FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Mark Albanese, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Media Relations

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 2, 2013)-- After a quick two-game homestand the University of Wisconsin-Parkside soccer teams are back on the road, traveling south to face Great Lakes Valley Conference foes McKendree University and Bellarmine University.

The Ranger women face McKendree on Friday at 5 p.m. in Lebanon, Ill., with the men squaring off against the Bearcats under the lights at 7:30 p.m. On Sunday, the UW-Parkside women face Bellarmine at 11 a.m. in Louisville, Ky., with the men to follow at 1:30 p.m.

About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers (5-2-1, 3-2-1 GLVC) remain spotless at home this season, improving to 5-0 at Wood Road Field, downing the University of Missouri-Saint Louis 2-0 on Friday and blowing past Maryville University 4-1 on Sunday.

Friday's contest against the Tritons was scoreless until the 77th minute when Kaela Hoecherl found the back of the net with Niekie Pellens getting credit with the assist. Stephanie Barsuli put the game out of reach, scoring in the 90th minute with Lauren Bialas notching the assist.

On Sunday, Maryville scored in the 15th minute to claim an early advantage before the Rangers stormed back with four straight goals to secure the win. Darby Moran tied the game with her first collegiate goal in the 41st minute. Pellens provided the game-winner in the 47th minute on a free kick while Emily Konior doubled the advantage in the 51st minute with a free kick score of her own. Hoecherl closed out the scoring, netting a goal in the 54th minute off a feed from Jasmine Espino.

Konior (four goals, one assist) and Espino (three goals, three assists) sit tied for the team lead in points with nine on the season. Konior, Hoecherl and Barsuli sit tied for the team lead in goals while Alex Johnson leads UW-P in assists with four helpers on the year.

In goal, Mallory Geurts has started all eight games for the Rangers, posting a pair of shutouts in her freshman campaign. Geurts has made 27 saves on the season and owns a goals against average of 1.01.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (4-3-2, 2-2-2 GLVC) returned to the win column on Sunday with a 3-0 victory over Missouri University S&T, snapping a four game non-winning streak (0-2-2).

Five of the 16 goals scored this season by the Bearcats have come off the boot of Chealsey Russell who also leads the squad in points (11). Cassie Kaiping has tallied three goals on the year while Amy Cassiday, Alyssa Patterson and Lauren Mantel each have a pair of goals on the season. Patterson is second on McK in points, leading the team with three assists.

Maggie Dudas has started all but one game in net for the Rangers, accruing 21 saves and posting a pair of shutouts. Dudas enters Friday's clash with a goals against average of 1.40.

Last season was the first meeting between the Rangers and the Bearcats. UW-Parkside prevailed 2-0 on Sept. 30 at Wood Road Field with Konior scoring in the 25th minute and Ashley Meyer scoring in the 67th minute.

About the Knights: Bellarmine (4-3-2, 3-2-1 GLVC) heads into Friday's clash against Lewis University riding a three game unbeaten streak. The Knights last tasted defeat on Sept. 20, falling 1-0 to Rockhurst University. Since then, BU has posted a 2-0-1 record, downing William Jewell College and Drury University by identical 2-0 scores while tying Missouri S&T 1-1.

All four of Bellarmine's wins have been shutouts as the Knights have allowed just 10 goals in nine games this season.

Mary Beth Gorham leads the team in goals (five) and points (13) with Chelsea McCarty leading the team in assists (six) while sitting second on the team in points (10). Abby Janszen and Lauren Boyd are also threats on the offensive side of the field, both finding the back of the net on three occasions this season.

Hannah Poteet has handled the majority of the goalkeeping responsibilities, starting six games and logging 16 saves and one clean sheet. Erin Ottman has started the remaining three contests, recording five saves and logging two shutouts. Poteet owns a goals against average of 1.65 while Ottman has yet to allow a goal in her 308 minutes of action.

Since 2001, UW-Parkside owns a 12-2-1 record against the Knights, defeating Bellarmine 2-1 in overtime last season on Sept. 28 at Wood Road Field. In that game, Stephanie Barsuli emerged as the hero, scoring the game winner in the 100th minute.

14 and Counting: Under head coach Troy Fabiano the Rangers have experienced 14 straight winning seasons a streak spanning all the way back to 1999, Fabiano's second year as coach. He currently owns a 195-70-24 career mark, making six NCAA appearances and winning four GLVC Championships. Fabiano is just five wins shy of joining the 200-win club. Only 20 NCAA Division II women's soccer coaches have eclipsed that mark, including 17 current coaches.

Three and Counting: UW-Parkside has made the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons and four of the last five years. The Rangers earned a berth to the Sweet 16 in both 2012 and 2010 while advancing to the second round in 2011.

Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly invincible at home in recent years, posting a 28-1-4 record over the last 33 games at Wood Road Field. The lone loss was a 3-2 defeat to Rockhurst on Oct. 28, 2012 in the GLVC Tournament. UW-Parkside is 5-0 at the friendly confines of Wood Road Field in 2013.

GLVC Preseason Rankings: The Rangers have been selected to place third in the 16-team GLVC according to the league's head coaches. Defending champion Quincy is projected to repeat the feat while William Jewell owns the No. 2 spot in the ranking. Bellarmine and Rockhurst round out the top five.

National Rankings: Two GLVC squads appear in the latest NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll, released Tuesday. Quincy University remains 10th in the nation while Truman State University climbs one spot to 20th. Rockhurst University is just outside the Top 25 in the also receiving votes section.

About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers erased a three-game slide and returned to the win column last weekend, earning a sweep of UMSL and Maryville. UW-Parkside blanked Missouri-St. Louis 1-0 on Friday with Milan Filipovic tallying the lone score off a free kick in the 56th minute before the Rangers downed the Saints 4-1 on Sunday.

Antonio Gonzalez (14th minute), Jon Gourlay (24th minute), Ben Kosmider (79th minute) and Ryan Shogren (89th minute) all found the back of the net on Sunday, matching the season-high for goals in a game.

Thomas Diehl and Filipovic lead the Rangers in scoring, both claiming three scores on the season while Shogren and Jorge Ontiveros have a pair of goals. Shogren leads the team in assists with three helpers on the season.

Marcos Perez has started in seven of the team's eight games, posting two shutouts and boasting a goals against average of 1.36 while making 39 saves. Remi Bibal made his first career start on Sunday, notching a pair of saves to earn the win.

About the Bearcats: McKendree (2-5-1, 0-5-1 GLVC) snapped a five-game losing streak on Sunday, salvaging a 1-1 double overtime tie with Missouri S&T after Liam Robley tallied the equalizer in the 69th minute of play. The Bearcats have yet to defeat an NCAA Division II opponent with the squads wins coming at the expense of NAIA foes William Woods University (4-0) and Baker University (2-0).

Alex Ridsdale leads the Bearcats in points (seven) and is tied with Robley for the lead in goals with three. McKendree has tallied just four assists on the year with no player collecting more than one so far.

Scott Armistead is the primary netminder for the Bearcats, starting all eight contests. Armistead has notched 45 saves on the season and boats a 1.47 goals against average while logging all but 10 minutes in goal this season.

UW-Parkside and McKendree have met just four times with the Rangers trailing the all-time series 1-2-1. The Bearcats had the upper hand in 2012, winning 4-1 on Sept. 30 at Wood Road Field.

About the Knights: Bellarmine (5-2-1, 3-2-1 GLVC) suffered a 2-0 setback to Drury University on Sunday, snapping a four game unbeaten run (3-0-1). Heading into Friday's game against Lewis, the Knight are undefeated at Owsley Frazier Stadium (2-0-1) in 2013 and own a 5-0-4 record in the last nine regular season games at the venue.

The Knights average a shade over two goals a game with Matt Odem pacing the team with five goals on the season. Dan Schiavi leads the team in assists (three) and points (11) while Kai Qualah is the third Knight with multiple goals on the season with three.

Blake Hunter has started all eight games in goal for Bellarmine, posting 22 saves on the season. Hunter owns a 1.56 goals against average and has tallied one clean sheet on the season.

The Rangers have met 20 times with UW-Parkside owning a 13-6-1 lead in the series. BU has claimed the last four meetings, including a 2-0 loss on Sept. 28, 2012 at Wood Road Field.

Around the World: UW-Parkside's roster includes players from four states and four foreign countries. 14 players hail from the Badger State while four hail from Illinois. Minnesota and Michigan each claim a Ranger student-athlete while the squad boasts international players from France, Gambia, Germany and Serbia.

Z is for Zitzke: Jason Zitzke enters his 15th season as a member of the coaching staff and his third season as head coach. During the span, the UW-Parkside graduate and 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee owns a 161-87-23 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).

National Rankings: Three GLVC squads appear in the NSCAA Division II Top 25 Poll with Drury University leading the way at No. 4. Lewis University joins the Panthers in the top ten at No. 8 while Rockhurst University is the third league team to appear in the rankings, climbing four spots to 16th.

GLVC Preseason Rankings: UW-Parkside was selected to finish 13th in the GLVC by the league's 16 head coaches. Defending champ Rockhurst secured 14 first place votes to secure the top spot followed by Drury. Quincy is third with Bellarmine and Lewis rounding out the top five. The top eight squads qualify for the GLVC Tournament that begins on Nov. 3.