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

SOMERS, Wis. (Sept. 18, 2014)-- After playing the opening four games inside the comforts of Wood Road Field, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's and women's soccer teams hit the road for the first time this season, traveling to the Kansas City area for a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games. The Rangers begin the road swing on Friday against Rockhurst University and cap off the Missouri Trip on Sunday against William Jewell College.
 
The trip gets underway for the 23rd-ranked women on Friday at 5 p.m. against 20th-ranked Rockhurst with the men taking the field at 7:30 p.m. The squads travel to Liberty, Missouri on Sunday to take on William Jewell. The Ranger women get underway at 12 p.m. with the men following at 2:30 p.m. Live stats will be provided for all four games.
 
About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The 23rd-ranked Rangers (3-0-1, 1-0-1 GLVC) hit the road having yet to concede a goal this season, having now logged 399 minutes without allowing a score, a streak spanning all the way back to last season's NCAA Tournament second round game. The stout Parkside defense has allowed just five shots on goal this season, leading the nation in shutouts, goals against average and save percentage.
 
The Rangers opened GLVC play on Sept. 12, pounding visiting Missouri University S&T 7-0 as Jillian Hetfleisch netted a hat-trick in her season debut. The sophomore netted her first career goal in the 32nd minute before tacking on goals in the 49th and 60th minutes to complete the hat-trick. The forward becomes the first Ranger to net a hat-trick since Shannon Becker did so on Sept. 29, 2010 against Concordia University Chicago and the first Ranger hat-trick in a GLVC contest since Crystal Chalery scored three in a 5-1 win over University of Missouri-Saint Louis on Sept. 10, 2010.
 
Two days later, the Rangers were unable to find the back of the net after 110 minutes of action, settling for a 0-0 double overtime stalemate with Drury University.  Parkside finished the game with a commanding 29-10 edge in shots including a 12-4 advantage on shots on goal.
 
UW-Parkside's offense averages 3.5 goals per game, leading the GLVC and ranking 13th nationally while the team ranks third in assists per game (4.0) and seventh in points per game (11.0).
 
Three Rangers sit tied for the team lead in points. Karley Mecko and Jillian Hetfleisch each have three goals and six total points while Emily Konior has two goals and two assists on the season. Niekie Pellens is the team's leading distributer with five assists on the year, ranking third nationally in total assists and fourth in assists per game (1.25).
 
In goal, Mallory Geurts leads the nation in both goals against average (0.00) and save percentage (1.000). The sophomore has made five saves on the season, logging 377 minutes between the posts.
 
About the Hawks: 20th-ranked Rockhurst (5-0, 2-0 GLVC) shoots into the NSCAA Top 25 this week after opening its GLVC slate last weekend with a pair of victories.
 
The Hawks opened their season with a five game road swing, earning a trio of non-league shutout victories before opening GLVC play in Indiana. Rockhurst downed Saint Joseph's College 4-2 on Sept. 12 before edging the University of Indianapolis 1-0 on Sunday.
 
Taylor Skala netted the Hawks lone goal against UIndy and sits tied for the team lead in both goals and points with Kristin Wolff. Both have three goals and one assist on the young season while Julie Bartolacci has two goals and an assist. Brandi Van Booven and Jessica Cook lead the team in assists, both collecting a pair of helpers.
 
In goal, Caitlin Winschel has started four of the Hawks' five games, making 11 saves and posting three shutouts while yielding just two goals. Ali Wallner made the start against UIndy, stopping three shots in her first action of the year to earn the clean sheet.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (0-0-3, 0-0-2 GLVC) heads into Friday's home opener against Lewis University having drawn its opening three games of the year. The Cardinals opened the season on Sept. 5 with a 2-2 double overtime draw against host Newman University before earning a pair of road ties to begin GLVC action last week. Jewell settled for a 2-2 draw at UIndy last Friday before playing to a scoreless draw at Saint Joseph's on Sunday.
 
The Cardinals have scored four goals this season with all four coming off the boot of a different player.
 
In net, Jordan Lewis handled the opening two contests of the season, making eight saves with a goals against average of 1.64. The Cardinals started Alex Dressman against the Pumas on Sunday, making six saves to claim the shutout.
 
GLVC Prognostications: The Rangers were picked to finish fifth in the annual GLVC Coaches' Preseason Poll, released on August 28. UW-Parkside tallied 185 points, falling one point shy of fourth place Bellarmine University. Defending GLVC Champion Quincy University accrued 14 first place votes to snag the top spot followed by Truman State University in second and Rockhurst University in third.
 
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 207-73-27 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 36-1-5 record over the last 42 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.
 
About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers (2-2, 0-2 GLVC) look to snap a two-game skid after dropping a pair of home games to begin GLVC play.
 
UW-Parkside dominated the opening half against Missouri S&T in the GLVC Opener on Sept. 12 but was unable to find the back of the net. The Miners' David Zdvorak provided the lone score in the 77th minute as the Rangers fell 1-0. On Sunday, Jorge Ontiveros got UW-Parkside on the board in the fifth minute but the visiting Drury Panthers quickly equalized the score in the seventh minute. The game remained level at 1-1 until the 50th minute with Drury's Matt Clarkin providing the game's final score to sink the Rangers 2-1.
 
On the season, Antonio Gonzalez leads the offense in assists and points and is tied for the team lead in goals. The junior striker has four assists and 12 points on the young season in addition to four goals. Nemanja Medic has four goals and one assist on the season while Abraham Kanneh has four goals as well. All three individuals have netted a hat-trick this season. Elliott Schultz has two goals and two assists while Ryan Shogren and Evan Garcia each have a pair of assists.
 
Marcos Perez has handled a majority of the goalkeeping duties, sporting a 1.33 goals against average with 10 saves in four games. Remi Bibal handled the second half of both non-conference games this season, recording two saves and allowing no goals.
 
As a team, the Rangers rank third in the nation in total assists (14), total goals (16) and total points (46) and sit fourth in scoring offense (4.00).  Gonzalez checks in at No. 2 nationally in total assists (4) and seventh in points per game (3.0).
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (2-1, 2-0 GLVC) heads into Friday's home opener riding a two game win streak after claiming a pair of shutout wins last weekend in Indiana. The Hawks opened the season with a 1-0 setback to Northeastern State University on Sept. 5 before opening GLVC play with a 2-0 victory over host Saint Joseph's on Sept. 12. The Hawks continued their winning ways on Sunday, slipping past UIndy 1-0 in overtime with Kaleb Jackson netting the game-winner eight minutes into the extra session.
 
Rockhurst has tallied just three goals this season with Jackson, Nick Caruso and Michael Panarisi all netting a goal while Evan Craig, Chi Ngwefang and Adam Michel each have an assist this season.
 
Between the posts, Stefano Radio has handled the goalkeeping duties, logging all 287 minutes in net. Radio has 11 saves on the season, posting two shutouts with a goals against average of 0.31.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (0-3-1, 0-1-1 GLVC) heads into Friday's clash with Lewis still searching for its first win of the season. The Cardinals dropped a pair of non-league contests, falling 1-0 to Newman and 5-0 to Northeastern State before salvaging a 1-1 tie with host UIndy on Sept. 12 to open GLVC play. The Cardinals closed their Indiana road trip with a 1-0 setback to St. Joseph's as the Pumas netted the game winner in the ninth minute of overtime.
 
The anemic Cardinal offense has tallied just one goal on the season, provided by Aaron Froehlich against UIndy.
 
Shane Van Hooser has occupied the net for the majority of the season, starting all four games. Van Hooser has made 21 saves on the season while yielding six goals.
 
GLVC Preseason Poll: UW-Parkside was picked to finish 11th in the annual GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll released on August 27. The Rangers tallied 75 points in the rankings, falling 30 points shy of 10th place Truman State University. University of Indianapolis sits atop the rankings, claiming 213 points and eight of the 16 first place votes. Quincy University had four first place votes and sits second followed by Rockhurst in third place with three first place nods. Lewis University rounds out the top four with 189 points and the remaining first place endorsement.
 
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 166-94-24 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).