KENOSHA, Wis. — On one of the coldest afternoons of the soccer season at Wood Road Field, with temperatures feeling near 35 degrees, Parkside closed the regular season in style, defeating Davenport 3-1 on Saturday. All the scoring came in the second half as the Rangers improved to 9-7-2 overall and 9-4-1 in GLIAC play, securing the No. 2 seed for next week's conference tournament. Davenport finished its regular season 4-11-3 (4-9-1 GLIAC).
After a scoreless first half, Parkside broke through in the 52nd minute with a set-piece variation. Off a corner from the left, Emily Mikkelson played the ball short to Kayden Schmidt, who struck a low shot from just inside the edge of the box. The attempt deflected off Makayla Wesemann and looped over second-half goalkeeper Bailey Gauthier to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. It was Wesemann's second goal in her last four matches.
The Panthers found an equalizer just over five minutes later. Forward Josie Wilcox was played through by Madison Fant and forced a save from Parkside goalkeeper Tristen Cross. The rebound fell into traffic, where Fant pounced to slot home the tying goal in the 58th minute.
The Rangers reclaimed the lead minutes later with a moment of quick thinking from Ava Rizzitano. On a low goal kick from Gauthier, Rizzitano intercepted the ball out of midair, surged ahead alone, and from the left side of the six-yard box slid a shot that deflected off Gauthier's gloves and into the net. Her sixth goal of the season — a team high — stood as the game-winner.
Parkside sealed the result in the 75th minute. From nearly 40 yards out, Schmidt delivered a driven free kick that found Leah Forde in the area, who caromed a shot off the right post. She then reacted first to the rebound and buried her own follow-up for her first goal of the season, extending the lead to 3-1 and capping the scoring.
The Rangers controlled the pace and statistics throughout, outshooting Davenport 17-8 and putting 11 shots on goal to the Panthers' three. Parkside also held a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks. Rizzitano tallied two shots on target to go with her goal, while Wesemann scored on her lone attempt. Forde contributed a goal on two shots, and Lindsay Dahlinger led the team with five total attempts. Cross made two saves in goal for Parkside. Gauthier and Elizabeth Wolter split time in net for Davenport, combining for eight saves.
With the win, Parkside secured its first winning record since 2016 and will host a GLIAC Tournament match for the first time in program history. The No. 2-seeded Rangers will welcome No. 7-seeded Purdue Northwest to Wood Road Field on Tuesday, Nov. 11, at noon.
To keep up with the Rangers during the postseason, visit parksiderangers.com/coverage.
