Pioneers Advance To NCAA Second Round With Shutout Win

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – In the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Tournament, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s soccer team (14-2-5) shutout Lake Forest (7-9-4) 3-0 to advance to Sunday’s second round.

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Pioneers Advance To NCAA Second Round With Shutout Win
November 12, 2023

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – In the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's soccer team (14-2-5) shutout Lake Forest (7-9-4) 3-0 to advance to Sunday's second round.

The game was scoreless for much of the first half until junior Isaac Peterson found the right foot of sophomore Brock Jurinek for the first goal of the match in the 41st minute. Peterson played a pass from the left side and Jurinek fired a shot that navigated traffic in front of the net for his third goal of the season.

The Pioneers added a pair of insurance goals late in the second half to help secure the victory. In the 84th minute, junior Marcelo Garay sent a bending shot to the far post for his sixth goal on the year following a pass from freshman Parker Boatman. Just two minutes later, sophomore Bryan Higgs tallied his third of the campaign after putting a loose ball home.

A strong defensive effort kept sophomore goalkeeper Seth Aiken clean for much of the match as the Pioneers allowed seven shots and just two on target. Aiken turned both into saves for his seventh shutout of the season.

UW-Platteville kept the Foresters back line busy with 20 shots, including 14 on goal. Eleven different players recorded at least one shot, led by four by Higgs and three by sophomore Ethan Dietrich.

Following UW-Eau Claire's 2-1 win over North Central in the late match, the Pioneers will take on the Blugolds for the second time this season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night at 7 p.m. The two teams met in late October, with UW-Platteville winning 4-2.

 

*As with every UW-Platteville win this year, the Platteville A&W will be offering a $3 Pioneer burger the day after the win and the Platteville Taco John's will be offering 10 tacos for $10 the day after each Pioneer win.