NCAA Tournament Matchups Revealed for UWS Soccer Teams
Men to face St. Olaf, women taking on UW-La Crosse
SUPERIOR, Wis.- It’s become a fall tradition of sorts for both of UWS’s soccer teams to win the UMAC and advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament. The next step is for one of them to make it through the first round, a feat neither team has accomplished since 2019.
On Monday, the men’s soccer team learned they will be facing St. Olaf in Northfield, Minnesota on Saturday, November 11. In the 2022 tournament, the Yellow Jackets fell 3-2 to North Central, despite leading by one with two minutes left in the match. However, Head Coach Joe Mooney and his players are putting the past behind them.
“We’re a different squad, we’re obviously playing a different team and you know, hopefully we make it on past that and we’ll see different teams from there on out as well,” said Mooney, who won his 200th game as the Yellow Jackets’ coach earlier this season. “I just think our team right now is playing at a really good clip and so I like our chances and I think if you ask our guys…would tell you the same.”
“(St. Olaf is) a good squad, but so are we.” says senior and UMAC Tournament MVP Karsten Kletti. “So it’s just going to be one of those things where we have to be confident and we’re going to want to do our best.”
Meanwhile, the Yellow Jacket women’s team will face UW-Lacrosse in the first round, also on Saturday, November 11. Despite being in the same state, UW-Superior and UW-Lacrosse haven’t faced each other since 2014. However, the Yellow Jackets and Eagles have faced many of the same opponents over the years, giving head coach Allison DeGroot a good starting point for this week’s game-planning.
“We know what system they play, we have a pretty good idea of what style of play they use, and so it’s coming up with a plan from there,” says DeGroot, who’s in her seventh season as the UWS head coach.
“We played River Falls, they played River Falls, so being able to look at those box scores, compare, watch film, see what we can do to put ourselves in the best place.” says senior Niya Wilson, who scored two goals in Saturday’s UMAC Championship win over Northwestern (Minn.). “We really hone in on our style of play within our practices, and go forward from there and coach makes a plan and we stick to it and do our best.”
Wilson also confirmed during Monday’s presser that she will use her extra year of eligibility from the 2020 COVID season and will return to play for UWS in 2024.
