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

2014 GLVC Tournament Bracket

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 31, 2014)-- The fourth-ranked and Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season champion University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's soccer team embarks on postseason play on Sunday, hosting Lewis University in the opening round of the eight-team GLVC Tournament at Wood Road Field.
 
The top-seeded Rangers (14-0-3, 12-0-3 GLVC) and eighth-seeded Flyers (5-6-6, 5-5-5 GLVC) will hit the pitch at noon on Sunday, playing each other for the second time in five days. Children 14 and under will be admitted free and all fans in attendance will receive a Ranger megaphone courtesy of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints.

UW-Parkside and Lewis wrapped up the regular season on Wednesday afternoon, playing to a 0-0 double overtime stalemate as the match was called in the 102nd minute due to darkness. Parkside dominated the game statistically, outshooting the Flyers by a 21-3 margin including a 6-1 edge in shots on target.
 
Around the GLVC Tournament: Second-seeded Bellarmine University hosts seventh-seeded Missouri University S&T at 11 a.m. on Sunday while third-seeded Rockhurst University hosts sixth-seeded Quincy University at noon. The final quarterfinal is fourth-seeded Truman State University against fifth-seeded Drury University at noon. The highest remaining seed after Sunday's games will host the remainder of the tournament. The semifinals are slated for Friday, Nov. 7 with the Championship slated for Sunday, Nov. 9.
 
Tournament Rewind: UW-Parkside advanced to the Championship Game last season, falling 2-1 to host Quincy in the final. The Rangers downed Drury 1-0 at Wood Road Field in the quarterfinals while utilizing an overtime goal from Niekie Pellens in the 98th minute to down Truman State 2-1 in the semifinals. UW-Parkside has won the GLVC Tournament on four occasions, hoisting the trophy in 2010, 2008, 2004 and 2003.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside had its seven game win streak snapped on Wednesday with the tie but it was still enough to secure the GLVC crown outright and the top seed for the GLVC Tournament. It was the Rangers third regular season GLVC title, also winning the league in 2008 and 2004 while becoming just the 10th team in GLVC history to finish the conference slate undefeated.
 
Defense has carried the Rangers all season with the team leading the nation in both goals against average (0.23) and shutout percentage (0.77). UW-Parkside has allowed just four goals all season, posting 13 shutouts while scoring more goals (39) than the amount of shots on goal allowed this year (35).
 
Emily Konior leads the team in points (18) and is tied with Karley Mecko for the lead in goals with eight. Jillian Hetfleisch and Taylor Schiffer-Jander have each netted five goals and three assists while Niekie Pellens ranks sixth nationally with a team-best 11 assists. A total of 12 Rangers have scored goals this season while 16 total players have notched at least a point during the 2014 campaign.
 
In goal, Mallory Geurts has made 31 saves, starting all 17 games and playing all but three minutes this season. The sophomore ranks second nationally in goals against average (0.23) and ranks 17th in minutes played (1,577).
 
About the Flyers: Lewis grabbed the final spot in the GLVC Tournament on Wednesday with the tie against the Rangers and head back to Wisconsin unbeaten in its last five games (3-0-2).
 
Jessica Chavez is the Flyers' leader in both goals (six) and points (16). Lauren Grady adds five goals and three assists with Maggie Moran notching three goals and four assists on the season.
 
Mara Bennett has played all 1,629 minutes in goal for Lewis, making 82 saves on the season. Bennett has posted six shutouts this season and owns a goals against average of 1.16.
 
Academic Excellence: Karley Mecko was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team on Thursday. The 11 player team is comprised of Division II student-athletes from the GLVC, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
The award is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. To be eligible a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at her current institution and be nominated by her sports information director.
 
16 and Counting: Under head coach Troy Fabiano the Rangers have experienced 16 straight winning seasons a streak spanning all the way back to 1999, Fabiano's second year as coach. He currently owns a 218-73-29 career mark at UW-Parkside, making seven NCAA appearances and winning four GLVC Championships.
 
The Rangers clinched its 16th straight winning campaign with a 2-0 win over Maryville University on Oct. 10.

Four and Counting: UW-Parkside has made the NCAA Tournament the past four seasons and five of the last six years. The Rangers have qualified for the Big Dance in 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2008, 2004 and 2003. The Rangers advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2008 while making an appearance in the Sweet 16 in 2012 and 2010. UW-Parkside has advanced past the first round every time except for an opening round exit in 2003. The Rangers are 7-7-1 all-time in NCAA games.
 
Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly invincible at home in recent years, post­ing a 40-1-7 record over the last 48 games at Wood Road Field. The lone loss in that stretch was a 3-2 defeat to Rockhurst on Oct. 28, 2012 in the GLVC Tournament. UW-Parkside hasn't lost a regular season home game since falling 1-0 to Saginaw Valley State University in the 2010 season opener on Sept. 2 and hasn't dropped a regular season GLVC contest at Wood Road Field since suffering a 1-0 setback to the University of Indianapolis on October 2, 2009.
 
GLVC Defender of the Week: UW-Parkside has been a consistent fixture of the GLVC weekly awards, claiming Defender of the Week accolades on five occasions, including each of the past three weeks. Niekie Pellens grabbed her second Player of the Week honor on Monday while Emily Konior became a two-time honoree on Oct. 20, securing the honor after netting a pair of game-winners. Konior additionally won the award on Sept. 22. Karley Mecko was the GLVC honoree on Sept. 8 while Niekie Pellens won the honor on Oct. 13.
 
Konior was additionally named the NSCAA Disney Soccer Player of the Week on Sept. 23. She became the second women's soccer player to land the honor since the award was created at the start of the 2013 season. Goalie Mallory Geurts won National Player of the Week on Oct. 8, 2013.
 
RangerNation: The 2014 UW-Parkside women's soccer roster features 27 student-athletes from eight different states and one foreign country. The Rangers hail from Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, California, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Florida and the Netherlands.