Soccer Preview: Blue Devils vying to host WIAC playoff game

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: UW-Stout (5-8-1, 3-2-0 WIAC) will break an 11-day hiatus from competition when they travel to UW-River Falls (6-7-1, 2-2-1 WIAC), Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. Stout will close the home regular season when they host UW-Stevens Point (4-9-2, 2-4-0 WIAC), Saturday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.

ON-LINE: All Blue Devil home soccer games will be available by Live Stats, network providing.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT:  Stout lost 2-0 to 18th ranked UW-Whitewater on Oct. 12, 2013 in Menomonie.  The Blue Devils outshot the Warhawks 6-5 in the first half, which ended tied 0-0.  The second half was a different story as Whitewater controlled the field and outshot Stout 8-2.  Carina Krausert scored both goals for the Warhawks.  Krausert took a rebounded shot off the cross bar and headed the ball into the net in the 58th minute for what would prove to be the game-winning goal. Less than four minutes later, she took a pass from Brianna Reid and scored again.  The Blue Devils' Robbie Shelby (Jr, La Crosse) recorded six saves, while the Warhawks' Jordan Myers recorded five saves.  | Story and Stats 

A LOOK AT STOUT:  The Blue Devils have won three of the last four games, putting them in third place in the WIAC.  If the season ended today the Blue Devils would host a first round playoff game on Nov. 5.  Alix Hyduke leads the team in goals with six and, combined with three assists, has a team-best 15 points.  Kelly Conn is currently second on the team in goals and points with three and nine respectively.  Lauren Kizlik has scored three goals while Jenna Kizlik has two goals and an assist. With her game winner against Eau Claire, Emily Ferger has doubled her season total to two goals  Kelsie Allen, Paige Meyer, Sarina Umlauf, Addy Maher, Whitney Solomon, andCamille Fawcett each have one goal.  The Blue Devils have spread their scoring out fairly equally between halves as they have scored 10 goals in the first and 11 goals in the second half, along with one overtime goal.  Robbie Shelby and Paige Meyer have split time in net. Shelby has 60 saves with a goals against average of 1.93 and a 3-4-1 record. Meyer has 39 saves with a GAA of 1.65. Hyduke's six goals put her currently tied for third in the conference.  Hyduke leads the conference in game winning goals.  Robbie Shelby's 0.22 shutouts per game average is good for third in the conference.   | 2013 Stats

A LOOK AT UW-RIVER FALLS:  The Falcons have won three of their last four games, tying the other one 0-0 in 2 overtimes at UW-Platteville.  The Falcons last lost came on Oct. 5 against Oshkosh.  River Falls is currently tied with UW-Platteville in fourth place in the WIAC.  The Falcons have outscored opponents 23-20 for the season.  Alex Swatloski leads the team, and is second in the WIAC with seven goals this season.  Alyssa Manor's five assists lead the team and rank her second in the conference.  Rebecca Kramer leads the WIAC with a .840 save percentage.  | 2013 Stats

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND RIVER FALLS MET:  The Blue Devils and Falcons met last season.  On Oct. 3, 2012 Stout defeated River Falls 2-1 in Menomonie.  | Story and Stats

A LOOK AT UW-STEVENS POINT:  The Pointers are currently in 6th place in the WIAC standings.  They have lost four of their last five games.  Stevens Point ranks third in the conference in saves (88).  Kirsten Churkey ranks second in the WIAC with 87 saves.  The Pointers have outshot opponents 239-212, but are being outscored 25-19.  Sarah Meylor and Emily Dietrich have each scored four goals for Stevens Point.  Meylor has added one assist to lead the team with nine points.  The Pointers will play a non conference game against Carroll before traveling to Menomonie to play the Blue Devils.  | 2013 Stats

THE LAST TIME STOUT AND STEVENS POINT MET:  The Blue Devils and Pointers met last season.  On Oct. 13, 2012 Stevens Point beat Stout 1-0 in Stevens Point.  | Story and Stats

AWARDS: Alix Hyduke was named the UW-Stout athlete of the week, Sept. 6, after scoring five goals over her first three games, a feat that had been accomplished only once in the annals of UW-Stout soccer.  Emily Ferger was named the UW-Stout Northwestern Mutual athlete of the week after scoring the game winning goal against UW-Eau Claire.

UW-STOUT COACH RYAN RAUFUS: Coach Ryan Raufus (21-23-4) is in his third year as the head coach of the Blue Devils. Raufus played his college ball at Springfield College in Massachusetts and came to Stout after coaching at La Crosse Logan High School and La Crescent, Minn., High School.

QUICK HITS:  Senior Alix Hyduke (Duluth, Minn.) currently leads the 2013 team with six goals scored. In scoring her first five goals over the first three games of the season, Hyduke matched Alyssa Halverson as the only Blue Devil to accomplish that feat. Halverson scored her first five goals over three games in 1999 and went on to score 14 goals on the season...Kelly Conn scored her first collegiate goal in the Blue Devils' season opener against Concordia University....sophomore Jenna Kizlik (Hammond) was named the WIAC offensive player of the week Sept. 5, 2012 after scoring the game-winning goal in the season opener against St. Olaf...This year's captains for the Blue Devils are Alix Hyduke,  Emily Ferger (Wauwatosa) and Whitney Solomon (Duluth, Minn.)...Camille Fawcett scored her first career goal against UW-La Crosse.

DOWN THE ROAD: Stout will close out the regular season when they travel to UW-Platteville, Saturday, Nov. 2 for a 2 p.m. contest.