EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's soccer team edged a penalty kick shootout 3-2 to defeat UW-Whitewater in the opening round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament on Tuesday at Simpson Field. The Blugolds and Warhawks were tied 3-3 at the end of regulation, but the Blugolds survived the shootout to move on to the WIAC semifinals.
Kennedy Boll (Jr. – Franklin, Wis.) made three stops in the shootout, including a lunging save on the Warhawks' final attempt of the night.
Elise Pinewski (Jr. – Anoka, Minn.),
Megan Hansen (Sr. – Andover, Minn./Anoka) and
Molly Henderson (Jr. – Duluth, Minn./Duluth East) all make penalties to give the Blugolds the edge.
Boll saved the first attempt of the shootout, and Pinewski converted her kick to give UW-Eau Claire a 1-0 lead. The Warhawks also missed their second kick, and Hansen put the Blugolds up 2-0 by making hers. UW-Whitewater made its next two kicks, while UW-Eau Claire missed one and made one. Boll came up big one final time by saving a penalty to her left on the Warhawks' fourth try, clinching the victory.
It sealed a wild contest which saw four goals after halftime.
Each team scored once in the first half. The third-seeded Blugolds broke through first.
Taylor Czarapata (Fr. – Muskego, Wis.) and
Lola Ruff (Sr. – St. Louis Park, Minn.) linked up well in the midfield, and the duo played a through ball to
Sydney Spencer (Sr. – Hudson, Wis.), who put a clinical finish past the Warhawk keeper in 35
th minute.
Sixth-seeded UW-Whitewater had an answer immediately, scoring in the 36
th minute to level the score.
Spencer notched her second goal of the game in the 71
st minute, taking an assist from
Vanessa Grunwald (Sr. – Suamico, Wis./Pulaski) to knocking it home to put UW-Eau Claire ahead 2-1.
UW-Eau Claire made it a 3-1 lead in the 73
rd minute when
Sophie Hubbard (Sr. – De Pere, Wis.) rocketed a long-range effort into the corner of the net. The assist came from
Megan Hansen (Sr. – Andover, Minn./Anoka).
UW-Whitewater slashed the deficit back to one goal by scoring in the 82
nd minute. A few minutes later, they scored again to tie the game and force overtime. Neither team found the back of the net in the extra period, although UW-Whitewater had a shot miss off the post.
The Blugolds had four shots on target in the match, and scored on three of them. Boll made eight saves across regulation and overtime.
UW-Eau Claire (10-4-4) will face second-seeded UW-Platteville on Thursday on the road. Kickoff for the WIAC semifinal is scheduled for 6 p.m. in Platteville.
