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

SOMERS, Wis. (Sept. 11, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside soccer teams begin Great Lakes Valley Conference play this weekend, welcoming Missouri University S&T and Drury University to Wood Road Field.
 
The Rangers take on Missouri S&T on Friday with the men kicking off at 1:15 p.m. with the women following at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday against Drury, action begins at 12 p.m. with the men's game with the women following at 2:30 p.m. Live stats will be available for all four games.
 
About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers (2-0) head into GLVC play having steamrolled their non-conference competition, outscoring their outmatched opponents by a 15-1 margin. UW-Parkside opened the season on Thursday, Sept. 4, blanking NAIA University of Saint Francis 6-0 with Antonio Gonzalez netting a hat-trick with goals in the 11th, 21st and 62nd minutes.
 
Three days later the Rangers emerged from Wood Road Field with a similar result, outclassing Robert Morris University-Lake County 9-1.  Parkside reserves Abraham Kanneh and Nemanja Medic both earned hat-tricks while Gonzalez tallied a goal and a pair of assists. Kanneh tallied goals in the 37th, 43rd and 60th minutes while Medic tallied scores in the 51st, 66th and 90th minutes.
 
Gonzalez leads the team in points (11) and assists (3) and is tied with Medic and Kanneh for the team lead in goals with four apiece. Elliott Schultz is the fourth Ranger with multiple goals, netting two assists and two goals through the first two games of the year.
 
Marcos Perez has handled the opening half in goal for the Rangers in both games, notching two saves while Remi Bibal has handled the second half on both occasions, making two saves and yielding no goals.
 
About the Miners: Missouri S&T (1-1) heads to Wisconsin after splitting a pair of home games last weekend. A Mitch Morris goal in the 55th minute lifted the Miners to a 1-0 victory over Southwest Baptist University in the season opener on Sept. 7 before suffering a 2-1 overtime setback to Lindenwood University two days later. Against the Lions, Morris equalized the score with 54 seconds left, forcing overtime with the score knotted at 1-1. In overtime it was visiting Lindenwood emerging with the win, scoring in the 100th minute.
 
Morris is the lone Miner to score a goal this season with two while Ryan Lawhead and Martin Klevjer each have an assist.
 
Goalkeeper James Holloway has logged all 190 minutes in goal for S&T, yielding two goals and making five saves.
 
About the Panthers: Drury (2-0) heads to Lewis University on Friday undefeated after winning a pair of games at the Days Inn Classic in Hays, Kansas. The Panthers opened the lid on the season on Sept. 5, rallying past Lubbock Christian University 2-1.  The Chaparrals scored first in the 52nd minute but the Panthers responded quickly, netting scores in the 56th and 57th minutes to claim the victory. Two days later, the Panthers tallied a pair of second half scores in a 2-0 shutout of host Fort Hays State University.
 
Drury has spread around the offense through two games, with eight different players netting at least a point. In goal, Logan Ponche has logged all 180 minutes, making seven saves with a goals against average of 0.50.
 
GLVC Accolades: Antonio Gonzalez was named the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday after scoring four goals and netting 11 points in just two games. He became the Rangers' first GLVC Player of the Week honoree since Marcos Perez claimed the defensive honor on Sept. 9, 2013.
 
Around the World: The Rangers' roster features three international student-athletes, including Remi Bibal from Toulouse, France, Kawsu Samba from Banjul, Gambia, and Szymon Owczarek from Gdansk, Poland.

Z is for Zitzke: Jason Zitzke enters his 16th season as a member of the coaching staff and his fourth season as head coach. During that span, the UW-Parkside graduate and 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee owns a 166-92-24 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).
 
About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers (2-0) roll into conference play having yet to concede a goal after downing non-league foes Northwood University and the University of Charleston. UW-Parkside wasted little time getting on the board in the season opener against Northwood on Sept. 5, with Bailey Reed netting her first collegiate goal in the fourth minute. UW-Parkside went on to roll the Timberwolves 3-0, getting goals from Ashley Meyer and Emily Konior. Two days later against Charleston, Karley Mecko netted a pair of scores as the Rangers disposed of the Golden Eagles by a 4-0 score. Mecko netted goals in the eighth and 58th minutes while also getting goals from Konior and Taylor Schiffer-Jander.
 
Konior leads the team in points with seven (two goals, one assist) while Niekie Pellens owns the team lead in assists with three helpers. A total of seven Rangers have tallied at least a point while five different players have scored goals in 2014.
 
The Ranger defensive backline has been unstoppable in the opening two games, allowing just five total shots on the year and only one on net. Goalkeeper Mallory Geurts has logged all 180 minutes in goal, recording one save and posting a pair of shutouts.
 
About the Miners: Missouri S&T (0-2) begins GLVC play still searching for its first win after dropping a pair of one goal games last weekend. The Miners fell 3-2 to Missouri Southern State University to begin the season on Sept. 6 before dropping a 2-1 decision in overtime against Lindenwood on Tuesday.
 
Against the Lions, S&T staked a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute with a Sabrina Hostler goal but the Lions equalized with a score in the 81st minute to force overtime. In overtime, Lindenwood notched a goal in the 98th minute to send S&T its second loss of the young season.
 
Two of the Miners' three goals have come off the boot of Hostler with Julie Bride netting the other goal. Defensively, the goalkeeping duties have been split between Carrie Levy and Kaitlyn Deister with each making a start. Levy has made four saves and has yielded no goals while Deister has three saves with a goals against average of 4.60.
 
About the Panthers: Drury (2-0) heads into Friday's clash with Lewis having yet to allow a goal this season after claiming a pair of home shutout wins in non-conference play. Drury netted a pair of second half goals in a 2-0 win over Missouri Southern State to kick off the season on Sept. 4 before downing Harding University by an identical 2-0 score on Tuesday after scoring twice in the first 15 minutes.
 
Mariah Gove leads the Panthers in goals (two) and points (five) while Emily Cline and Emma Huggett have also found the back of the net this season.
 
In goal, Tina Haberberger has made two saves in 180 minutes of work and has two shutouts to her name.

GLVC Honors: Karley Mecko was named the GLVC Defender of the Week on Monday. mecko anchored a backline that posted two shutouts and allowed just one shot on goal. The senior was additionally active in the attacking third of the field, scoring a pair of goals in the team's win over Charleston.

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 206-73-26 career mark at UW-Parkside, making seven NCAA appearances and winning four GLVC Championships.

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 35-1-4 record over the last 40 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.
 
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.