Soccer Preview: Stout to close home season by hosting Eagles Wednesday

Live Stats | Live Video | WIAC Weekly Soccer Notes | UW-Whitewater Live Stats | UW-Whitewater Live Video

THIS WEEK'S GAMES: The Blue Devils (2-10-1, 0-4-0 WIAC) will wrap up home play when they host UW-La Crosse (11-2-1, 4-0-0 WIAC), Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m., then head to UW-Whitewater (6-8-1, 0-4-0 WIAC), 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.

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 hopefully that has been rectified.

PARKING: Parking on the UW-Stout campus is restricted during the business week. For games at Nelson Field during the week, please plan to park in Lot 29. Do not park in Lot 4, which is a reserved lot for students that live in the residence halls.

BLUE DEVILS LAST TIME OUT: Platteville scored all four of their goals in about a 20 minute time span of the second half to take a 4-0 win over UW-Stout Oct. 13 at Nelson Field. The Pioneers scored in the 56th, 70th, 73rd and 76th minute, Platteville held a 17-5 advantage in shots and a 14-5 advantage in shots on goal. The game was scoreless after the first half, and nearly the entire game was played on the north end of the field. The Blue (2-10-1, 0-4-0) attacked consistently in the first half, and put two shots on goal within the first minutes of the game. But the tides turned in the second half as the Pioneers applied the pressure and chased Stout starter Claudia Anderson, who made eight saves, but gave up all four goals before giving way to Melissa Ferrise, who recorded two goals in about 10 minutes.The Pioneers outshot Stout 14-1 in the second half. | Game Story and Stats

A LOOK AT UW-STOUT: The Blue Devils have been able to spread the scoring 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 12 games and has an GAA of 2.91. Melissa Ferrise has made one start with five appearances, posting a GAA of 1.79. As a team, Stout is averaging 1.46 goals per game and is allowing 2.77. 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-LA CROSSE: The Eagles are currently in first place in the WIAC and second in the league in scoring, averaging 3.00 goals per contest and have three players ranking in the top 10 of the league in goals scored. Cassie Handricks has punched in 10 goals this season, while Margaret Harings has seven and Maya Schmitt six. Lily Brock has played nearly 1000 minutes and has a GAA of 1.29. The Eagles have a 10-game winning streak, including an overtime win over then 18th-ranked Wheaton College. | Season Statistics

THE EAGLES  THE LAST TIME OUT: La Crosse earned a 2-0 victory at UW-River Falls Saturday afternoon at Ramer Field, picking up their 10th straight win overall. After a scoreless first half, UWL took a 1-0 lead on Delaney Harnell's unassisted goal at 69:22. The Eagles made it 2-0 at 87:05 with Kaitlyn Villars getting an unassisted goal. UWL outshot UW-River Falls, 40-1, including 20-1 in the first half and 20-0 in the second half. The Eagles had 16 shots on goal.   | UW-River Falls Game Story and Stats

THE LAST TIME LA CROSSE AND STOUT MET: UW-Stout had their six game unbeaten streak halted by UW-La Crosse as the Eagles shut out the Blue Devils, 4-0, Oct. 11, 2017. The nationally-ranked Eagles scored two goals in the first 11 minutes of the game, then added two more in the last 15 minutes of the game. The Eagles out-shot Stout, 28-13, for the game and 20-7 in the second half. The loss was Stout's first conference loss. | Game Story and Stats

THE SERIES: The Eagles lead the series 18-7-3.


A LOOK AT UW-WHITEWATER: The Warhawks are still looking for their first conference win and have lost their last four games. Anna Boyd has scored four goals and added an assist. Nina Yonan has worked nearly 1200 minutes in goal and has a GAA of 1.66. | Season Statistics

THE WARHAWKS THE LAST TIME OUT: Whitewater women's soccer team gave up two second half goals to fall to UW-Stevens Point 2-0 Oct. 13 at Fiskum Field in Whitewater. The Warhawks registered 10 shots in the match, but were unable to score for the third game in a row. The Warhawks play at UW-Platteville, Wednesday, Oct. 17. | UW-Stevens Point Game Story and Stats

THE LAST TIME WHITEWATER AND STOUT MET: Stout goalie Lynn Johnson recorded 16 saves, including five in the overtime periods, as UW-Stout forged a 1-1, double overtime tie with 12th ranked UW-Whitewater Sept. 30, 2017 at Nelson Field. Johnson, who was returning after missing the last three-plus games due to injury, allowed one goal, that coming in the 24th minute by Anna Boyd on a breakaway. The Warhawks held a 1-0 halftime lead, but Stout got on the board when Bella Pedlar scored off a deflection in the 71st minute. Johnson was stellar throughout the game, making three first half saves, eight in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth. | Game Story and Stats

THE SERIES: The Warhawks lead the series, 17-6-2.


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 (55-69-19) 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 finish off the regular season when they play for Paul Bunyan's Axe, traveling to UW-Eau Claire, Saturday, Oct. 27 for a 2 p.m contest.