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

UW-Parkside's NCAA Tournament Info Page

Complete NCAA Division II Tournament Bracket

SOMERS, Wis. (Nov. 12, 2014)-- The third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Parkside women's soccer team is back in the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth straight season while earning hosting duties for the first time since the 2010 as Ohio Dominican University and Saginaw Valley State University descend upon Wood Road Field for the opening two rounds of the tournament.
 
Fourth-seeded Ohio Dominican and fifth-seeded Saginaw Valley State will play at noon on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with the winner taking on the top-seeded Rangers on Sunday at noon in the second round. Live stats and video will be available for both contests. The first 100 UW-Parkside students or children under 14 to the game on Sunday will receive free admission courtesy of the UW-Parkside women's soccer program.
 
Midwest Region at a glance: The NCAA Division II Tournament is comprised of 48 teams with the field further broken down into eight regions of six. UW-Parkside nabbed the top seed in the Midwest Region and hosting duties of the first two rounds along with second-seeded Grand Valley State University. GVSU hosts third-seeded Michigan Tech University and sixth-seeded Bellarmine University on Friday with the winner squaring off against the Lakers on Sunday.
 
Tournament History: UW-Parkside is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance, including the fifth in as many years. The Rangers own a 7-7-1 record in NCAA games and have won at least one game in each of the last five trips to the big dance. Saginaw Valley State is making its second trip to the NCAA Tournament and first since 2009. The Cardinals were ousted in the opening round that year while Ohio Dominican is making its maiden trip to the big dance.
 
After this weekend, the highest remaining seed in the Midwest will host the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight on Nov. 21 and Nov. 23.
 
About the Rangers: UW-Parkside (17-0-3) heads into the NCAA Tournament undefeated for the second time in program history. The Rangers last accomplished the feat in 2008, the year the Green and White won the Midwest Region Championship en route to an Elite Eight appearance.
 
The veteran Rangers nabbed both the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships, allowing just five goals all season. UW-Parkside steamrolled the opposition in the GLVC Tournament, defeating Lewis University, Truman State University and Missouri University S&T by a combined 9-1 margin, including a 4-1 drubbing of S&T in the Championship Game on Nov. 9.
 
Defense has carried the Rangers all season, ranking third nationally (out of 228 teams) in goals against average (0.243) and shutout percentage (0.75), having posted 15 clean sheets on the year, tying a single season record. While defense garners much of the attention, the Ranger attack ranks 22nd nationally in scoring, averaging 2.4 goals per game while ranking seventh in total assists (43) and 15th in total goals (48).
 
GLVC Defender of the Year Karley Mecko and First Team All-GLVC selection Emily Konior anchor the backline but also lead the squad in both goals (eight) and points (18). Second Team All-GLVC pick Jillian Hetfleisch and Taylor Schiffer-Jander each have seven goals and three assists while All-GLVC First Teamer Niekie Pellens leads the team and sits fourth in Division II in assists with 15 helpers in 2014.
 
Kelsey Armour and GLVC Freshman of the Year Bailey Reed each have five goals this year while Lauren Bialas has been a spark off the bench during the GLVC Tournament, netting goals as a substitute in two of the three games.
 
First Team All-GLVC selection Mallory Geurts serves as the Rangers' last line of defense, logging 1,847 minutes in goal for the team and posting 38 saves. Geurts ranks third in the nation in goals against average (0.244) and has allowed just five goals all year.
 
About the Panthers: Ohio Dominican (15-4-1) is making its fifth national tournament appearance but first as a member of NCAA Division II, qualifying for the NAIA Regional Tournament each year from 2005-2008.
 
A member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Panthers finished its conference slate with a 10-1-1 mark. ODU's lone setback during the league slate was a 2-1 setback at Michigan Tech on Oct. 5.
 
The Panthers rolled off 10 straight victories after the loss to Tech before falling 2-1 to Grand Valley State in the GLIAC Championship Game on Nov. 9. The most notable victory during the 10-match win streak was a 1-0 decision over host Grand Valley State on Oct. 17, snapping the Lakers' 69-match home unbeaten streak.
 
UW-Parkside and Ohio Dominican have faced two common opponents this season in the University of Southern Indiana and Northwood University. The Rangers disposed of Northwood 3-0 in the season-opener on Sept. 5 while the Panthers edged the Timberwolves 1-0 on Sept. 26. USI handed Ohio Dominican a 1-0 overtime loss on Sept. 7, dropping to 0-2 overall on the young season while the Rangers slipped past Screaming Eagles 1-0 on Sept. 26 in Evansville, Indiana.
 
Ashley Blake is the Panthers primary offensive weapon, leading the team in goals (10), assists (five) and points (25). Five of Blake's 10 goals have been game-winners for ODU. Jordan Mazzi and Lauren Pratt have both found the back of the net on five occasions. While Allison Pavlik has four goals and three assists in 2014.
 
Laura Clark and Kelsey Harris have split time in goal this season for the Panthers. Clark has made seven starts, including the last six games for ODU, sporting a goals against average of 0.75 with 20 saves and three shutouts. Harris handled a majority of the goalkeeping duties early in the season, making 13 starts, posting four clean sheets and owning a goals against average of 0.75.
 
About the Cardinals: Saginaw Valley State (10-3-3) returns to the NCAA Tournament after a four-year hiatus, making just the second appearance in program history.
 
The Cardinals wrapped up GLIAC play with an 8-2-2 mark before getting bounced 5-2 by Ashland University in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
 
Parkside and Saginaw have faced three common opponents in Northwood, University of Indianapolis and Bellarmine. SVSU owned a 3-0 record against the common foes while Parkside owns a 2-0-1 mark in those games. UW-Parkside bested Northwood 3-0 while Saginaw prevailed 2-0 on Sept. 21. SVSU downed UIndy 2-0 on Sept. 5 to open the season while Parkside netted a 3-0 win over the Greyhounds on Oct. 24. The Cardinals beat Bellarmine 2-0 on Sept. 7 at a neutral site while Parkside played to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 3 against the Knights.
 
Ashley Henderson is the Cardinals leading scorer, heading into the playoffs with eight goals on the year, including three game-winners. Shelby Watts has four goals and two assists to her name while Alexis Hillard and Olivia Perrin each have three scores in 2014. Presley Tibbetts is the team's leading distributer, posting seven assists this season.
 
Netminder Claire Spleth has played all 1,500 minutes in goal for SVSU, owning a 0.84 goals against average with eight shutouts and 83 saves.
 
2013 NCAA Tournament Rewind: UW-Parkside downed Michigan Tech 4-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to host Quincy University 1-0 in the second round.
 
Academic Excellence: Karley Mecko was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team on Oct. 30. 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 2014 GLVC Coach of the Year 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 221-73-29 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.

Five and Counting: UW-Parkside has made the NCAA Tournament the past five seasons and six of the last seven years. The Rangers have qualified for the Big Dance in 2014, 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 43-1-7 record over the last 51 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 three straight weeks. Niekie Pellens grabbed her second Player of the Week honor on Oct. 27 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.