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

SOMERS, Wis. (Sept. 3, 2014)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's and women's soccer squads dust off the cleats this week, opening up the regular season with a pair of non-conference contests at Wood Road Field.
 
The Ranger men begin their 2014 campaign on Thursday, hosting NAIA University of Saint Francis at 3:30 p.m. with the women opening their season a day later with a 3 p.m. showdown with Northwood University. Both teams are in action on Sunday with the women facing off against the University of Charleston at noon and the men following with a 3 p.m. clash with Robert Morris University-Lake County. Live stats will be available for every home soccer game this season.
 
About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers return four of their six top scorers from last year's squad that finished with a 7-8-2 overall record and a 6-8-1 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. UW-Parkside proved to be a rugged opponent at home, posting a 6-1-2 mark at Wood Road Field, including a season-opening 2-2 draw against then No. 2 Saginaw Valley State University.
 
Ryan Shogren is back for his sophomore campaign after tying for the team lead in goals (four) and points (11) as a freshman. Also back is Jorge Ontiveros (three goals), Elliott Schultz (two goals and two assists) and Antonio Gonzalez (two goals and two assists).
 
Between the posts, there will be a familiar face with Marcos Perez returning for his final season in the green and white. Perez started 16 of the team's 17 games last season, posting three shutouts and making 76 saves with a goals against average of 1.62.
 
The Rangers have been picked to finish 11th in the GLVC Coaches' Poll with 75 points. The University of Indianapolis sits atop the 16-team poll with eight first place votes and 213 points. Quincy University is second with four first place votes and 204 points while defending GLVC Tournament Champion Rockhurst University is third.
 
About the Fighting Saints: NAIA Saint Francis (0-2) heads into Thursday's clash still searching for its first win of the season after opening the year with losses against Mount Mercy University and Eastern Illinois University.
 
The Saints fell 3-1 at home to Mount Mercy in the season opener on August 26 before getting blanked 2-0 against the Division I Panthers on Aug. 30 in Charleston, Ill.
 
Mohamad Rashid owns the Saints lone goal of the season with Mark Haraus notching the squad's lone assist to date.
 
The Saints have started two goalkeepers over the first two games of the year with Brian Vasquez handling the opener, making two saves while James Thorpe got the nod against EIU, claiming three saves in the loss.
 
About the Eagles: Robert Morris-Lake County kicks off its 2014 season on Saturday, taking on sister school Robert Morris University-Springfield in Waukegan. The Eagles finished last season with a 2-6-1 overall record, closing the year with three straight defeats.
 
RMU-Lake County features a plethora of homegrown talent with 15 of the 24 players on the opening day roster hailing from Waukegan.
 
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 164-92-24 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).
 
About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers return to the pitch on Friday with an eye towards returning to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the fifth consecutive season and the eighth time in program history.
 
UW-Parkside finished its 2013 campaign with a 14-5-3 overall record and a 9-3-3 mark in GLVc play. The Rangers notched a perfect 10-0 record inside Wood Road Field while advancing to the finals of the GLVC Tournament. Parkside was nipped 2-1 by host Quincy in the championship game and was again a victim of the Hawks just seven days later, stumbling 1-0 to Quincy in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 17.
 
Kaela Hoecherl, the squad's top scorer from a year ago and Second Team All-GLVC selection, is redshirting in 2014. Hoecherl notched 10 goals and two assists in 2013, including five game-winning goals. Second-leading scorer Emily Konior returns after tallying eight goals and one assist last year. The Second Team All-Region and All-GLVC selection was deadly in penalty kicks, converting all three of her attempts last season. Vianey Hernandez, Niekie Pellens and Karley Mecko all return. The trio started all 22 games last season and each tallied a pair of goals.
 
Much like the men's squad, the goalkeeping duties will be in familiar hands with Third Team All-GLVC selection Mallory Geurts back between the posts. As a freshman, Geurts collected 11 shutouts while notching 78 saves, closing the season with a goals against average of 0.71.
 
Parkside was picked to finish fifth in the GLVC Coaches' Poll, collecting 185 points. Defending GLVC Champion Quincy sits atop the rankings with 14 first place votes and 224 points. Truman State University lands the number two spot followed by Rockhurst University and Bellarmine University.
 
About the Timberwolves: Northwood opens the season on Friday after finishing with a 6-10-1 overall record in 2013, including a 5-7 mark in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Timberwolves dropped their final two games of the 2013 season, including a 1-0 setback to Grand Valley State University in the opening round of the GLIAC Tournament.
 
Northwood returns two of its top four goal scorers from a year ago in Jessica Esser (four goals, one assist) and Jessica Flores (four goals, two assists). The Timberwolves feature considerable experience in goal returning both Samantha Cook and Julie Shields who combined to play every minute in goal last season. Cook owned a 2.07 goals against average with 56 saves in seven starts while Shields boasted a 1.77 goals against average in 10 starts with 57 saves.
 
About the Golden Eagles: Charleston opens the season on Friday at Lewis University before heading to Wisconsin for Sunday's clash. The Golden Eagles concluded their 2013 campaign with a 9-7-2 overall mark and a 7-5-2 record in Mountain East Conference action. Charleston saw its season come to a close on Nov. 7, falling 2-1 to eventual league champion West Virginia Wesleyan College.
 
Charleston must replace three of its top four scorers from the 2013 season with Isabella Jaffin the leading returner with seven goals and one assist in just 11 games.
 
In goal, Jennifer Poppe returns for the Eagles after starting all 17 games in 2013. The senior tallied 73 saves on the season with a goals against average of 1.06.

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 204-73-26 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 33-1-4 record over the last 38 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.