DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica women's soccer team will host a six-team showcase beginning on Friday up at Saints Field, known as the Advantage Emblem Cup. The Saints will open with Alma College (Mich.) on Friday.
Where:
Saints Field – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Friday
UW-River Falls vs. Concordia-Moorhead – 12:15 p.m.
#10 UW-Whitewater vs. Gustavus Adolphus – 2:45 p.m.
St. Scholastica vs. Alma – 5 p.m.
Sunday
Alma vs. Concordia-Moorhead – 10 a.m.
St. Scholastica vs. UW-Whitewater – 12:15 p.m.
Gustavus Adolphus vs. UW-River Falls – 5 p.m.
Live Video: http://www.csssaints.com/showcase
Live Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/wsoc
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
2016 Stats
2016 Record: 7-9-4, 5-1-2 UMAC
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference: Standings | Stats
Season Outlook: The Saints will look to bounce back from a disappointing 2016 season, which saw the team fail to capture either the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) regular season or tournament championships for the first time since 2000 … One of the big reasons for that was health … CSS lost 2015 leading scorer
Becca Rancour (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson HS) midway through the season and then lost 2016 leading scorer
Taylor Olson (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS) the final four games of the season … The lack of scorers showed late in the year, when the Saints recorded only two goals the final five games of the season … St. Scholastica hopes for a healthier 2017 as Rancour and Olson are back. Rancour was the a First Team All-UMAC selection in 2015, while Olson was a First Team All-UMAC choice last season … Also returning for the Saints is First Team All-UMAC midfielder
Hannah Zeis (Ashland, Wis./Ashland HS) and First Team All-UMAC defender
Cali Marsaa (Duluth, Minn./Duluth Denfeld HS) … Zeis played in all 20 games last season, while Marsaa has 34 starts the past two seasons … Other key returnees include junior
Rachel Dixon (Superior, Wis./Superior HS), who was a Second Team All-UMAC performer last season finishing second on the team in points and assists; sophomore
Janelle Rouillard (Dayton, Minn./Rogers HS), who tied for the team lead in assists and was an Honorable Mention All-UMAC choice; senior defender
Kadie Mattson (North Branch, Minn./North Branch HS), who was a Second Team All-UMAC honoree last season; and sophomore goalkeeper
Roni Rudolph (Duluth, Minn./Duluth East HS (Minnesota-Duluth)), who was a Second Team All-UMAC selection in her first season as a Saint … Rudolph recorded four shutouts on the year … CSS will also hope a couple of newcomers can contribute right away.
Coach Reyelts: Head Coach
Dave Reyelts enters his 18
th season guiding the St. Scholastica women's soccer program … He has led the Saints to the NCAA Division III Tournament eight of the last 10 seasons … He enters the season five wins shy of 250 for his career.
Difficult Start: Three of St. Scholastica's first four games of the season will be against NCAA Division III Tournament teams from a season ago … University of Wisconsin-Whitewater advanced to third round of the national tournament … Luther College (Iowa) fell in the second round and the University of St. Thomas lost in the first round of the tournament … Other games against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams include two match-ups against UMAC representative University of Minnesota Morris and an October home game against Augsburg College.
End the Streak: The Saints ended last season winless in their last five contests … CSS hasn't had a winless streak longer than five since the end of 2013 and the beginning of the 2014 seasons.
Scoreless Draws: The Saints recorded four scoreless draws last season, including in the UMAC Tournament semifinals against the University of Minnesota Morris where it fell in penalty kicks … Prior to last year, CSS had never had more than one scoreless draw in a season.
Top 5 Games to Watch
9/3 – vs. UW-Whitewater
The Warhawks enter the season ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll and are coming a third round appearance in the NCAA Tournament
9/8 – at Luther
The Norse were co-Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) regular season champions and captured the IIAC Tournament title last season
9/10 – at St. Thomas
The Tommies are preseason Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) favorites and are receiving votes in the USC preseason poll
9/19 – vs. Northland
The LumberJills are the defending UMAC regular season champions and went 1-0-1 against the Saints last season
10/5 vs. Augsburg
The Auggies are the reigning MIAC Tournament champions and are projected to finish second in the league this season
UMAC Preseason Poll
1. St. Scholastica – 58 points (4 First Place Votes)
2. Minnesota Morris– 55 points (3 First Place Vote)
3. Northland – 54 points (2 First Place Vote)
4. Northwestern – 47 points
5. Bethany Lutheran – 35 points
T-6. Martin Luther – 24 points
T-6. Wisconsin-Superior – 24 points
8. Crown – 14 points
9. North Central – 13 points
Upcoming Opponents
Alma Scots
2016 Record: 9-6-5, 8-4-4 MIAA
The Scots are coming off an appearance in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament championship game in 2016 … Alma finished fourth in the league during the regular season, but tied a program record by going on an eight-game unbeaten streak … This season, the Scots are projected to finish fifth in the nine-team league … The team will be led by senior Whitnee Foote, who recorded 12 goals last season on her way to being named an All-MIAA First Team selection … Also back is senior goalkeeper Kelsey Postema, who recorded the second-best season in program history in 2016 with 145 saves and three shutouts.
#10 UW-Whitewater Warhawks
2016 Record: 22-2-0, 7-0-0 WIAC
The Warhawks won a program record 22 games in 2016 and made their sixth straight NCAA Division III Tournament appearance … Whitewater enters 2017 with many members of last year's squad returning and is projected to win another Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) crown … The Warhawks are ranked No. 10 in the preseason United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll … The big replacement for the Warhawks will be two-time All-American Brianna Reid, who wrapped up her career as the school's all-time leading point and goal scorer … In her absence, top returning goal scorer senior Marie Lesperance recorded 10 goals a season ago … In goal, sophomore Sara Klimisch recorded 10 shutouts in her freshman campaign.
Series Records:
-First Meeting vs. Alma
-UW-Whitewater leads CSS 2-0
(Last Meeting: 2-0 UWW – 9/5/2015)
Series Histories: Friday's meeting against Alma College will be the first between the two programs /// The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater last traveled to Duluth in 2015 and came away with a 2-0 victory.
Looking Ahead: The Saints will be on the road next weekend when they face Luther College (Iowa) on Friday at 7 p.m. and the University of St. Thomas on Sunday at 1 p.m.
