Pioneers Athletic Teams Look To Continue Strong Starts
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville athletic teams continued a strong fall campaign over the past week, with multiple teams recording victories. The men’s soccer program increased its win streak to five games, while the volleyball team collected three sweeps over the weekend at the MSOE Invitational.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin-Platteville athletic teams continued a strong fall campaign over the past week, with multiple teams recording victories. The men's soccer program increased its win streak to five games, while the volleyball team collected three sweeps over the weekend at the MSOE Invitational.
Men's Soccer increases win streak to five
With a pair of shutout wins over Augustana and Central (Iowa) this past week, the men's soccer team has improved to 6-2-1 over the course of a five-game win streak.
The team scored eight times in a home win over Augustana on Tuesday evening, with five different players recording a goal. Freshman Danny Gutzwiller netted a pair of goals on set pieces, while freshmen Ethan Dietrich and Bryan Higgs both scored the first two goals of their Pioneers career.
On Saturday against Central (Iowa), the offense only scored once, but the defense and freshman goalkeeper Seth Aiken kept the Dutch off the board. Sophomore Lucas Godon scored the winning goal for the Pioneers in the 55th minute.
Central (Iowa) Recap.
UW-Platteville looks to continue the win streak on Tuesday, Sept. 27 when it travels to face Dubuque at 5 p.m. The Spartans currently sit at 4-3-2 on the season, most recently playing Luther College last Saturday to a 1-1 draw.
The Pioneers return home on Saturday, Oct. 1 to host Loras at 7 p.m. for Alumni weekend. The Duhawks are 5-3 on the year with a 1-0 loss to UW-Eau Claire their last time out.
Women's Soccer kicks off WIAC play Saturday, wraps up three-game week
The women's soccer program, coming off a 1-1-1 week, will travel to Dubuque on Tuesday before hosting UW-Stout to open conference play on Saturday afternoon.
The team competed in a 2-2 draw against Augustana at home Tuesday evening to open the week. Freshmen Maddi Spencer-Strong and Madeline Ohlwein scored early for the Pioneers, but the Vikings evened the game in the second to force the draw.
The offense produced four goals in the first 20 minutes of play at Cornell College on Thursday to help the team win 5-0. Lydia Smith scored the first goal in the first 25 seconds and added her second of the game six minutes later. Alyssa Peterson and Katherine Ohlwein each scored first half-goals, while Bella De La Cruz netted her first of the season in the shutout win.
Cornell College Recap
Against Central (Iowa) on Saturday, the Pioneers fell 2-0 to the Dutch. Central scored in the 20th minute and added a goal late to keep UW-Platteville from tying the game.
Central (Iowa) Recap
The Pioneers travel to Dubuque for a 7:30 p.m. match on Tuesday against the 3-0-5 Spartans. Dubuque has played back-to-back 1-1 draws against Luther and Lake Forest College.
On Saturday, the team will host UW-Stout to open the WIAC schedule against the 1-7-1 Blue Devils. UW-Stout has lost five straight games, being shutout in each one.
Volleyball collects three sweeps at MSOE Invite to wrap up 3-1 week
After dropping a 3-1 match to WIAC opponent UW-Oshkosh on Wednesday, the Pioneers traveled to Milwaukee for the MSOE Invite and picked up a trio of wins.
Against UW-Oshkosh, the Pioneers fell behind early, dropping the first two sets 25-18 and 25-14. The team rallied back from a large deficit to claim the third set 25-22, but dropped a tight fourth set 25-22 as the Titans claimed the victory.
Sophomore Emma Carlson put together 14 kills in the match, while junior Claudia Johnson added 11 on a .259 hitting percentage. Freshman Kierney McDonald recorded four block assists in the match.
The Pioneers opened the MSOE Invite with a 3-0 sweep over Carleton on Friday night, the second time they had faced the Knights on the season. UW-Platteville took the three-set match by scores of 25-18, 27-25, and 25-15.
Carleton Recap
On day two of the invite, the Pioneers never lost a set, sweeping both Nebraska Wesleyan (25-23, 25-19, 25-21) and MSOE (25-15, 25-23, 25-17).
Carlson recorded 25 kills across the two matches while Johnson tallied 13 kills and seven blocks. McDonald tallied a team-high nine blocks on the day while freshman Bri Gartner had 34 digs and freshman Kelsey Ewert had seven service aces.
Nebraska Wesleyan and MSOE Recap
The Pioneers will play two matches on the week, opening with a road match against Edgewood on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. The Eagles sit at 6-6 on the season, most recently dropping games against UW-La Crosse and Loras this past weekend at the Loras College Triangular.
On Friday, Sept. 30, UW-Platteville will head to UW-Stout for its first WIAC road contest of the season. The Blue Devils are 9-8 in the early portions of the season and sit at 1-1 in the WIAC with a win over UW-La Crosse and loss to UW-Stevens Point.
Football opens WIAC schedule on road at UW-Oshkosh
Following a week off, the Pioneers travel to UW-Oshkosh on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:05 p.m. to kick off WIAC play. The No. 16 ranked Titans hold a 2-1 record on the season and are coming off a 41-17 road win over Millsaps College on Sept. 17.
The bye week came for UW-Platteville following a 41-0 loss to No. 6 ranked Hardin-Simmons on Sept. 17. The Pioneers were unable to get much going offensively, totaling just 224 yards and committing three turnovers.
Junior quarterback Nathan Shackelford threw for 106 yards and added a team-high 69 yards on the ground in the game. He's up to 338 passing yards on the season to go along with 115 yards rushing.
The defense limited Hardin-Simmons early, routinely putting pressure on the Cowboys quarterback Gaylon Glynn. Senior Justin Blazek recorded his second career interception after reading a screen pass perfectly and the Pioneers recorded five tackles for loss and six quarterback hurries.
Hardin-Simmons Recap and Photos
On the season, UW-Platteville's defense ranks second in the WIAC in yards per game at 254.0, including a conference-best 116.7 passing yards allowed per game.
Sophomore Tag Habedank paces the team with 125 rushing yards and a touchdown, while junior Austin Guy has 17 receptions for 130 yards.
Blazek and senior Sam Smith are tied for the team lead with 16 tackles and each had tallied a sack. The defense has recorded three interceptions, once each for Blazek, senior Samuel Tausz, and senior Sam McMillan.
In their win over Millsaps College, UW-Oshkosh scored three touchdowns in the opening quarter to take command early. The Titans finished with 403 yards of total offense (7.1 yards per play), with quarterback Kobe Berghammer throwing for 221 yards and two touchdowns and adding three rushing scores on 47 yards.
The UW-Oshkosh defense held Millsaps scoreless in the first half and allowed just 2.0 yards per carry. The Titans recorded six sacks, with Bryce Edwards tallying 1.5 to go with eight total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.
On the season, Berghammer is up to seven touchdown passes and five rushing, showcasing his ability to be successful as both a passer and runner. Peter MacCudden leads the team with 125 rushing yards while Trae Tetzlaff has 248 receiving yards, which ranks second in the WIAC.
Cross Country to run at UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite
The men's and women's cross country teams ran at the unique Pioneer Gender Equity Invite at the Cole Acres Golf Course on Saturday morning. The men finished first out of seven teams, while the women placed third of seven.
Exactly two minutes and 40 seconds after the men's 8k started, the women's 6k race began. Both races finish simultaneously, sparking competition between all runners.
Sophomore Logan Bell won the men's race with a time of 26:25.5 while senior Troy Humpal was runner-up with a personal best 26:29.0.
Senior Kaitlyn Galgon paced the women's team with an 8th-place finish at 24:21.9. Freshman Caitlyn Gorge and junior Hannah Fliss each finished in the top-15 with personal best times.
Pioneer Gender Equity Invite Recap and Photos
The cross country team will run Friday, Sept. 30 in Colfax, Wis. at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Invite.
Golf records a pair of second-place finishes on the week
The golf team continued its strong start to the campaign, tallying a pair of second-place finishes at the UW-La Crosse Invite on Saturday and the Viterbo Invite on Sunday.
Senior Markie Ash led the way for the Pioneers at the UW-La Crosse Invite, tying for third overall at the invite with a 79. She shot a 41 on the front nine and 38 on the back nine, including a pair of birdies. Junior Josie Alm (83) and senior Emily Veenhuis (84) each posted top-10 finishes at the meet.
UW-La Crosse Invite Recap
The following day, Veenhuis shot a season-low 82 to tie for fifth while Ash came in seventh overall with an 84. The team posted a team score of 342 to place second out of 10 teams.
Viterbo Invite Recap
The Pioneers will compete at the two-day UW-Stevens Point Invitational at Sentry World Golf Course in Stevens Point, Wis. starting on Saturday, Oct. 1.
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 Pioneers Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.