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Issued: September 27, 2006

SOCCER FINISHES UP HOMESTAND THIS WEEKEND

EAU CLAIRE – The UW-Eau Claire women’s soccer team looks to improve its winning streak to 11 this Parents Weekend when it plays UW-Stevens Point on Saturday and St. Olaf on Sunday for the last two games of a six-game homestand.

The team is ranked fifth in the nation in the NSCAA/Adidas poll while the D3Kicks.com poll has the Blugolds sitting at 15th.

The Blugolds are 9-0-0 overall and 3-0-0 in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). This is the most wins a team has had to start a season since 12 in 1998. Another impressive streak has been the 14 straight wins at Bollinger Fields dating back to October of 2004.The defense has been key this season, only allowing two goals. The team has seven shutouts, half of the team record 14 set in last year’s campaign. It is five behind 1998’s record for most shutout wins of 12.

Liz Weirick (Jr.-Kenosha/Tremper) and Allie Rivard (So.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) have sat in goal behind the suffocating Eau Claire defense this season. They have seen just 34 shots with 25 of those on goal. The team leads the conference in goals allowed, shutouts, and goals against average (0.22). The conference also recognized the defense when sweeper Allison Smith (So.-Bloomington, MN/Jefferson) was selected as a WIAC Player of the Week.

Another WIAC Player of the Week honoree, Maria Iaizzo (Sr.-White Bear Lake, MN), has been the leader on offense. She is tops for the team in points (18), goals (7), shots (32), and shots on goal (13). Amy Smith (So.-Bloomington, MN/Jefferson) is the team leader in assists with five. As a team, the Blugolds lead the conference in points (67), assists (23), and assists per game (2.56). The 22 Eau Claire goals ties the UW-Platteville mark for best in the conference.

WIAC rival Stevens Point is coming off a year in which in finished fourth in the conference. The Pointers are 5-1-2 overall and 1-0-1 in WIAC play. The Pointer offense has powered the team this season. They have outshot their opponent at a 157-76 clip while outscoring them 21-9. The shots on goal favor Stevens Point by a 70-44 margin. The team ranks in the top half of the conference in scoring categories. It sits second in points (59), third in goals (21), third in goals per game (2.62), third in assists (2.25), and fourth in assists per game (2.12).

Kaylee Weise leads the offensive charge with 17 points and seven goals. Returning All-WIAC team member Amanda Prawat sits right behind her even in goals but with one less point. This year Prawat and/or Weise sit in the top three for the conference in almost every individual scoring category. The only other returning Pointer All-WIAC team member is midfielder Kimie Wiepz. The lifetime record between these two squads stands in Stevens Point’s favor at 3-24-4. The last time the Blugolds beat the Pointers was in 1991.

St. Olaf is 5-3-0 overall. The two teams both crews have faced are UW-Stout and Concordia-Moorhead. The Oles beat Stout 2-1 and lost 2-0 to the Cobbers. Important returners for St. Olaf include three-time team MVP and two-time All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) honoree Kelsey Watt as well as All-MIAC honorable mention Katie Bierlein. Opponents have been outscored 12-7 and outshot 116-75. Watt and Bierlein are tied atop the Oles stats with seven points and three goals. Despite no goals to show for it, Jenny Kallas is third for the team in shots with 20. Fitting their record, the Oles are in the middle of the pack for offensive and defensive conference categories. Eau Claire is 7-4-0 all-time versus St. Olaf.

Saturday’s action starts at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday’s non-conference battle begins at 2:00 p.m.

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