Pioneers Continue Postseason Play, Basketball Teams Get Underway

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – While postseason competition continues for men's soccer and cross country, the men's and women's basketball programs at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville kick off their 2022-23 campaigns this week. Football travels for its final conference game of the season, and wrestling heads to Luther for its second meet.

Men's Soccer earns NCAA Tournament bid

For the first time since 2018, the Pioneers men's soccer team will compete in the NCAA Division III tournament. The team received an at-large bid and will travel to the University of Chicago for the opening round this weekend. The Pioneers will face Willamette (13-2-3) on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The winner advances to the second round on Sunday and will play either Chicago (16-0-1) or Birmingham-Southern (8-5-5).

Willamette travels from Oregon after earning an automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Northwest Conference Championship 5-0 over Linfield last Saturday. The Bearcats have been strong on defense, allowing just 1.00 goals per game and seven total shutouts. Senior Piece Gallaway is the top goal-scorer for Willamette with 11 on the season to go along with six assists.

Football heads to No. 7 UW-La Crosse for season finale

After improving to 5-4 on the season and 4-2 in WIAC play with a 38-14 home win over UW-Eau Claire this past weekend, the Pioneer football team travels to UW-La Crosse to conclude the regular season at 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Eagles, who have won five straight, sit at 8-1 overall and 5-1 in conference play.

UW-La Crosse remained at No. 7 in the Top 25 rankings after a 24-17 home win over UW-River Falls on Saturday. The Eagles are the second-highest scoring team in the WIAC, averaging 37.9 points per game, while the defense is tied for third at 19.1 allowed per game. The Eagles ground attack averages a conference-best 234.1 yards per game, and running back Joey Stutzman paces the conference in rushing at 998 yards. Teammate Keyser Helterbrand is fourth with 600 yards to go with nine touchdowns.

Women's Basketball opens campaign Tuesday

The Pioneer women's basketball team kicks off the 2022-23 season on Tuesday when they host Ripon inside Williams Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. for the Bone Cancer Awareness Game. Ripon is coming off a 18-10 season in 2021-22 including Midwest Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA tournament appearance. The Red Hawks lost to UW-Whitewater in the opening round of the NCAA tournament a year ago by a score of 58-34.

UW-Platteville will play in a pair of games over the weekend at the Beth Baker Classic. The Pioneers face Elmhurst at 5 p.m. on Friday before seeing host school Wheaton (Ill.) on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Blue Jays finished 3-22 last season, while the Thunder posted a record of 16-11.

Cross Country to run at regional meet

After running at the WIAC Championships at the end of October, the Pioneers cross country teams will run Saturday, Nov. 12 at the NCAA North Regional. The meet, hosted by St. Olaf, will be run at the St. Olaf Cross Country Trails in Northfield, Minn. The women's race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the men's race following at noon.

Men's Basketball travels to UW-Superior for two games

Men's basketball opens its 2022-23 campaign at the Merrill Thompson Classic hosted by UW-Superior with games on Friday and Saturday. The Pioneers play Lawrence on Friday evening, with tip-off scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Depending on the outcome of that game, the Pioneers will face either Central College or UW-Superior on Saturday afternoon.

Lawrence finished 12-13 a year ago and will open its season on the road against UW-Oshkosh on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. Juniors Matthew Kaznikov (11.0 points per game) and Adnan Sarancic (10.8) are the top returners for the Vikings.

Central and UW-Superior will play on Friday night at 7 p.m. to determine the matchups for Saturday. The Dutch finished 7-17 last season while the Yellowjackets are coming off a 10-16 season.

Wrestling competes at Luther Open Saturday

The Pioneers wrestling team put together a strong showing this past weekend at the annual Pioneer Invitational, winning several individual titles. The team continues the early portions of the season by heading to Decorah, Iowa on Saturday for the Luther Open. The invite is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. inside Regents Center Gymnasium on the campus of Luther College.