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STEVENS POINT – The UW-Stevens Point women’s soccer team (14-3-1, 8-0-0 WIAC) prevailed over the Warhawks of UW-Whitewater (11-8-1, 4-3-1 WIAC) by a score of 2-1 on Thursday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament. The win ends the Warhawks season and sets up a date for the Pointers with the Blugolds of UW-Eau Claire (10-7-2, 6-1-1 WIAC) for the WIAC Tournament Championship.
The Pointers got on the board first when
Hillary Sauer (Stevens Point) took a
Kirsti Nickels (Appleton) pass in front of the net and lofted it over Warhawk goalie Samantha Neely for her second goal of the season. The goal was scored at the 32:01 minute mark, putting UWSP in front 1-0. It was a lead the Pointers would refuse to surrender for the remainder of the game.
Vicki Bieschke (Oconomowoc) connected for her ninth goal of the season 10 minutes later at the 41:19 mark, when she slammed a rebound off Neely into the back of the net.
Jackie Spees' (Wisconsin Rapids) shot attempt hit off Neely’s hands and bounced directly to Bieschke, setting up the goal and giving Spees the assist. The Pointers took their 2-0 lead into the half.
The Warhawks came out strong in the second half by pressuring the Pointer defense with a heavy offensive attack. The Pointer defense finally broke when UW-Whitewater’s Emily Gerber’s shot from Gabby Fenzel snuck past Pointer goalkeeper
Liz Hunter (Stevens Point) for her 24th goal of the season, making the score 2-1 in UW-Stevens Point’s favor.
The Pointer defense locked down the Warhawk pressure for the remainder of the game after the goal. The Pointers outshot the Warhawks 9-3 in the final 38 minutes of action.
UW-Stevens Point was led on offense by Spees’ and Bieschke’s three shots on goal. Hunter recorded four saves in her 14th victory of the season. Gerber led the Warhawks with three shots on goal.
The Pointers won their regular season match against the Warhawks on Sept. 26 by an identical 2-1 score, en route to their 11th undefeated WIAC regular season record in team history.
The Pointers return to action this Saturday, Nov. 7, when they host the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds at the Pointer Soccer Bowl. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. for the WIAC Tournament Championship. The winner receives an automatic bid the NCAA Div. III Soccer Tournament.