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

SOMERS, Wis. (Sept. 12, 2013)-- After a pair of non-conference tune-ups, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside soccer teams dive headfirst in Great Lakes Valley Conference play, hosting Saint Joseph's College on Friday at Wood Road Field before hitting the road to face the University of Indianapolis on Sunday.

The Ranger women kickoff their GLVC slate at 1:15 p.m. on Friday with the men immediately following at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, the women hit the field at 11 a.m. with the men's game getting underway at 1:30 p.m.

About UW-Parkside women's soccer: The 18th-ranked Rangers head into GLVc action undefeated, winning a pair of games last week. UW-Parkside needed overtime to dispose Ferris State University 1-0 in the season opener with Jasmine Espino tallying the game-winner three minutes into overtime. Two days later, the Rangers piled on the goals, in a 5-1 rout of 2012 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Champion Michigan Tech University. Emily Konior scored two penalty kick goals along with an assist while Ashley Meyer assisted on a pair of scores.

Mallory Geurts was named the GLVC Defender of the Week, posting a shutout in her collegiate debut with three saves against the Bulldogs before turning away six shots in the squad's blowout win over Michigan Tech. Through two games, Geurts boasts a goals against average of 0.49.

About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's heads to Wisconsin in search of its first win, stumbling 2-1 to the University of Findlay on Saturday in the teams only contest of the season. The Oilers struck first with a goal in the 61st minute before SJC equalized with a score in the 68th minute as Sarah Johnson found the back of the net off a feed from Stephanie Cradduck. Findlay closed the books on the contest with a goal in the 82nd minute to come away with the win.

The Rangers and Pumas have met 12 times since 2001 with UW-P winning 11 of those encounters, including the last nine. Last season Kaela Hoecherl tallied two goals in a nine-minute span to give the visiting Rangers the 2-0 win on Oct. 21 in Rensselaer, Ind.

About the Greyhounds: UIndy heads into Friday's clash with Lewis with a 1-1 record. The Hounds fell 1-0 to Ashland in the season opener, yielding an early goal in the seventh minute before rebounding with a 4-0 win over Tiffin in the GLVC/GLIAC Challenge on Saturday. Taylor Cotherman tallied a pair of goals while Elizabeth Behrends collected two assists. The Dragons mustered just four shots in the game, including non on frame.

Since 2001, UW-Parkside owns a 9-2-2 advantage in the series, having won two straight against the Greyhounds. UW-P prevailed 4-0 in 2012, with Jasmine Espino scoring a pair of goals.

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 192-68-23 career mark, making six NCAA appearances and winning four GLVC Championships. Fabiano is just eight 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 25-1-4 record over the last 30 games at Wood Road Field. The lone loss was a 3-2 defeat to Rockhurst on Oct. 28, 2012 in the GLVC Tournament.

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.

About UW-Parkside men's soccer: The Rangers are off to a 1-0-1 start and rank seventh in the most recent NSCAA Midwest Region Rankings. UW-P opened the season with a 4-0 whitewash of Robert Morris University-Lake County before securing a 2-2 draw against defending national runner-up Saginaw Valley State University on Saturday. Against SVSU, the Cardinals struck first with a goal just over eight minutes into the contest. The Rangers knotted the score in the 40th minute as the two sides headed into halftime tied. An own goal in the 51st minute put visiting Saginaw Valley up 2-1 before Jorge Ontiveros tallied the game-tying score in the 60th minute off a pass from Antonio Gonzalez.

Goalkeeper Marcos Perez tallied a shutout in his first career start before recording nine saves against the nationally-ranked Cardinals. For his efforts, the senior was named the GLVC Defender of the Week.

About the Pumas: Saint Joseph's enters Friday with a 1-0-1 record. The Pumas tied NAIA foe Purdue University Calumet 1-1 in the season opener on Sept. 5 before downing Oakland City University 2-1 on Saturday with Nick Cossleon scoring the game-winner in the 74th minute.  

Puma keeper Steve Quella comes into Friday with a 0.90 goals against average while logging 12 saves.

UW-Parkside and Saint Joe's have met 23 times on the soccer pitch with the Rangers owning an 18-4-1 mark in those games. The Pumas won last season's showdown, 2-1 on Oct. 21, tallying two goals in the opening 16 minutes of play. Jorge Ontiveros tallied the lone Ranger goal of the game in the 42nd minute.

About the Greyhounds: UIndy heads into the weekend with a .500 record, splitting a pair of contests in Tiffin, Ohio to begin the season. UIndy edged Northwood University 1-0 in the opener on Sept. 6 with Ngwese Ebangwese netting the contest's lone goal. Two days later, the Greyhounds fell victim to a late scoring surge, falling 3-2 to host Tiffin University. Indianapolis held a 2-1 lead at the break, getting goals from TJ Hiquet and Brett Greubel before the Dragons tallied a pair of second half strikes from Smart Osadolor, scoring in the 75th and 89th minutes.

Despite owning a 13-5-3 advantage in the all-time series, UW-Parkside has lost the last two meetings in the series against UIndy. In 2012, the Hounds scored in the third minute and held on for the 1-0 victory.

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 158-84-23 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.