Box Score

UW-Whitewater saw its sixteen match unbeaten string come to an end with a 4-1 loss to UW-Oshkosh at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Saturday night.

The game was tied 0-0 at the half, with the defenses allowing just eight shots, total, in the first forty-five minutes. 

Oshkosh broke the deadlock with a goal by Alex Minten, assisted by Will Howell, at 46:09.  Adam Grant followed at 53:54, with an assist from Greg Jones, to give UW-O a 2-0 lead.  Brandon Briones scored his eleventh of the year, assisted by Shaun Gallagher and Paul Beach, at 59:45 to up the margin to 3-0.  Howell finished off the Titans' scoring off a penalty kick at 69:00.  Ben Volz (Wind Lake/Muskego) helped UW-W avert its first shutout of the season with a goal at 87:09, assisted by Jeff Derer (Madison/LaFollette). 

Oshkosh took fourteen shots in the game, Whitewater seven.  Whitewater goalie EJ Sesselmann (Green Bay/Notre Dame) made five saves, and Derek Christiansen stopped two shots for UW-Oshkosh. 

Whitewater came in to the contest ranked tenth in the latest Division III statistics in goals against average (0.43/game), and tenth in shutout percentage (.667).  The Warhawks had allowed just eight goals in the first eighteen games this season.

Whitewater was ranked eleventh in the D3kicks.com national poll, and thirteenth by the National Soccer Coaches Association this week.  UW-Oshkosh was in the "others receiving votes" category of the D3kicks.com poll.

UW-Whitewater, 15-2-2, and UW-Oshkosh, 15-2-1, will await a bid in the NCAA III Championship Tournament, to be announced Monday, November 5.  Since men's soccer is not a sponsored sport in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference the Warhawks and Titans will have to compete against a pool of teams for an independent, or at-large, berth.

The NCAA III tournament can begin with first and second round games Wednesday, November 7 and Saturday, November 10, or there is a provision for teams to gather at one site to play first and second round games Friday-Saturday, November 9-10, or Saturday-Sunday, November 10-11.

UW-Whitewater has earned a NCAA III tournament berth six times (1986, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005), advancing to the sweet sixteen in 2001 and 2002.