Munz gets first career win, volleyball stays perfect
Platteville, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville athletic teams had a very successful week. The Pioneer volleyball team improved to 9-0 on the year, the men’s soccer team picked up a win and tie, while the women’s soccer team notched two more victories. With all the wins, the biggest win goes to the UW-Platteville football team as they knocked off #11 ranked Bethel College 10-7 to give Head Coach Ryan Munz his first career victory.
Platteville, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville athletic teams had a very successful week. The Pioneer volleyball team improved to 9-0 on the year, the men's soccer team picked up a win and tie, while the women's soccer team notched two more victories. With all the wins, the biggest win goes to the UW-Platteville football team as they knocked off #11 ranked Bethel College 10-7 to give Head Coach Ryan Munz his first career victory.
Football knocks off #11 ranked Bethel, prepare for a top #25 showdown
The 50th year of Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium opened on Sept. 10 with an impressive victory for the Pioneers. Facing a fourth and one from their own 33-yard line with 1:44 remaining, sophomore Tag Habedank picked up two yards and a first down to ice the game away and hand Head Coach Ryan Munz his first career victory.
Habedank led the Pioneers with 122 rushing yards on 32 attempts in the 10-7 victory over d3football.com #11 ranked Bethel University. Habedank got the Pioneers on the board with his first career touchdown from seven yards out late in the first quarter. Senior Andrew Schweigert connected from 49-yards out late in the first half.
The Pioneer defense once again was lights out on third down. The Pioneers held the Royals to two first downs in 13 attempts on third down. The Pioneers were plus two in the turnover department. Both teams lost a fumble, while the Pioneers picked off two George Bolt passes. The Pioneers held the Royals to 162 yards of total offense.
Life doesn't get any easier for the Pioneers, as they will welcome d3football.com #6 Hardin-Simmons for a 1 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 17, at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. The Cowboys are coming off a bye week after opening the season with an impressive 79-14 victory at Wayland Baptist on Sept. 3.
The Cowboys put up 642 yards of offense in the win. Senior quarterback Gaylon Glynn completed 72% of his passes (18-of-25) and threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns. Freshman running back Noah Garcia led the cowboys on the ground. On six touches, he racked up 122 yards and two touchdowns. As a team, the Cowboys rushed for 293 yards on 36 attempts, an average of 8.1 yards a carry.
Eleven different Cowboys hauled in a pass from Glynn, led by senior wideout Gatlin Martin. Martin caught six passes for 43 yards and one touchdown. Senior wideout Kevi Evens had 68 receiving yards on three catches.
Freshman kicker Grayson Bearden is perfect in the kicking department. He has hit all 10 extra point attempts and nailed a 25-yard field goal on his loan field goal try.
Junior defensive lineman Nathaniel Finch recorded the only two sacks the Cowboys recorded in 2022. Senior linebacker Matt Mitchell leads the team with eight tackles.
Jesse Burleson is in his 12th season as head football coach of the Cowboys.
The Pioneers entered the d3football.com rankings after the victory over Bethel. The Pioneers enter the contest with the Cowboys at #24. Junior quarterback Nathan Shackelford has completed 65.1% (28-of-43) his passes. He is averaging 116 yards a game and has thrown two touchdown passes.
Following his 122-yard performance versus Bethel, Habedank leads the Pioneers in rushing with 119 yards on 37 attempts and one touchdown.
Junior wideout Austin Guy leads the Pioneers with 15 receptions for 108 yards. Senior Brandt Stare and junior Lucas Petersen have caught touchdown passes from Shackelford.
Senior linebacker Sam Smith leads the defense with 13 tackles. He has one of the four Pioneer sacks and one pass broken up. Seniors Justin Blazek, Tyler Bacon and Jack Dietzen each have one sack in 2022. Bacon leads the Pioneers with 4.5 tackles for loss.
Senior Samuel Tausz and Sean McMillan each picked off a pass versus the Royals to tie for the team lead in interceptions.
Schweigert is perfect on his two extra point tries and 1-of-3 on field goal attempts.
The Pioneers are averaging 230.0 yards a game, while allowing a stingy 187.5 yards a game.
Ryan Munz is in his first year as head coach of the Pioneer football team.
Volleyball improves to 9-0, welcome defending NCAA Division III UW-Eau Claire to town
The women's volleyball team stayed perfect with five more victories this past week. The Pioneers opened with a straight set victory over Beloit College. Sophomore outside hitter Kylie Greenfield recorded seven kills to lead the Pioneers over Beloit.
As a team, the Pioneers hit .706 in the third set and .365 for the match.
Beloit Recap
The Pioneers continued the hot play on Sept. 9 at the Coe College Invite. The Pioneers swept pass Carroll College in the opening match. Sophomore outside hitter Madilyn Schultz led the Pioneers with nine kills. Junior Claudia Johnson recorded six blocks in the sweep.
The Pioneers would need five sets to get past host Coe College. Johnson led a trio of Pioneers with double digit kills with 18. She hit an impressive .469 on 32 swings. Freshman Kierney McDonald had 16 kills and sophomore Emma Carlson added 12 kills of her own.
Carrol and Coe Recap
The Pioneers finished off the invite with two more sweeps. The Pioneers have swept seven of the nine matches in 2022. In the first game on Sept. 10, the Pioneers swept Saint Olaf in three closely contested matches. Johnson led the Pioneers with 12 kills while freshman Bri Garner recorded 18 digs.
In the final match of the invite, the Pioneers handled Buena Vista. Schultz recorded 11 kills while McDonald recorded four blocks to lead the Pioneers.
St. Olaf and Buena Vista Recap
The Pioneer (9-0, 0-0 WIAC) volleyball team will be the first fall varsity team to play a conference contest. The Pioneers welcome defending NCAA Division III National Champions UW-Eau Claire (4-3, 0-0 WIAC) to Williams Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m.
Senior Arianna Barrett leads the Blugolds with 3.24 kills per set, fourth in the WIAC. She is hitting .232 on 224 swings. Junior Charlie Nelson directs the offense. She averages 10 assists a set, second in the WIAC.
Kim Wudi is in her 15th year at UW-Eau Claire with a career record of 345-149.
McDonald leads the WIAC in hitting percentage, hitting .389 on 144 attacks. Carlson is fifth in the WIAC in kills per a set with 3.10 kills per set. Senior setter Sam Rossetti averages 9.33 assists a set, good for third in the WIAC.
Samantha Birkicht is in her sixth year at UW-Platteville, with a career record of 62-67.
Following the match with the Blugolds, the Pioneers will travel to Aurora University for three matches. They will open versus Millikin on Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. They will face Aurora on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 11 a.m. before finishing with Rose-Hulman at 1 p.m.
Women's soccer picks up two wins after dropping first contest, prepare for Nebraska Wesleyan
The Pioneers continued to get strong goalkeeping and defense in three contests. The Pioneers allowed only two games for the week but were held scoreless against Carroll in a 1-0 defeat.
Carrol Recap
The Pioneers didn't have much time to think about the first loss of the season as they played two days later at North Park University. Senior Emma Ball stopped the only shot she faced on goal, while sophomore Anna Spindle scored her first goal of the year off a pass from freshman Jenna Gravitt.
North Park Recap
The Pioneers returned to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium for the first time in 2022 and exploded offensively. The Pioneers raced out to a 5-0 lead before Coe College scored on a penalty kick late in the game for the lone Kohawk goal.
Spindle opened the scoring off a beautiful pass from Gravitt to make it 1-0. Lauren Lodico, Vanessa Peterson, Maddi Spencer-Strong and Alyssa Peterson all found the back of the net for the Pioneers. Gravitt assisted on three of the five goals.
The Pioneers (4-1, 0-0 WIAC) will continue non-conference play when they travel to Indianola, Iowa, to face Nebraska Wesleyan (4-2, 0-0 ARC) in a neutral contest on Friday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m.
Senior Megan Cooper leads the Prairie Wolves with three goals. Nebraska Wesleyan as a team has scored seven goals, while giving up nine.
Lodico and Alyssa Peterson lead the Pioneers with three goals apiece. Spindle has two goals, while Vanessa Peterson, Lydia Smith, Spencer-Strong and senior Emma Willard each have one. Willard is the lone senior to score this season.
Gravitt leads the team with five assists. Smith has three assists, freshman Katherine Ohlwein has two assists, while freshman Sarah Conroy and Willard each have one assist.
The Pioneers have scored 12 goals, while allowing only three. Ball has only allowed two goals and recorded two shut outs in 2022.
Sam Koenig is in his second season as head coach with a career record of 13-7-3.
Men's soccer gets first win of season, three contests on schedule for this week
The Pioneers gave up a quick goal at Carrol University before scoring the next three to earn the 3-1 victory on Sept. 6. Sophomore Trevor Hudson scored his first goal for the Pioneers to tie the game at 1-1. Freshman Alester Dawson would get the game-winning goal nine minutes later. Sophomore Clayton Mobile would give the Pioneers a little breathing room in the second half with his first goal of the season.
Carrol Recap
The Pioneers welcomed Saint John's University to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Sept. 10 for the first home contest of the year. The Pioneers and Johnnies played to a 0-0 draw in the first half. St. John's University found the back of the net at the 75-minute mark to take the 1-0 lead.
With eight minutes left, junior Jack Gentilli found Mobile for the game-tying goal. The Pioneers and Johnnies would end 1-1. There was no overtime, per a new rule introduced in 2022 for men's and women's soccer.
For the first time since 2014, a Pioneers men's soccer member was honored by a conference. Mobile was honored by the Coast-to-Coast Conference as the male soccer player of the week.
The Pioneers (1-2-1) will open and close the week at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium. They will welcome Wheaton College (2-2, 0-0 CCIW) to town on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 7 p.m.
The Pioneers will head to Indianola, Iowa, to face Simpson College (4-1, 0-0 ARC) on Friday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m.
The final home game of the week will have Albion College (1-3-1, 0-0 MIAA) visit Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 18 at noon.
Dawson and Mobile lead the Pioneers with two goals, while Hudson has one goal. Gentilli leads the Pioneers with two assists, while freshman Danny Gutzwiller has one assist.
The Pioneers are averaging 1.25 goals per game, while allowing an average of 1.75.
Sam Koenig is in his fourth year as head coach of the Pioneer men's soccer team with a career record of 22-15-6.
Golf to compete in Loras College Fall Invite
Following a week off, the Pioneer women's golf team returns to action at the Loras College Fall Invite. The Pioneers will tee it up on Sunday, Sept. 18 at Woodbine Bend Golf Course in Stockton, Illinois. Round two will be played at The Meadows Golf Club in Asbury, Iowa, on Monday, Sept. 19. Tee times have not been announced yet.
Men's and women's cross country to compete at St. Olaf Invite
The final fall teams will compete for the first time in 2022. The men's and women's cross country team will travel to the Saint Olaf College Invitational in Northfield, Minnesota, on Saturday, Sept. 17. The women's race will begin at 10 a.m. with the men to follow at 11 a.m.
The Pioneers will compete at home on Saturday, Sept. 24 at the Pioneer Gender Equity Invite. The unique race will see the men's race start at 10:30 a.m. and the women's race to start at 10:32:40 a.m. Both genders will be on the Cole Acres Golf Course simultaneously and finish together.
Tom Antczak is in his 31st year at UW-Platteville as the head coach of the men's and women's cross country teams.
Plays of the Week
Each week of competition, the Pioneers will hold a weekly vote for Pioneer fans to tell us their favorite play of the week. Watch the video and go to this link to vote for your favorite play. Voting ends Thursday at 8 a.m.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBW5SwcYgYk
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.