Tournament Preview

SOCCER SET TO HOST WIAC SEMIFINALS AND CHAMPIONSHIP

EAU CLAIRE - The top-seeded UW-Eau Claire soccer team will face UW-River Falls in the first WIAC Tournament semifinal on Friday, while the second seed UW-Oshkosh will face UW-Stout in the second semifinal with the all of the action taking place at the Bollinger Fields.

The Blugolds (13-2-4) ended the regular season with their first conference championship in school history. The Blugolds went 2-0-1 this season against the three remaining teams.

The Blugolds defense was very tough during the regular season, shutting out 12 opponents. The goalie combination of Allie Rivard (Fr.-Wayzata,MN) and Liz Weirick (So.-Kenosha, WI/Tremper) have combined for 72 saves this season.

Leading the Blugolds offensively is senior Marcia Foltz (Sr.-Madison/Memorial), who had 25 points during the regular season.

The Blugolds defeated River Falls (12-3-3) during the regular season by a score of 1-0 in overtime. The match was very close throughout, but the Blugolds' Emily Meisinger (Jr.-Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy) scored in the 96th minute to give the Blugolds the victory. The Falcons went 0-2-1 during the regular season against the three remaining teams. The Falcons have not lost in the past five matches

In the second semifinal, UW-Oshkosh (12-5-1) will face UW-Stout (10-2-5). The Titans and the Blue Devils played to a scoreless tie in the regular season match-up between the two teams. The Titans are making their sixth straight appearance in the semifinals and are on a four-match win streak. The Titans went 1-1-1 against the remaining teams. The Blue Devils tied all of the remaining teams during the regular season. The Blue Devils have not lost in eight straight matches.

The semifinals were set Tuesday night when both UW-River Falls and UW-Stout won its first round matches in thrilling fashion. The Falcons defeated UW-Stevens Point 1-0 in double overtime. The Falcons' Amy Piersak scored with 1:27 remaining in the second OT. UW-Stout was also forced to overtime, but defeated UW-La Crosse 2-1 on a penalty kick by Heidi Schultz.

The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Because of this, all of the games after two overtimes will go to a penalty kick shootout to determine a winner.

The action gets underway Friday at 11 a.m. when the Blugolds face UW-River Falls. The second semifinal between UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout will begin at 2 p.m. The championship match will be Saturday at 1:00 p.m. All of the matches will take place at the Bollinger Fields.