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

SOMERS, Wis. (Oct. 8, 2015)-- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside men's and women's soccer squads gear up for its penultimate homestand of the season this weekend, welcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference foes Bellarmine University and the University of Southern Indiana to Wood Road Field.
 
The Ranger women host Bellarmine on Friday at 1:15 p.m. with the men following at 3:30 p.m. UW-Parkside woman square off against Southern Indiana on Sunday beginning at 12 p.m. with the men taking the pitch at 2:30 p.m. Live stats and video will be provided for all four games.
 
About the UW-Parkside women's soccer team: The Rangers (3-6-1, 2-5-1 GLVC) earned a split last weekend in southern Illinois, dropping a 2-1 decision to McKendree University on Friday before blanking University of Illinois Springfield 1-0 on Sunday.
 
Against McKendree, Vianey Hernandez needed just 35 seconds to get the Rangers on the board, scoring off a pass from Taylor Schiffer-Jander but the Bearcats struck back, scoring in the 28th and 61st minutes to rally for the win. Two days later in was Hernandez again with an early score, netting a goal in the 16th minute off a Jillian Hetfleisch assist for what turned out to be the game's lone goal. The Rangers outshot the Prairie Stars by an 18-2 margin, earning a clean sheet for the fourth time this season.
 
Hernandez leads the Ranger offense, scoring five goals on the season, including a goal in each of the last three games. Hetfleisch adds two goals and a team-high three assists while Lauren Bialas has two goals and an assist to her name.
 
Goalkeeper Sarah Dobrowolski has played every minute of all 10 games this season, making 36 saves and owning a 1.27 goals against average.
 
About the Knights: Bellarmine (10-0-1, 7-0-1 GLVC), ranked 14th in this week's NSCAA Top 25 Poll, has yet to taste defeat this season, allowing just one goal all year. The Knights come to Somers riding a two-game win streak and have now gone 566 minutes without conceding a goal, a streak spanning across seven games.
 
After earning a 0-0 double overtime draw against host Rockhurst University on Sept. 27, the Knights returned to the win column over the weekend, cruising past Saint Joseph's College 3-0 on Oct. 2 before edging the University of Indianapolis 1-0 on Sunday to finish off the homestand.
 
Nine of Bellarmine's 18 goals have come off the boot of Mary Beth Gorham who also has three assists and leads the GLVC in points scored and shares the lead in goals scored. Lauren Holder chips in three goals and a team-best six assists while Darcy Egan is the only other BU player with multiple goals, finding the back of the net twice in 2015.
 
Taylor Smith has spent a majority of the time in goal with seven starts, racking up 16 saves in 609 minutes of play and has yet to surrender a goal.
 
About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (4-4-2, 2-2-1 GLVC) finished last weekend unbeaten, defeating Indianapolis 1-0 on Oct. 2 before earning a 1-1 double overtime draw against Saint Joseph's on Sunday to finish off the homestand at Strassweg Field.
 
Against UIndy, Madi Vellky provided the contest's lone goal in the 57th minute while two days later it was Olivia Wilde scoring for the Eagles who fell victim to an equalizer in the 82nd minute and eventually settled for the tie.
Vellky and Kelsey Smith are USI's top scorers, both with three goals on the season while Ryley Hancock has a pair of scores along with a team-high four assists.
 
Emily Hopkins has played all 955 minutes in goal for USI, collecting 60 saves and owning a goals against average of 1.32 with two shutouts.
 
FREE PIZZA: During Friday's women's game the student section will receive free pizza courtesy of UW-Parkside sponsor Domino's Pizza.
 
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 44-6-7 record over the last 57 games at Wood Road Field. UW-Parkside additionally owns a 34-3-5 record against GLVC foes during the regular season over the last 42 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.
 
About the UW-Parkside men's soccer team: The Rangers (3-6-1, 3-4-1 GLVC) return home to the comforts of Wood Road Field looking to snap a three-game slide with all three setbacks coming in overtime. UW-Parkside's misery began on Sept. 27, suffering a 1-0 setback to Maryville University after yielding a goal in the fourth minute of extra time.
 
The Rangers owned an early 1-0 lead against McKendree on Oct. 2 with Scott Nicolai scoring in the seventh minute but the Bearcats equalized in the 76th minute before netting the game winner in the 97th minute. An all too familiar script unfolded on Sunday against Illinois Springfield with Mathew Yang sending the game to overtime tied 3-3 after scoring with five seconds left in regulation only to come away empty handed as the Prairie Stars scored the game-winner in the sixth minute of overtime.
 
Evan Garcia and Ryan Shogren are the Rangers' top offensive weapons, both scoring four goals on the season. Three of Shogren's four scores have come on penalty kicks as the junior is a perfect three-for-three in penalty situations, including a game-winning kick against UIndy on Sept. 13. Nicolai has three goals on the 2015 campaign while Jaime Colin is the team's top distributer with three assists.
 
Remi Bibal has handled a majority of the goalkeeping duties, notching three shutouts and making 40 saves in 711 minutes of action. Nate Kitchell has appeared in three games for the Rangersm making 11 saves in 231 minutes of work.
 
About the Knights: Bellarmine (7-4, 5-3 GLVC) heads to Wisconsin having dropped two of its last three games. The Knights had a four-game win streak stymied on Sept. 27, falling 1-0 on the road to then No. 7 Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. Bellarmine regrouped with a 3-0 shellacking of Saint Joseph's on Oct. 2 before suffering its first home loss of the season on Sunday, suffering a 1-0 setback at the hands of UIndy to close out the homestand at Frazier Stadium.
 
Beau Laufer powers the BU attack, netting four goals and three assists on the season. Trevor Thompson and Callum Southern each have a pair of goals while Mike Albes has a goal and three assists.
 
Zach Pogue has started all 10 games in goal for the Knights, earning five shutouts and making 23 saves with a goals against average of 0.49.
 
About the Screaming Eagles: Southern Indiana (3-6-1, 1-6-1 GLVC) opened the season with three straight wins but has been winless since, enduring a 0-6-1 mark since. The Screaming Eagles last win was all the way back on Sept. 11, downing Illinois Springfield 3-0 behind a pair of scores from Kasper Bjoro. USI dropped its next four matches before earning a 2-2 draw against William Jewell College on Sept. 27. Southern Indiana dropped a 3-0 decision to UIndy last Friday before stumbling 2-1 against Saint Joe's on Sunday.
 
Josh Weinzapfel leads the Eagles in both goals (four) and points (11) while Bjoro adds three goals and two assists. Braiden Acton and Erick Hasselkus each have a pair of goals with Acton additionally dishing out three assists.
 
Adam Zehme and Auston Bruder have split time in goal for the Screaming Eagles, combining to make 44 saves. Zehme has two shutouts to his name and a 1.15 goals against average while Bruder has a 2.42 GAA in his six appearances.
 
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: Five of UW-Parkside's eight GLVC games have gone into overtime with the squad experiencing mixed success in the sudden death overtime sessions. The Rangers first foray in overtime was a 1-0 victory over host University of Indianapolis on Sept. 13 before playing to a 2-2 double overtime draw against the University of Missouri-Saint Louis on Sept. 25 to touch off a string of four consecutive overtime games. Maryville University sent the Rangers' their first overtime setback on Sept. 27 with the Saints escaping Wood Road Field with a 1-0 win in the 94th minute. Parkside's tough luck continued down in southern Illinois, falling 2-1 to McKendree in the 97th minute on Oct. 2 and 4-3 to UIS in the 96th minute on Oct. 4.
 
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 176-105-27 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.