Pioneer women’s soccer picked seventh in pre-season WIAC poll

Platteville, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville women's soccer team will look to improve on a 9-6-3 record in 2021. The Pioneers started the season hot, going unbeaten in the first eight contests (6-0-2). The Pioneers were unbeaten in non-conference (9-0-2), but the tough WIAC was not kind to that young squad as they finished 0-6-1 in conference play.

The Pioneers were the heartbreak kids in 2021, losing six WIAC contests by a total of seven goals; three losses came late in double overtime. Director of Soccer and Head Coach Sam Koenig will need to find production from the young returners to replace All-WIAC selection Amber Lueder. 

"Amber had a ton of experience for our team last year and was a great leader," Koenig said. "This year we will be a little more of a multiple scoring and assisting system, rather than one vocal point of 'hey we are trying to get Amber the ball.' Which ultimately, I think it will make our team better as teams won't be able to focus on one player."

Koenig won't have to look hard for scorers; four of the top five goal scorers from 2021 were freshmen. 

"Alyssa Peterson and Lauren Lodico can step into that role," Koenig said. "I think they are ready to step into that role, because they can do their own thing instead of trying to get Amber the ball." 

The defense portion of the Pioneers will need to replace Bryanne Pinkowski. She will miss the season with an injury, but Koenig feels others are ready to fill the void. 

"Losing Pinkowski is a tough blow, that will be a tough replacement. I think the players understand our system better on the back end," Koenig said. "We return a lot of experience, even if they didn't play a lot last year, we have a lot of players from last year stepping into bigger roles, and we will be able to sprinkle in some newcomers. Overall, our defensive mentality is better right now than last year." 

Once again, Koenig will challenge his Pioneers with a tough non-conference schedule to prepare them for the tough WIAC schedule they will face.

"We are a competitive conference, so we set up our non-conference schedule to prepare us for the WIAC," Koenig said. "Our conference plays different styles, so when we set up our non-conference schedule, we sprinkled in three to four different styles that we will see in conference." 

The Pioneers open the non-conference portion of the schedule at Edgewood College on Thursday, Sept. 1 at 3 p.m. The Pioneers will open at home when Coe College visits on Sunday, Sept. 11 at 3 p.m. 

When the calendar flips to October, the competition will heat up with the beginning of WIAC action. The Pioneers welcome UW-Stout to Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 1 for a 3 p.m. match. The Pioneers will also host Alumni Day when the Blue Devils are in town.

The Pioneers final regular season home contest sees 2021 WIAC Champions UW-La Crosse visiting town. The Eagles are the pre-season favorites in 2022 and will visit on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. 

"I feel the WIAC is the best conference for women's soccer," Koenig said. "At any given time, the WIAC could have three to four teams in the top 25. We lost four games in overtime, to teams that won the conference and played in the NCAA. Every single game matters. There is not a team in our conference that is an easy win, and every coach in the conference will say that."

The Pioneers finish the regular season at UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m. The WIAC Women's Soccer Championship (presented by Culver's) begins on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The finals will be held Saturday, Nov. 5 with the champion receiving the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. 

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.