Pioneers’ prepare for rigid WIAC season under new leadership

Platteville, Wis.-The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's soccer program will be under new leadership when they take the field against Monmouth (Ill.) on Wednesday, Sept. 1 at 4 p.m. Sam Koenig, recently named the director of soccer at UW-Platteville, will oversee both the women's and men's programs. Without a season in 2020, the Pioneers come into the 2021 season with a few question marks and a ton of excitement.

"We have a great mentality right now; it has been a ton of fun," Koenig said. "We have a great returning group that has good leadership qualities and new faces in the program that haven't been seen for two years. We will be a young squad, but we have talent, and the excitement of just being able to play games is a big thing for our student-athletes."

The Pioneers return five starters from the 2019 team and get 2018 All-WIAC performer Amber Lueder back from injury. "Amber will be coming back; she didn't get to play the last two years and is a very strong player for us," Koenig said.

In 2018, Lueder was fifth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in points per game (1.58), scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists for 30 points in 19 contests.

Lueder is not the only returner that Koenig is excited about seeing compete this season.

"Our goalkeeping group, Onalee Erickson and Emma Ball, they are both leaders on and off the field with great personalities who have been battling with each other to see who plays in net, and that has been fun to watch," Koenig said. "Caitlin Gorge, Alyssa Marroquin and Leah Kubasta have really developed in the time they have played here, and the older you are in college the more experience you have. Having them on the field is huge for us. Danielle Culotta is a transfer and will make an impact out top. She has a great shot and I look forward to her scoring some goals this year."

In a pre-season poll, the Pioneers were picked to finish last in the WIAC, something Koenig expected but feels that the year off and effort in practice will pay off in the end.

"Our women are training hard every day. It has been a really fun group to be around, and I feel we have gotten better every day this pre-season," Koenig said. "I truly believe this group is going to do something special this season even though we do have some doubters, which is good."

The Pioneers will use September to ready for a tough WIAC schedule.

"The non-conference schedule in September is going to be great to see where we are at and once October rolls around, we will be looking forward to playing some of the best teams in the country," Koenig said.

The Pioneers open conference play at UW-Stout on Friday, Oct. 1 before returning home to face WIAC pre-season favorite UW-Whitewater at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

"We are excited to play in one of the toughest conferences in the country," Koenig said. "The WIAC year in and year out will have two to four teams in the top 25. Our team's mentality this year is to be able to go play with the big dogs. With a young team it may be naïve, but it is going to be fun because we can go in there and play fresh."

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.