On Wednesday, Oct. 23, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Women’s Soccer team battled the University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils in their fifth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) conference game of the season.
After a hard fought 90 minutes, the Eagles came out on top with a final score of 4-1.
This year, UWL has played some of the top teams in the nation, such as #4-ranked Christopher Newport University, #22-ranked Calvin University and #20-ranked North Central College.
Going into the game on Wednesday UW-Stout had a record of 0-10-2. Before the game, fourth-year captain Ellie Arndt shed some light on the mental obstacles this might create for the team.
“Every game we play we have to approach like they’re the best team in the world…but knowing the stat lines does influence some peoples’ mindsets…we just need to focus on showcasing that we can play at the same level we always play at,” Arndt said.
The Eagles started the game out strong with two goals in the first 14 minutes by Ellie Behnke and Kaitlyn Kurtz. UW-Stout responded at 35:39 as Ella Kemp scored on Lauren Chuckel’s assist.
The Eagles regained a two-goal lead five minutes later as Amaya Thesing scored off assists from Kate Heiderscheit and Katelyn Studebaker. At halftime the score was 3-1 with the Eagles taking the lead.
In the second half, UWL recorded 22 shots on goal; however, it was Jillian Sawadski’s shot that extended UWL’s lead to 4-1. She was assisted by Thesing and Behnke at 55:07.
The rest of the game neither the Eagles nor the Blue Devils could land any shots in the back of the net. The final score remained 4-1.
With the added win, the Eagles record now sits at 11-3-2 overall and they are currently 4-0-1 in conference play. The game against UW-Stout increased UWL’s winning streak over the Blue Devils to 10 victories dating back to 2015.
In her comments after the game, fourth-year captain Addie Pauling echoed Arndt’s thoughts on the match against the Blue Devils being one of mental strength.
“In the first half we definitely didn’t have the right intensity…we talked at halftime about how it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the field, it’s about us not them,” Pauling said.
As the team approaches the last leg of conference play, they set their sights on their true aspirations for the season.
“Ever since the season started it wasn’t about the WIAC, it was about our end goal in the national tournament,” Pauling said.
The last three years the team has made it to the third round of the national tournament with an appearance at the quarterfinals in 2023. This year the team is striving to attain a national title.
UWL’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 26, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. It will be their second to last WIAC conference game before the WIAC tournament begins.
The Eagles’ next home game is Tuesday, Oct. 29, for anyone looking to cheer on the team as they close out their regular season. The team’s composite schedule can be found at uwlathletics.com.
