling competition during the volleyball match, which produces an electric environment.

Jenna Weinfurt leads the Warhawks with 206 kills. Kirsten Anderson and Morgan Wardall share the lead with 61 blocks.

Stacy Boudreau is in her 16th season at UW-Whitewater and 19th season overall. She has a career record of 524-159.

Following Yell Night, the Pioneers will welcome Grinnell College to Williams Fieldhouse on Friday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. Also named the Pioneers, Grinnell comes into the week with a 16-10 record. Kaylin Kuhn leads Grinnell with 352 kills and 44 service aces.

The Pioneers will finish the week on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Carleton Triangular. The first match is at 3 p.m. as they battle St. Scholastica. They will finish the triangular playing host Carleton at 5 p.m. 

Freshman Emma Carlson leads the Pioneers with 241 kills. Asche leads the Pioneers with 92 blocks and 34 service aces. Junior Sam Rossetti and sophomore Abby Feldmann have split time setting for the Pioneers. Rossetti has 395 assists, while Feldmann has 389.

Samantha Birkicht is in her fifth year as head volleyball coach at UW-Platteville. She has a career record of 51-63.

Women's soccer plays another double overtime match, pick up non-conference win 

UW-Platteville's women's soccer team is 0-3-1 in the WIAC. All four matches have gone to overtime with three of them going to double overtime. The Pioneers dropped a conference match vs. UW-Oshkosh 1-0 on Oct. 16.

UW-Oshkosh recap

The Pioneers opened up the week with a 2-1 road victory at Beloit College on Oct. 13.  Senior Amber Lueder opened up the scoring early in the first half and freshman Bryanne Pinkowski scored early in the second half to put the Pioneers up two. Beloit cut the lead to one in the 72nd minute, but Emma Ball would not face another shot on goal as the Pioneers closed out the victory.

Beloit recap

The Pioneers opened Homecoming week with a non-conference match up on Oct. 18 vs. North Park at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. The Pioneers and Vikings exchanged a pair of first half goals to enter the half tied 1-1. The Pioneers capitalized on a Viking misplay to take a 2-1 lead, and the Vikings capitalized on a penalty kick to tie it up.

Freshman Lauren Lodico scored the game winner in the 74th minute and freshman Lydia Smith added some insurance in the 81st minute. Junior Onalee Erickson picked up the win in goal, saving four shots.

North Park recap and photos 

The Pioneers (8-3-3, 0-3-1 WIAC) will finish the week off with a pair of road conference matches and a non-conference match. The Pioneers will travel to UW-La Crosse (11-2-2, 4-0 WIAC) on Wednesday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. Ainsley Allan leads the Eagles with eight goals. The Eagles are outscoring their opponents 39-16.

Jason Murphy is in his seventh season at UW-La Crosse and 11th season overall as a head coach. He has a career record of 133-67-21.

The Pioneers will return to the road for a two-game road trip. The Pioneers will start off with a conference game at UW-Stevens Point on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. Following the match vs. the Pointers, the Pioneers will travel to Finlandia University for a match on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m.

The Pointers enter the week with a 6-9 record and 2-2 in the WIAC. Katie Frierdich leads the Pointers with eight goals. The Pointers have allowed 31 goals, while scoring 24.

Dawn Crow is in her sixth season at UW-Stevens Point and eighth season overall. She enters the week with a career record of 56-76.

Finlandia enters the week with a 5-7-1 record. Shannon Mattson leads the Lions with three goals. The Lions have allowed 34 goals, while scoring 16.

Lueder leads the Pioneers with seven goals. Eight freshmen have scored at least one goal on the year. Freshman Lydia Smith leads the Pioneers with four assists. The Pioneers have outscored their opponents 25-10.

Sam Koenig is in his first year as director of soccer.

Football to host Pointers for annual Homecoming game

The Pioneer football team will look to bounce back from another tight loss and pick up their first home victory of the year. The Pioneers' three losses at home have been by a combined 10 points. The Pioneers (1-5, 0-3 WIAC) will welcome UW-Stevens Point (2-4, 0-3 WIAC) to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 23.

Max Herro has completed 51.2% of his passes for 760 yards and seven touchdowns. Markell Outlaw leads the Pointers with 18 receptions. Joe Hare has four receiving touchdowns.

Vercion Gammel leads the Pointers with 361 rushing yards on 79 attempts. Jahl Stigall has two rushing touchdowns.

Kameron Kryzanski leads the Pointers with 64 tackles. Malik Smith and Ahmad Blake each have three sacks on the year.

The Pointers average 340.2 yards a game, while allowing 343.8. They average 21 points a game, while giving up 30.7.

Greg Breitbach is in his third season at UW-Stevens Point and eighth overall as a head coach. He has a career record of 19-62.

Senior Colin Schuetz has completed 60.9% of his passes for 1,901 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior Ben Wilson has 37 receptions and one receiving touchdown. Junior Brandt Stare and Austin Guy lead the Pioneers with four receiving touchdowns.

Junior Tyler Lamer has rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 48 attempts. Schuetz has also rushed for two touchdowns.

Junior linebacker Sam Smith leads the Pioneers in tackles (60) and tackle for loss (4.5). Junior Tyler Bacon leads the team with four sacks.

The Pioneers are averaging 388.5 yards and 26.3 points a game. They have allowed 472 yards and 34.7 points a game.

Mike Emendorfer is in his 23rd year at UW-Platteville with an overall record of 109-109. 

To follow the Pioneers all season, visit www.Letsgopioneers.com for links for live stats, postgame recaps and links for the contests that are live streamed. Follow the official social media accounts of Pioneer Athletics on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.