Soccer Preview: Blue Devils mark Senior Day, Alumni Day, Saturday

Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Weekly Soccer Notes |

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (2-9-1, 0-3-0 WIAC) return to Nelson Field Saturday, Oct. 13 for a 2 p.m. conference battle with UW-Platteville (7-6-0, 1-2-0 WIAC). The day will also be Alumni Day and Senior Day. The Blue Devils will recognize seniors Melissa Rice and Sydney Kasper.

After losing nine starters, to say the Blue Devils will be a different looking team may be a bit of an understatement. The Blue Devils do return two-time All-WIAC pick Sydney Kasper. With 25 career goals, Kasper is currently ranked sixth on the Blue Devil all-time goal scoring list. Kasper last season scored six goals and five assists, and this year has five goals and an assist.

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 that appears to have been rectified.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: The Blue Devils lost 5-1 at St. Olaf, Oct. 3, and lost a close 2-1 decision at UW-Oshkosh, Oct. 6. Bella Pedlar scored on an assist in the Blue Devils' loss to St. Olaf. Against the Titans, Stout's Sydney Kasper tied the score in the 31st minute, but UW-Oshkosh's Mallory Knight scored her second goal of the afternoon in the 54th minute and the Titans hung on for a 2-1 win over the Blue Devils Saturday. Knight opened the scoring in the 17th minute, but Kasper evened the score for Stout (2-9-1, 0-3-0 WIAC), taking a pass in the box from Marissa Steele. The game went scoreless until Knight netted the eventual game winner early in the second half. | St. Olaf Game and Stats | UW-Oshkosh Game and Stats

A LOOK AT UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils have been able to spread the scoring wealth around. Ten different players have accounted for Stout's 19 goals with Sydney Kasper scoring five. Bella Pedlar and freshman Marissa Steele each haver three goals, with Steele matching a team high three assists. Alilison Klotz and Hannah Kirchner also have three assists. Freshman Lindsay Penkala has two goals. Klotz, Katie Sukanen, Rachel Washington, Lexi Fernandez, Ariel Kuchta and Caylee Boone each have a goal. Faith Dube, Lexie Wescott, Kali Brahs and Hannah Kirchner each have an assist. Sukanen and Kasper each have an assist. Stout has utilized both freshmen goalies. Claudia Anderson has started 11 games and has an GAA of 2.77. Melissa Ferrise has made one start with four appearances, posting a GAA of 1.89. As a team, Stout is averaging 1.58 goals per game and is allowing 2.67. Kasper, a team captain, currently has 25 career goals, putting her sixth on the UW-Stout all-time list. Her 61 career points ranks her seventh on the Stout list and her 11 career assists is 15th. | 2018 Season Preview | Statistics


A LOOK AT UW-PLATTEVILLE: The Pioneers are the top scoring team in the WIAC, averaging 3.15 goals per contest. They are also second in the league in assists, averaging 2.08. Defensively, Platteville is seventh, with 2.38 goals allowed. Forward Caelyn Steffens has been a prime mover for the Pioneers and the freshman leads the WIAC in both points (4.08) and goals (1.83), and selected as the WIAC player of the week after scoring four goals the previous week and breaking the school's single season scoring record. Steffens has 22 goals and 49 points. Steffens came into the week ranked third in the NCAA in both points and goals per game. Amber Lueder leads the WIAC in assists with 0.77 per game and is fourth in goals (0.62), tallying eight total goals and 10 assists. In net, Kathryn Flaherty has a GAA of 2.11. UW-Platteville won four consecutive matches last season for the first time since the 2010 campaign. Sophomore forward Amber Lueder is back after finishing second on the squad with four goals and nine points in 2017. | Season Statistics

THE PIONEERS THE LAST TIME OUT: UW-Platteville held the advantage in the second half with two goals compared to UW-La Crosse's one, but it was not enough to overcome the Eagles big first half as the Eagles took a 6-2 win Wednesday in La Crosse. Sophomore Amber Lueder and freshman Caelyn Steffens teamed up to score both goals for the Pioneers. After an Eagle dominated first half, the Pioneers entered the second half and quickly found the net at 45:43 when Lueder scored her first goal of the game and eighth of the season with an assist by Steffens. Then Steffens earned her first goal of the night and 22nd of the season with an assist from Lueder in the 87th minute. The Pioneers were outshot 31-4 with three on goal for the Pioneers. UW-La Crosse also held an 8-0 advantage on corner kicks. Sophomore Kathryn Flaherty took the loss in goal with 15 saves on the night.. | UW-La Crosse Game Story and Stats

THE LAST TIME PLATTEVILLE AND STOUT MET: UW-Stout climbed into third place in the WIAC with one game left to play with a 1-0 win over UW-Platteville Oct. 21, 2017, at Pioneer Stadium. Following a scoreless first half, Kaitlyn Hess scored her fifth goal of the season, getting an assist from Hannah Kirchner in the 72nd minute. Kirchner received a through ball from Sydney Kasper, took a single touch and crossed the ball on the ground to Hess. The Blue Devil defense had another good effort, holding the Pioneers to six overall shots and four shots on net. The Blue Devils punched out 10 shots with seven shots on frame. Hess and Sarah Dickmann each had two shots on net. Stout put four shots on net in the first half and three in the second half.. | Game Story and Stats

THE SERIES: The Blue Devils hold a 19-3-1 lead in the series. The Blue Devils have won the last four meetings.


BLUE DEVIL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: Week Six: Sydney Kasper, Sr, Owatonna, Minn.

AWARDS: 2018: playing in her first collegiate weekend, defender Katie Sukanen was named the WIAC defensive player of the week, Sept. 5, after helping hold Hamline University to one goal and eight shots in a 2-1 win, Aug. 31.

TEAM CAPTAINS: Blue Devil team captains for the 2018 season are Sydney Kasper, Melissa Rice and Sarah Dickmann.

UW-STOUT COACH RYAN RAUFUS: Coach Ryan Raufus (55-68-19) is in his eighth 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. (Raufus began the 2018 season at 53-59-18)

QUICK HITS: The Blue Devils have 16 newcomers to the squad, including 14 freshmen. The team also includes two seniors, four juniors and four sophomores...the team is made up of 13 players from Wisconsin, eight from Minnesota and two from Illinois...former players Kelly Conn and Bethany Hanson join the coaching staff.

TWENTY-THREE 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 wrap up home play when they host UW-La Crosse, Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., then head to UW-Whitewater, Saturday, Oct. 20 for a 3 p.m. contest. The La Crosse game is a Play for a Cause game and the Blue Devils will play for Alzheimer's Awareness.