Soccer Preview: Stout hosts Pointers in WIAC contest Hallowe'en day

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THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (8-5-5, 3-1-3 WIAC) earned the fourth seed in the WIAC Soccer Championship, presented by Culver's, and will host fifth-seeded UW-Stevens Point (9-7-2, 2-3-2 WIAC), Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. The semi-finals are Thursday, Nov. 2 and the championship game is Saturday, Nov. 4. The Blue Devils and the Pointers tied, 1-1, Oct. 7 in Menomonie. The winner will play at either UW-La Crosse or UW-Whitewater, Thursday, Nov. 2.

ON-LINE: All Blue Devil home soccer games will be available by Live Stats, and by Live Video, network willing. There have been issues on the field in the past, but hopefully that has been rectified.


BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils won the "Battle of the Blues" with a 2-1 home win over UW-Eau Claire, Oct. 28.  In the final WIAC match of the season, the Blugolds opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a goal by Mercedes Wilson. But the Blue Devils evened the score three minutes later when Kaitlyn Hess crossed the ball to Sydney Kasper who headed to Sarah Dickmann and Dickmann buried the shot. Stout took the lead in the 25th minute when Ryanne Millis played a through ball to Hess, who scored her sixth goal of the season. Lynn Johnson recorded four saves for Stout and Anna Sveiven had one save for Eau Claire. The Blugolds out-shot Stout, 7-5. | Eau Claire Story and Stats

A LOOK AT UW-STOUT: Ties have played a big part in the Blue Devils season, with the team tying a school record Oct.15 with their fifth tied game of the season, matching marks from 2002 and 2005. The Blue Devils have played six overtime games, and lost one, a 3-2 decision vs. Mount St. Mary's (NY) in the Johns Hopkins Invitational in Baltimore, Md. Stout is 1-1-5 at home this season, but 6-3-0 on the road. Sydney Kasper leads the team with six goals and five assists, while freshman Kaitlyn Hess has six goals and four assists. Kasper and Hess are tied for ninth in the WIAC in goals (0.33).  Bethany Hanson and Sarah Dickmann each have three goals. Ryanne Millis has two goals and a team-best seven assists, ranking first in the league (0.39). The Blue Devils have goals from Bella Pedlar, Nikki Sedivy, Haley Wentz and Bethany Hennen.  Hannah Kirchner has three assists and Jessica Ingle one. Lynn Johnson has worked all of the games since returning from a 10-day hiatus due to injury. She has been back in the net since the Blue Devils tied nationally ranked UW-Whitewater, Sept. 30. Johnson is currently 6-4-4 with a saves percentage of .824 and a GAA of 1.18. The Blue Devils have seven shutouts. As a team, the Blue Devils have scored 24 goals and have allowed 21 goals. All but three of Stout's 18 games have been one-goal games.

2016: Kasper was the team's leading scorer last season with nine goals and three assists for 21 points which earned her first team all-WIAC honors. Johnson started all 19 games in goal last season, while earning first team all-WIAC honors. She led the conference in saves with 98, fifth in GAA (1.32), sixth in save percentage (.797) and recorded four shutouts on her own. Ryanne Millis was the team's second-leading scorer, with four goals and three assists. Hannah Kirchner popped in three goals and Sarah Dickmann finished with three assists. Bella Pedlar scored her first collegiate goal last season. | Statistics

THE WIAC TOURNAMENT: Stout is 4-17-2 in the WIAC tournament, while the Pointers are 46-6-1. But this is the first appearance in the tournament for the Pointers in four years, their last trip coming in 2012. Stout last won a tournament game in 2013 and have not yet been past the semi-final game. The Pointers have won 15 WIAC tournament titles, their last title coming in 2010.

A LOOK AT UW-STEVENS POINT: Since tying with Stout on Oct. 8, the Pointers have gone 3-2-1 overall, and 2-2-1 in conference play. Francesca Hamilton leads the Pointers with nine goals and two assists, and ranks fourth in the WIAC in goals (0.50). Maddy Hardyman has seven goals and four assists, ranking 8th in the WIAC in goals (0.47). Gracie Wendels five goals and four assists and Kassidy Spees and Amanda Maestas each have four goals. Nora Hargett has six assists (fourth in WIAC, 0.33), Olivia Bohnert five and Kayla Huber four. Sarah Peplinski has worked all 18 games and has a saves percentage of .841 with a GAA of 0.79. The Pointers have scored 40 goals and have allowed 14. The Pointers had two big wins, a 10-0 decision over Crown College and a 6-0 win over Lawrence University | Season Statistics

THE LAST TIME STEVENS POINT AND STOUT MET:  Both teams scored within four minutes of each other in the first period and UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point went to play scoreless soccer the rest of the way as the teams battled to a 1-1 draw Oct. 8 at a damp Nelson Field. The Pointers  got on the scoreboard first when Gracie Wendels took a shot that Blue Devil goalie Lynn Johnson looked like she was going to stop, but the ball rolled up and over Johnson's outstretched arms in the 26th minute. Wendels was assisted by Nora Hargett. The Blue Devils scored just under four minutes later when Sydney Kasper scored her sixth goal of the season, taking a pass from Kaitlyn Ness, and sent the ball high into the opposite upper corner of the net.The game had originally been scheduled for Oct. 7. | Story and Stats

THE SERIES: Stevens Point leads the series at 18-5-1. The Blue Devils had won the previous four meetings before this season.



BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Offense: Kaitlyn Hess, Fr, Wisconsin Rapids, Minn. (Lincoln)...Defense: Nikki Sedivy, Sr, Medford, Minn. (Owatonna)

AWARDS: 2017: Defender Jessica Ingle was the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week after Stout defeated River Falls and tied with Stevens Point, 1-1...Sydney Kasper scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a 3-2 win over Hamline University, Sept. 26, and was named the WIAC offensive player of the week...Lynn Johnson was selected as the WIAC defensive player of the week after making 16 saves in a 1-1 tie with 12th ranked UW-Whitewater, Sept. 30...Kaitlyn Hess was selected as the WIAC offensive player of the week after scoring two goals - including the game winner against Viterbo in a 1-0 win Sept. 23 - in a week that Stout went 1-1-1...Sydney Kasper was selected as the UW-Stout/Toppers Athlete of the Week after scoring a goal and assist in a 4-0 win over UW-Superior, Sept. 13.


TEAM CAPTAINS: Blue Devil team captains for the 2017 season are Taylor Poss, Jessica Ingle and Sydney Kasper.

UW-STOUT COACH RYAN RAUFUS: Coach Ryan Raufus (52-58-18) is in his seventh 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: As of Oct. 16, five of Stout's six home games have ended in double overtime ties, tying the school record of five tied games set in 2002 and 2005...After losing both rostered goalies, Bethany Hennen was called on to step in goal and she posted a 2-0-0 record with wins over Viterbo and Hamline universities. Johnson returned against 12th-ranked UW-Whitewater, Sept. 30, and played a solid game, stopping 16 shots and earning WIAC defensive player of the week honors for the 1-1 tie...Bethany Hennen played for the first time in goal in competitive soccer when she donned the goalie shirt for the Viterbo University game, Sept. 23. Hennen was credited with three saves and came on in about the 20th minute. Hennen started three days later against Hamline University and picked up the 3-2 win...The Blue Devils posted six shutouts in 2016, but were kept off the scoreboard six times. This season, the Blue Devils were shutout in the opener and have shut out UW-Superior and Viterbo University.

TWENTY-TWO YEARS OF BLUE DEVIL SOCCER: After many years as a club sport, UW-Stout became the ninth WIAC team to join the varsity ranks during the 1995 season. The Blue Devils took their lumps to open the season, making their premiere by hosting Augsburg College, Sept. 10, in a 7-0 loss. Stout opened the conference season three days later at Nelson Field, hosting perennial conference powerhouse UW-Stevens Point, dropping a 6-0 decision. The Blue Devils finally broke onto the scoreboard in their third game. While hosting UW-Platteville, Sept. 17, Kari Stapleton scored in the 70th minute on an assist from Jenny Tyson in a 2-1 loss. The Blue Devils would get their first-ever win, a 3-0 decision at Martin Luther College, Sept. 23, collecting goals from Amie Frasier, Tyson and Joann Sognesand. Defender Andrea Schroeder was a second team all-conference selection in 1995, then was selected to the first team in 1996. Members of that first 1995 team include: April Amys, Beeta Bastani, Tammy Beuch, Carrie Blaska, Jen Chapple, Michelle Coon, Amie Frasier, Aimee Grimm, Jamie Jester, Julie Kremer, Dorian Loberg, Amy Lyons, Kristin Manion, Anglea McDowell, Andrea Schroeder, Joann Sognesand, Kari Stapleton, Jenny Tyson, Alisa Zimmerman. Lisa Petruccelli was the Blue Devils first coach, leading the team from 1995-98, followed by Dave Morris (1999-2005), Meagan Frank (2006-10) and Ryan Raufus (2011-present). | 1995 Statistics

DOWN THE ROAD: The Blue Devils will participate in the WIAC Soccer Championship. The first round game is Tuesday, Oct. 31, the semi-final, Thursday, Nov. 2 and the championship game, Saturday, Nov. 4. The winner of the tournament earns the NCAA automatic bid.