DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's soccer team is back in the NCAA Division III Tournament after a year hiatus and will face No. 15 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday in the first round.
Where:
Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex – La Crosse, Wis.
When:
Saturday at 11 a.m.
Live Video: https://boxcast.tv/view/st-scholastica-minn-vs-uw-la-crosse-258599
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/wsoc
Tickets/Parking: http://www.uwlathletics.com/2017ncaasoccer
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSWsoccer
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/css_wsoccer
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/pages/The-College-of-St-Scholastica-Womens-Soccer/85467408435
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 13-6-3, 10-1-1 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-This is St. Scholastica's ninth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 11 seasons.
-The Saints enter the tournament on a five-game winning streak, allowing only one goal during that span.
-CSS has lost by one goal in its last three NCAA first round games, with two of the three going to overtime.
-This will be the third NCAA Tournament game played in Wisconsin for CSS as the Saints won its first game 1-0 over Carroll University (Wis.) in 2007 and lost in overtime to UW-Whitewater in 2013.
-CSS is looking for its first-ever win over a ranked opponent.
-The Saints are 1-1-3 in overtime games this season.
-Sophomore
Becca Rancour (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson HS) ranks ninth in the nation with 22 goals and 54 points.
-Junior
Rachel Dixon (Superior, Wis./Superior HS) has scored at least one goal in each of the last five games and was named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Tournament MVP.
-Sophomore
Janelle Rouillard (Dayton, Minn./Rogers HS) leads the team with 12 assists with at least one assist in four of the last five games.
-Senior
Taylor Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS) is second on the team with 11 goals and has scored one goal in four of the last five games.
-Junior
Hannah Zeis (Ashland, Wis./Ashland HS) was named the UMAC Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday and has an assist in three of the last four games.
-Goalkeeper
Roni Rudolph (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minnesota-Duluth)) is eighth in NCAA Division III in minutes played and recorded six shutouts on the year
What You Need to Know about UW-La Crosse:
-The Eagles enter the NCAA Tournament with a 17-1-3 record and are ranked No. 15 by the United Soccer Coaches.
-The Eagles are the top-ranked team in the North Region by the United Soccer Coaches.
-La Crosse won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) regular season and tournament championships, going undefeated in league play.
-The Eagles tied St. Thomas and Gustavus Adolphus College early in the season; then tied UW-Whitewater in the WIAC Tournament championship.
-The lone defeat was a 1-0 setback at Illinois Wesleyan University in September.
-This will be La Crosse's second NCAA Tournament appearance with the first coming in 2015.
-The Eagles have never won a NCAA Tournament game.
-UWL is led by Margaret Harings, who was named the WIAC Offensive Player of the Year.
-Harings has 10 goals and a team-best eight assists on the year.
-Kaitlyn Villars is the team's leading goal-scorer with 13 goals.
-Defender Maya Schmidt was named the WIAC Defensive Player of the Year.
-Goalkeeper Lily Brock has seen the most action in net and has a 0.38 goals-against-average for the season.
Series Record: UWL leads 1-0
(Last Meeting: 1-0 UWL – 9/15/2016)
Series History: The lone meeting between the two programs took place last season in La Crosse with a first half goal by the Eagles standing up.
What You Need to Know about Wartburg:
-The Knights enter the tournament with a 10-5-4 record.
-Wartburg earned an at-large bid into the tournament after finishing fourth in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC).
-This is Wartburg's sixth NCAA Tournament appearance.
-The Knights fell to both La Crosse and St. Thomas during the regular season.
-Wartburg is led by Morgan Neuendorf, who was named the IIAC Offensive MVP.
-Neuendorf has a team-high 13 goals, five assists and 31 points this season.
-Goalkeeper Beth Crow has recorded eight shutouts this season.
Series Record: Wartburg leads 1-0
(Last Meeting: 1-0 Wartburg – 11/14/2015)
Series History: The only time the Saints and Knights met was in the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Wartburg, which resulted in a Wartburg victory … It was a first half goal again that was the difference.
What You Need to Know about St. Thomas:
-The Tommies enter the NCAA Tournament with a 12-3-3 record.
-St. Thomas earned an at-large bid after finishing second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC).
-This is the 11
th NCAA Tournament appearance for St. Thomas and the only team in La Crosse that is making its second straight nationals appearance.
-The Tommies beat both the Saints and Knights during the regular season and tied UW-La Crosse.
-Mallory DeBoom led the team with 11 goals and 25 points during the season.
-Brielle Bierman had a team-high five assists.
-Goalkeepers Katie Lynn and Olivia Elvidge have split time with Lynn posting a 0.23 goals-against-average.
Series Record: UST leads 8-0
(Last Meeting: 4-0 UST – 9/10/2017)
Series History: The Saints and Tommies met for the first time in 20 years during the regular season and St. Thomas used four second-half goals to down the Saints 4-0.
Looking Ahead: The winner of Sunday's second round game will advance to face the winner from the Washington University-St. Louis site next weekend in the round of 16.
