It is Homecoming week for the Pioneers

Platteville, Wis.- Homecoming week is always a big event at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. Events are scheduled all week with the final event on Saturday, Oct. 15 when UW-Platteville lights the "M" and sets off fireworks to bring a close to Homecoming week. During the week, the Pioneer athletic teams will be in action at home and on the road.

Football picks up road win versus UW-Stevens Point, will welcome UW-River Falls to town 

Head Coach Ryan Munz picked up his first career WIAC victory as the Pioneers rolled past UW-Stevens Point 31-3. Braeden Katcher threw for 117 yards and three touchdowns in his first career start.  Katcher added 84 yards and a touchdown on the ground. The Pioneers rushed for 259 yards, led by Will Lawrence's 87 yards on 12 attempts. 

Garrett Stare caught a career-high six passes for 52 yards and John Goomey's only two receptions were good for touchdowns. 

The Pioneer defense clamped down on the Pointers, allowing only 118 yards on the day. Tyler Bacon filled the stat sheet with seven solo tackles, four tackles for loss, three sacks, two pass deflections and one forced fumble. Samuel Tausz had six tackles and one interception.

UW-Steven Point Recap

The Pioneers (2-3, 1-1 WIAC) will welcome #14 ranked UW-River Falls (4-1, 2-0 WIAC) to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for the annual Homecoming contest on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 1 p.m.

The Falcons average 48.6 points a contest while allowing only 18.2 points. Kaleb Blaha has completed 65% of his passes (93-143). He has thrown 12 touchdowns to only two interceptions. 

UW-River Falls averages 262.2 yards per a game on the ground, led by Blaha's 572 yards on 107 attempts. Michael Krueger has rushed for 228 yards on 54 attempts. Blaha has seven rushing touchdowns, while Krueger has five.

Michael Brown leads a ball hawking defense with four interceptions. As a team, the Falcons have picked off 11 passes. Carson Steen leads the Falcons with 2.5 sacks. Aaron Borgerding has tallied 31 tackles to pace the Falcons. 

Matt Walker is in his 11th season at UW-River Falls with a record of 58-78. 

The Pioneers average 12.2 points a game while allowing 24 points a contest. Katcher, Michael Priami and Nathan Shackelford have all started for the Pioneers at quarterback. Combined, the trio is completing 56.6% of their passes for five touchdowns and five interceptions. 

Tag Habedank leads the Pioneers with 45 rushing attempts for 127 yards. Bryan Smith leads the team with 130 yards on 26 rushes.

Austin Guy has pulled down 21 receptions for 164 yards to lead the Pioneers in both categories. Goomey leads the Pioneers with two touchdown receptions.

Tausz leads the Pioneers' defense with 28 tackles and two interceptions. Bacon leads the Pioneers with three sacks, while Sam Smith leads the team with 4.5 tackles for a loss.

Ryan Munz is in his first year as head coach of the Pioneer football team.

Men's soccer runs unbeaten streak to 10, hit road for a pair in Iowa 

The hottest team on campus continued its winning ways on Oct. 8 when they defeated Concordia University Wisconsin 2-1. Jack Gentilli scored his team leading seventh goal to break a 1-1 tie in the 85th minute. Gentilli assisted on a Lucas Schoeneberg goal in the fourth minute to open scoring.

CUW Recap and Photos

The Pioneers (9-2-1) will travel to Luther College (8-1-3, 2-0-2 ARC) on Tuesday, Oct. 11 for a 7 p.m. contest. The Norse have scored 44 goals, while allowing only 10. Marcos Vila and Javier Pastor Valls lead the Norse with nine goals apiece. 

The Pioneers will return to Iowa when they travel to Wartburg College (5-1-6, 1-0-3) on Friday, Oct. 14 for a 7:30 p.m. contest. The Knights have scored 17 goals, while allowing 10 this year. Edvin Rizvic and Michael Dunn lead the knights with three goals apiece. 

Gentilli leads the Pioneers with seven goals and seven assists. Clayton Mobile has four goals. Four Pioneers have tallied three goals apiece.

Sam Koenig is in his fourth year as head coach of the Pioneer men's soccer team with a career record of 30-15-6.

Ash named Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete at WIAC Championships

The Pioneer golf team wrapped up the 2022 fall season at the WIAC Golf Championships (presented by Culver's) in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Markie Ash finished her decorated career with a ninth-place finish and being named the WIAC Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Pioneers finished seventh as a team. The Pioneers golf program will take the winter off before the spring schedule begins. 

WIAC Championship Recap 

Smith sets school assists record as women's soccer split a pair of conference contests, travel to UW-Oshkosh next

The Pioneers dropped a tightly contested 1-0 contest at UW-Whitewater on Oct. 5. The Warhawks netted the lone goal in the 80th minute. The Pioneers couldn't get one past Warhawk goalkeeper Jude Dobrinska to even the score.

UW-Whitewater Recap

The Pioneers would rebound against UW-River Falls on Oct. 8. Lydia Smith broke the single season assists record with a pair of assists in the Pioneers' 3-1 victory over UW-River Falls. Smith tied the school record with her 10th assist to Katherine Ohlwein in the third minute to open scoring. She would break the school record with her 11th assist to Jenna Gravitt in the 53rd minute to give the Pioneers a two-goal lead. Smith will now set her sights on the career assists record of 19. She currently has 15 career assists.

UW-River Falls Recap and Photos

The Pioneers (9-3-1, 2-1 WIAC) will travel to UW-Oshkosh (3-5-4, 0-1-2 WIAC) for the lone contest this week on Saturday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. Greta Steines and Rylie Kaufmann have scored five goals apiece to lead the Titans. The Titans have scored 30 goals while allowing 21.

Smith, Ohlwein, Alyssa Peterson and Maddi Spencer-Strong lead a balanced scoring attack for the Pioneers with four goals apiece. Smith leads the WIAC with 11 assists, while Gravitt is second with eight assists.

Sam Koenig is in his second season as head coach with a career record of 18-9-4. 

Volleyball drops four-set match to UW-Whitewater, big week ahead on home court 

The Pioneer women's volleyball team dropped a four-set match to UW-Whitewater on Oct. 4. The league leading Warhawks raced out to an early two set lead before the Pioneers took set three 25-12. The Warhawks would end the match in set four with a 25-14 win. Emma Carlson led the team with 15 blocks, while Kierney McDonald led the team with four blocks. Bri Gartner recorded 16 digs from her libero position. 

UW-Whitewater Recap 

A stretch of five straight home matches begins on Tuesday, Oct. 11 when the Pioneers (15-5, 1-3 WIAC) welcomes the University of Dubuque Spartans (9-11, 3-2 ARC) to Bo Ryan Court for Youth Night. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Pioneers will honor Hall of Fame Coach Deb Schulman between the second and third set. 

The Pioneers return to Bo Ryan Court when they welcome WIAC rival UW-La Crosse (9-12, 1-3 WIAC) to town on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. The contest with the Eagles is the popular Yell Night contest. Campus organizations and groups from UW-Platteville will see who can cheer on the Pioneers the loudest and most creative ways. Yell Night is always one of the top attended NCAA Division III volleyball contests every year.

The Pioneers will host a one-day invitational on Saturday, Oct. 15. UW-La Crosse will stay the night in Platteville following the conference match up and be joined by Augustana College and Carthage College. UW-La Crosse and Augustana will play the first match of the day at 11 a.m. UW-Platteville will face Augustana at 1 p.m. while UW-La Crosse faces Carthage. The Pioneers and Carthage will finish the invite off at 3 p.m. Saturday is also alumni day for the Volleyball program.

Samantha Birkicht is in her sixth year at UW-Platteville, with a career record of 68-72. 

Men's and women's cross country returns after week off 

The Pioneers will return to action after a week off. The men and women's programs will compete at the UW-La Crosse Drews/Neubauer Invite in West Salem, Wisconsin, on Saturday, Oct. 15. The women's race will begin at 11:20 a.m. and the men will follow at noon.

Tom Antczak is in his 31st year at UW-Platteville as the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams.

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.