The UW-La Crosse women’s soccer team piled on seven goals against the visiting Yellow Jackets from UW-Superior.  The match took place Saturday at Veteran’s Memorial Field Sports Complex with a myriad of fans huddled up for a brisk fall afternoon rife with soccer action.
The match was also the final regular season game for UW-L, which meant the match was also Senior Night.
One of the seniors being honored, Kirsten Anderson, opened the scoring for UW-L adding a shot in the net in the 27th minute.  Just a few minutes after Anderson’s goal, fellow senior Kelly Denk, who was a force all game, added to the UW-L goal column to put the team up 2-0 at halftime.
Shortly after halftime began, Anderson tacked on two more goals to put UW-L up 4-0 and complete her special night by scoring the hat trick. Jenna Rosienski, also a senior, assisted on both second half goals by Anderson.  UW-L would be held scoreless for the next 20 minutes before pouring it on even more with a goal by freshman Rachel Rogahn. Rogahn’s goal was quickly followed by Nyssa Goeres, also a freshman. Tina Bedwell, freshman defender, scored the final goal for UW-L to finalize the 7-0 rout just moments before the final whistle blew.
The combination of senior leadership and youthful energy proved to be too much for the Titans.
Jason Murphy, head coach, said, “It will be difficult to see our four seniors graduate, as their impact in the program has been tremendous. This year, my expectations for them have been very high and they have met my demands since March. The leadership in this group has been great.”
This game also concluded Murphy’s first season as head coach for UW-L. He said he is very pleased with the work rate and attitude of the players. Admitting they could’ve been better at times, but also they have played some very good soccer against the best teams on our schedule.
“I am looking forward to the future of the program and believe we have the opportunity to compete on a national level,” said Murphy.
Though the regular season is now finished, UW-L will return to action Tuesday, Nov. 4, for the first round of the WIAC tournament against UW-River Falls. UW-L is the lower seed, at number five, so they will have to travel to UW-RF, who is the fourth seed.  The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.