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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct 23, 2013)-- After four straight games at the friendly confines of Wood Road Field, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside soccer squads are back on the road, heading south to the Show Me State for games against Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals Drury University and Missouri University S&T.

The Ranger women face Drury at 5 p.m. on Friday while taking on Missouri S&T on Sunday at 12 p.m. The UW-Parkside men hit the field on 7:30 p.m. on Friday against the Panthers and square off against the Miners at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers (10-2-2, 8-2-2 GLVC) hit the road with a five game win streak and an eight game unbeaten streak (7-0-1). UW-Parkside's last defeat came on Sept. 22, falling 2-1 in overtime to Truman State University. Since then, the Rangers have outscored opponents 16-2 while winning six games by shutout.

UW-P downed William Jewell College 2-1 on Oct. 18 before edging Rockhurst University 1-0 on Sunday for the 200th win in head coach Troy Fabiano's career. Against William Jewell, Vianey Hernandez scored the opening goal in the sixth minute, her first career score before the Cardinals equalized in the 44th minute, snapping the Rangers' shutout streak at 500 minutes. Jasmine Espino emerged as the hero in the second half with a goal in the 74th minute with Kaela Hoecherl tallying the assist.

Against Rockhurst, a Hernandez header goal in the 20th minute was all that was necessary for the Rangers to wrap up their regular season home slate undefeated (9-0). Hernandez's goal, the second in as many games, came off an Alex Johnson corner kick with Stephanie Barsuli feeding the ball to Hernandez. The win was the eighth shutout of the season for the Rangers.

Hoecherl continues to lead the team in goals (seven) and points (15) with Emily Konior ranking second in both departments (six goals, 13 assists). Espino and Barsuli both sit third on the team in goals with four while a total of 11 Rangers have found the back of the net in 2013. Alex Johnson is the team leader in assists with six helpers on the season while Katie Gavin ranks second with four.

Between the posts, Mallory Geurts has logged 1,276 minutes of game action, making 50 saves and sporting a goals against average of 0.64. The freshman keeper has notched 10 wins on the season and has eight shutouts in just 14 career starts.

About the Panthers: Drury (7-5-3, 5-4-3 GLVC) heads into Friday tied for the eighth and final spot in the GLVC Championship Tournament with three games to play. The Panthers have been road warriors in 2013, claiming a 6-2-1 record away from Harrison Stadium but have won just once at home, a 2-1 victory over McKendree University on Sept. 27. Drury began last weekend with a 1-0 win over host Saint Joseph's College before falling to the University of Indianapolis on Sunday 1-0. The Panthers goal on Oct. 18 against the Pumas is the team's lone goal over the last four games, going 1-2-1 during that stretch.

Emily Cline is the Panthers leader in points (14) and goals (six) with Mariah Gove and Sarah Duffy second on the team in goals with three apiece. Kara Steiner is the only other Panther with multiple goals (two) and is the team leader in assists with three on the season.

Drury has utilized two keepers over the course of the season with Kelsey Vaught seeing a majority of the action. Vaught has tallied 42 saves on the season and owns a goals against average of 0.84 in 11 starts. Jenna Jones has recorded four starts, making 13 saves with a goals against average of 1.15.

The Rangers and Panthers have met 10 times since 2001 with UW-Parkside enjoying a 7-3 advantage in the series. UW-P has won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 win on Sept. 9, 2012 at Wood Road Field. In that contest, Emily Konior provided the eventual game winner, converting a penalty kick in the 71st minute.

About the Miners: Missouri S&T (3-6-3, 3-6-3 GLVC) heads into Friday's clash with Lewis University looking to snap a two game slide and end a four match winless streak (0-3-1). The Miners have struggled over the past four games, scoring just one goal in that stretch.

S&T fell 1-0 to the University of Indianapolis on Oct. 10 before surrendering two goals in a four minute stretch, stumbling 2-1 to St. Joseph's on Sunday. The Miners are still searching for their first home victory of the season, posting a 0-3-2 record in 2013 at the Missouri S&T Soccer Field.

Missouri S&T has scored just eight goals on the season (0.63 per game) with Sarah Hostler accounting for half of the goals with four on the season.

The Miners have utilized two goalkeepers this season with Kaitlyn Deister and Madison Gibler each making six starts. Deister has posted three shutouts and owns a goals against average of 0.62 while Gibler leads the team with 29 saves, owning a 1.57 goals against average and collecting one shutout.

UW-Parkside and Missouri S&T have met 10 times all-time with the Rangers claiming all 10 encounters. The Rangers blanked the Miners 2-0 last season on Sept. 7 at Wood Road Field, getting goals from Emily Konior and Kelsey Armour.

15 and Counting: Under head coach Troy Fabiano the Rangers have experienced 15 straight winning seasons a streak spanning all the way back to 1999, Fabiano's second year as coach. He currently owns a 200-70-25 career mark in 16 seasons at the helm, making six NCAA appearances and winning four GLVC Championships. Fabiano became the 21st active coach in NCAA Division II to eclipse 200 wins with Sunday's 1-0 win over Rockhurst.

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 32-1-4 record over the last 37 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 9-0 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.

GLVC in the Top 25: Two teams represent the GLVC in this week's NSCAA Top 25 Poll. Quincy University climbs up two spots to No. 9 while Truman State University falls three positions to No. 23.

About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers (7-5-2, 6-5-1 GLVC) head into the final three games of the season jockeying for playoff position, hoping to remain among the top eight of the GLVC to secure a spot in the conference tournament. UW-Parkside sits in sixth place in the standings but the margin between fifth place and 10th place is razor thin.

The Rangers finished last weekend unbeaten blanking William Jewell 2-0 on Oct. 18 before salvaging a 1-1 double overtime draw against Rockhurst during Senior Day on Sunday.

UW-Parkside netted a goal in each half against Jewell with Elliott Schultz finding the back of the net in the 13th minute off a Thomas Diehl assist before Jorge Ontiveros added an insurance goal in the 88th minute, slicing through the Cardinal backline and beating the keeper.

On Sunday, the Rangers conceded a goal in the fifth minute before rallying to tie the game in the 43rd minute with senior Austin Robb scoring a goal off a free kick. Neither squad was able to score the rest of the way, settling for a 1-1 draw in a physical back and forth contest.

Thomas Diehl and Ryan Shogren are tied for the team lead in goals (four), assists (three) and points (11). Milan Filipovic and Jorge Ontiveros both have three goals on the year while Elliott Schultz, Antonio Gonzalez and Austin Robb each have a pair of goals.

Marcos Perez has started all but one game this season in net, posting a goals against average of 1.36 with 67 saves and three shutouts.

About the Panthers: Drury (11-4, 8-4 GLVC) charged out of the gate, winning nine of its first 11 games. The Panthers have earned weekend splits the past two weeks, downing St. Joseph's 3-1 on Oct. 18 before falling 3-1 to UIndy on Sunday.

Drury heads into Friday averaging just over two goals a game with Nick Ammann leading the way with seven goals and 17 points. Brett Steere has found the back of the net six times in 2013 while Scott Stiffler has five goals and a team-best four assists. A total of 12 Panthers have scored goals this season, including six with multiple goals.

Blake Andrews has started all but one game in goal for the Panthers, earning six shutouts on the season with a goals against average of 0.80.

The Rangers and Panthers have met 10 times on the soccer pitch with the series deadlocked at 4-4-2. Drury came away with the victory last season, downing UW-Parkside 2-0 on Sept. 9 at Wood Road Field.

About the Miners: Missouri S&T (6-6-2, 5-5-2 GLVC) finishes the regular season with three home games, looking to secure a spot in the GLVC Tournament. The Miners have tallied just one goal in their last four games, posting a 1-2-1 mark during that stretch. S&T opened last weekend with a 1-0 defeat at UIndy before scoring a goal in the eighth minute against St. Joseph's on Sunday for the 1-0 victory against the host Pumas.

Alex Reifschneider leads the Miners in goals with four on the season while Brian Seawright adds three goals to the cause. Diego Robayo is the primary distributor with four assists on the year.

Matt Jackson has logged the majority of time in goal, making 12 starts and making 72 saves. Jackson boasts four clean sheets on the year and owns a goals against average of 1.02.

The Rangers have never lost to the Miners, owning a 7-0-4 edge in the all-time series. UW-Parkside opened the GLVC season last year with a 2-1 win over S&T on Sept. 7 at Wood Road Field. S&T tallied the first goal in the 52nd minute before Jorge Ontiveros tallied the equalizer just four minutes later. Austin Robb secured the game-winner with an unassisted strike in the 83rd minute of play.

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 164-89-24 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).

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.

GLVC in the Top 25: Three GLVC squads appear in this week's NSCAA Top 25 Poll. Rockhurst leads the way surging from the receiving votes section all the way to No. 9 this week. University of Indianapolis cracks the Top 25 at No. 16 while Lewis University plummets 15 spots to No. 20.