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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 22, 2015)-- Its crunch time for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's and women's soccer teams with both squads heading into the final three games of the regular season in need of some victories to secure a spot in the eight-team Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament.
 
The Rangers open their final homestand of the season on Friday afternoon against William Jewell College. The women take the pitch at 1:15 p.m. with the men following at 3:30 p.m. UW-Parkside closes out its home slate on Sunday, welcoming Rockhurst University to Wood Road Field for Senior Day. The women's game gets underway at 12 p.m. with the men taking the field at 2:30 p.m. The regular season wraps up on Wednesday night in Romeoville, Illinois with the Rangers facing Lewis University. Women play at 5 p.m. with the men following at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for all six games.
 
About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers (5-7-2, 4-6-2 GLVC) head into the home stretch of the regular season two games back of the eighth and final GLVC Tournament spot. UW-Parkside returns to Wood Road Field unbeaten in its last three games (2-0-1) after picking up a win and a tie last weekend in Missouri.
 
The Rangers' recent run began on Oct. 11, experiencing their best offensive output of the season in a 4-1 dismantling of the University of Southern Indiana. Jillian Hetfleisch was the catalyst of the offensive surge, netting her second career hat-trick while Vianey Hernandez contributed a pair of assists.
 
Parkside continued its winning ways on Oct. 16, emerging from Harrison Stadium in Springfield, Missouri with a 1-0 win over host Drury University. Chloe Couves provided the game's lone goal, finding the back of the net off a pass from Lauren Bialas in the 29th minute. Two days later UW-Parkside and Missouri University S&T battled to a 1-1 stalemate to cap off the road swing. Hernandez provided the Green and White's lone goal, striking in the 44th minute off a cross from Lexi Porter.
 
Hernandez leads the Ranger offense, leading the team in both goals (six) and points (14). Hetfleisch adds five goals and a team-leading three assists while Bialas and Couves have three and two goals on the season, respectively. Porter is tied with Hetfleisch for the team lead in assists with three while Bialas and Taylor Schiffer-Jander each have a pair of helpers in 2015.
 
Sarah Dobrowolski has been a stalwart in goal for the Rangers, logging 1,268 minutes between the posts with a goals against average of 1.14. The redshirt freshman has made 50 saves on the season while posting shutouts in five of the team's 14 games.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (6-6-3, 4-6-2 GLVC) finds itself in a similar position as Parkside, needing wins to secure a spot in the postseason.
 
The Cardinals have posted three consecutive shutouts, earning a 0-0 draw against Maryville University on Oct. 11 before defeating Saint Joseph's College 3-0 on Oct. 16. Jewell capped off its home schedule on Sunday, edging the University of Indianapolis 1-0 behind a Jade Gifford goal in the 32nd minute.
 
Gifford is WJC's primary offensive weapon, pacing the team in goals (five), assists (five), and points (15). Emma Baldridge has four goals while Emily Monroe and Aspen Hawkins each have three apiece. Hayley White owns four assists on the year while two more Cardinals have more than one assist this season.
 
Jordan Lewis is Jewell's primary netminder, sporting a 1.13 goals against average with 43 saves on the year. Alex Dressman has made four starts for WJC in goal, including the St. Joe's game and owns a 1.64 GAA with 20 saves.
 
About the Hawks: Rockhurst (6-4-5, 6-4-2 GLVC) is the team currently anchoring the eighth and final GLVC Tournament spot, posting clean sheets in each of the last three games. The Hawks downed the University of Illinois Springfield on Oct. 14 and Saint Joseph's on Oct. 18 by identical 2-0 scores while earning a 0-0 draw against the University of Indianapolis on Oct. 16 in Kansas City.
 
Courtney Silberberg has a team-best six goals on the 2015 campaign while Jessica Smelcer has three goals on the season. Three more players have at least two scores, including Nicole Keeve who leads the team with seven assists.
 
 Caitlin Winschel and Ali Wallner have split time in goal for the Hawks, with Winschel handling a majority of the time in net. Winschel has made nine starts, logging 24 saves with a goals against average of 0.70 with four shutouts. Wallner has made six starts, logging 10 saves and collecting three shutouts with a 0.96 GAA.
 
About the Flyers: Lewis (8-5-2, 6-4-2 GLVC) heads into the weekend having dropped two of its last three games. The Flyers closed its last homestand on a sour note, stumbling 1-0 to Bellarmine University on Oct. 11 before rebounding with a 3-1 road victory over Missouri S&T on Oct. 16. Lewis met its match two days later, getting blanked 4-0 by host Drury.
 
The Flyers have the luxury of finishing the regular season with three consecutive home games and own a 5-2 mark inside Lewis Stadium.
 
Maggie Moran has a nose for the goal, leading the Flyers in goals (five), assists (six), and points (16). Mackenzie Fuller has four goals and four assists while three other Flyers have at least three goals on the season.
 
Jennifer Meyer patrols the goalmouth for Lewis, collecting 71 saves with a 1.22 goals against average while helping the team notch six clean sheets in 2015.
 
GLVC Prognostications: The GLVC announced its annual Coaches' Poll on August 27 with the defending champion UW-Parkside picked to finish fourth in the 16-team league in 2015.
 
The Rangers secured 184 points and four first place votes to snag the No. 4 position. Bellarmine University is the favorite with 219 points and nine first place votes followed by Rockhurst University with 196 points. Truman State University was third with 188 points and three first place votes with Quincy University rounding out the top five with 170 points.
 
Academic Prowess: UW-Parkside was honored by the NSCAA on Sept. 23, earning the College Team Academic Award for excellence in the classroom. The Rangers maintained a 3.18 grade point average during the 2014-2015 academic year, earning the award for the third time in program history and the first time since 2001. To be eligible, teams must maintain a cumulative GPA above 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
 
Individually, 12 Ranger student-athletes earned Academic All-GLVC in the spring, including returners Lauren Bialas, Jenna Brzeski, Taylor Burek, Sarah Dobrowolski, Lexi Porter, Kelly Trojak, and Selena Wicklund. To earn Academic All-GLVC honors, student-athletes must maintain a 3.30 GPA or above.
 
Home Sweet Home: The Rangers have been nearly invincible at home in recent years, posting a 45-7-7 record over the last 59 games at Wood Road Field. UW-Parkside additionally owns a 35-4-5 record against GLVC foes during the regular season over the last 44 league games.
 
16 and Counting: The Rangers have experienced 16 straight winning seasons, a streak spanning all the way back to 1999. The unprecedented run has seen UW-Parkside make seven trips to the NCAA Tournament and win four GLVC Tournament Championships.
 
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 2014, 2012 and 2010. UW-Parkside has advanced past the first round every time except for an opening round exit in 2003. The Rangers are 8-8-1 all-time in NCAA games.
 
Nikolic Nuggets: Head Coach Brittany Nikolic enters her first season at UW-Parkside and has a championship pedigree as both a player and a coach. She was a standout at Stanford University, helping the Cardinal to four NCAA Tournament appearances along with a Pac 10 Conference Championship and an NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in 2002.
 
A two-time Honorable Mention All-Pac 10 honoree, Nikolic served as an assistant coach at Northwestern University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 2004-2008. She helped UWM to a Horizon League regular season and tournament title in 2008 and UNLV to a Mountain West Conference Tournament crown in 2006 along with a regular season title for the Rebels in 2007.
 
The Los Angeles, California, native comes to UW-Parkside after a six-year stint as head coach at NCAA Division III Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she inherited a program that collected just 20 wins in the eight years prior to her arrival on campus. Nikolic rewrote the record book at the all-women's college, guiding the Inferno to their best season in program history in 2013 while exiting as the program's all-time winningest coach.
 
Senior Salute: Sunday's showdown against Rockhurst is Senior Day as Vianey Hernandez, Kelly Trojak, and Kaela Hoecherl will all be participating in their final home game as a Ranger. This year's senior class has compiled a record of 51-18-9 over the past four seasons, making three trips to the NCAA Tournament, including two trips to the Sweet 16 while winning the GLVC Championship in 2014.
 
Hernandez, a member of the team for the past four seasons has played in 45 games, scoring nine goals with seven assists. She intends to graduate in May with a degree in applied health science.
 
Trojak, a three-year member of the Rangers, has played in 58 games over the past three seasons, helping the defense pitch 32 shutouts in that span. Trojak intends to graduate in May with a degree in biology.
 
A five-year member of the squad, Hoecherl appeared in 42 games for the Rangers, scoring 15 goals including seven game-winners. The Kenosha native intends to graduate in May with degrees in applied health science and exercise science.
 
About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers (5-7-2, 5-5-2 GLVC) sit tied with the University of Missouri-Saint Louis for eighth place in the GLVC standings with three games remaining. UW –Parkside earned a split last weekend on the road in Missouri, downing Drury 2-0 on Oct. 16 before stumbling 1-0 to Missouri S&T on Sunday.
 
Against Drury, Henry Raymonds tallied his first career goal with less than two minutes remaining in the opening half while Evan Garcia cemented the result with an insurance score in the 88th minute. Remi Bibal tallied his fourth clean sheet of the season, making six saves in the shutout win.
 
Two days later, an S&T goal by Kramer Hall in the 66th minute was all that was necessary as the Miners emerged with the 1-0 win, snapping the Rangers' three match unbeaten run (2-0-1).
 
Garcia leads the Rangers in both goals (six) and points (14) while Ryan Shogren sits second on the team in both categories with five goals and 11 points. Scott Nicolai has four goals, three of which were game-winners, while sharing the team lead in assists (three) with Jaime Colin.
 
Bibal has started all 12 GLVC contests in goal, posting a goals against average of 1.06 with 62 saves.
 
About the Cardinals: William Jewell (3-10-2, 2-8-1 GLVC) heads to Somers having dropped five of its last six games, getting blanked a combined 6-0 last weekend to close out its home slate. The Cardinals lone win during their current slump was a 1-0 win at the expense of Maryville University on Oct. 11.
 
Jewell opened last weekend with a 2-0 setback to Saint Joseph's on Oct. 16 before getting blasted 4-0 by UIndy on Sunday.
 
Five of William Jewell's 15 goals this season have come off the boot of Ethan Delaney as nine different Cardinals have found the back of the net in 2015. Kit Russell and Brodi Sabiston sit tied for the team lead in assists, both collecting three helpers on the year.
 
Joe Keeven is the Cardinals primary goalkeeper, making 75 saves with a goals against average of 2.02.
 
About the Hawks: 12th-ranked Rockhurst (10-1-2, 10-1-1 GLVC) sits perched atop the GLVC standings after finishing up a four-game homestand at Bourke Field undefeated, outscoring the opposition by a 15-2 margin.
 
The nationally-ranked Hawks opened its home slate with a 2-0 victory over Maryville on Oct. 9 before slipping past Missouri-Saint Louis 1-0 on Oct. 11. RU needed an overtime goal from Mitch Moncada to escape with a 3-2 victory over UIndy on Oct. 16 before obliterating Saint Joseph's 9-0 on Sunday.
 
Eight different players found the back of the net against the Pumas, including Moncada who scored twice in the second half.
 
Claudio Romano is the Hawks' leading scorer with five goals on the season. Kaleb Jackson has four goals and a team-best five assists while Moncada has four goals to his name. Adam Michel has three goals and four assists on the season while four other RU players have at least two goals during the 2015 campaign.
 
Logan Feldmann has played all but one game this season in goal, owning a 0.78 goals against average with 29 saves and seven shutouts.
 
About the Flyers: It's been a rocky season for Lewis (1-12-1, 1-10-1 GLVC) in 2015, netting just one victory so far after going 11-5-3 in 2014. The Flyers lone victory came at the expense of McKendree University on Oct. 4 with a Luke Comerouski goal in the 65th minute giving the visitors the 1-0 win. It's been tough sledding since for Lewis, having been shutout in each of its last four matches and outscored by an 8-0 margin.
 
The Flyers fell 2-0 to Missouri S&T on Oct. 16 to open their final road trip of the season before suffering a 3-0 setback at the hands of Drury on Sunday.
 
The anemic Lewis offense has mustered just four goals all season with each coming off the foot of a different player. In goal, Justin Salazar has seen a majority of the action, making 10 starts and collecting 40 saves with a goals against average of 1.90.
 
GLVC Prognostications: The GLVC announced its annual Coaches' Poll on August 27 with UW-Parkside picked to finish 10th in the 16-team league in 2015.
 
The Rangers collected 92 points in the rankings, two points ahead of 11th place Truman State University and 15 points short of ninth ranked University of Southern Indiana.
 
University of Indianapolis is the preseason favorite with 206 points and six first place votes followed closely by defending regular season and tournament champion Quincy University with 203 points and eight first place votes. Rockhurst University is third with 194 points while Drury University sits fourth with 188 points and the remaining two first place nods.
 
90 Minutes is Not Enough: Seven of UW-Parkside's 12 GLVC games have gone into overtime with the squad experiencing mixed success in the sudden death overtime sessions. The Rangers are 2-3-2 in extra time, including a 2-1 victory against Bellarmine University on Oct. 9 and a 1-1 draw against the University of Southern Indiana on Sunday.
 
The Z-File: Jason Zitzke enters his 17th season as a member of the coaching staff and his fifth season as head coach in 2015. During that span, the UW-Parkside graduate and 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee owns a 178-106-28 record, including three trips to the NCAA Tournament and one GLVC Championship (2000).
 
Roster Breakdown: Of the 28 student-athletes on the Ranger roster, 18 hail from Wisconsin while four hail from Minnesota. UW-Parkside has a pair from Illinois along with four international student-athletes from France, Gambia, Germany, and Poland.
 
Senior Salute: Sunday's tilt against national-ranked Rockhurst will be the final game at Wood Road Field for Ranger seniors Eric Moser, Szymon Owczarek, Kawsu Samba, Elliott Schultz, and Mathew Yang.
 
Moser has appeared in 56 games for the Rangers over the past four seasons, recording two assists and intends to graduate this spring with a degree in Spanish.
 
Owczarek has appeared in 19 games for the Rangers over the past three seasons, scoring one goal and intends to graduate in the spring with a degree in communications.
 
Samba has appeared in 17 games for the Rangers over the past four seasons and intends to graduate in the spring with a degree in accounting.
 
Schultz has appeared in 49 games for the Rangers over the past five seasons, scoring five goals, including two game-winners along with collecting four assists. Schultz intends to graduate in the spring with a degree in applied health science.
 
Yang has appeared in 46 games over the past four seasons, scoring three goals and netting two assists and intends to graduate in the spring with a degree in business.