The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team, 13-4-2, making its first ever NCAA III tournament appearance, will open play in the national tournament Saturday at 7:30pm against Aurora University,  at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. 

UW-Whitewater postseason web site

Wartburg tournament web site

NCAA tournament bracket

NCAA Digital Game Program

Wartburg Twitter feed

The Wartburg regional is comprised of eight teams.  Other first round matchups include Wheaton (18-1-2) versus Penn State-Behrend (13-6-2), Capital (11-7-2) versus Alma (18-3-1), and Wartburg (16-2-2) versus Principia (16-3-1).  The national tournament field includes 64 teams.  The second round winners advance to sectionals November 18-20, and the final four will gather in San Antonio, Texas December 2-3.

UW-Whitewater won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship outright in 2011 after sharing the 2010 crown.  UW-W equaled the school record for wins in a season, also accomplished in 2000 (13-5-2).  Greg Henschel, who has coached the team since 2000, is UW-Whitewater's soccer coordinator (head coach of both genders).  He has directed the team to double figure wins the last five years and nine times in the twelve he has headed the program. 

The Warhawks are led by senior forward Emily Gerber (DeForest/DeForest), the WIAC Player of the Year in both 2009 and 2010 (2011 honor have not been released).  Gerber, UW-W's leader in goals (13) and assists (10), is number one in the school career record book in both categories.  Sophomore forward Christina Tooren (Hoffman Estates, IL/Hoffman Estates), who missed the first seven games of the season with an injury, has contributed eleven goals and three assists.   Gerber and Tooren are also 1-2 in game winning goals, at five and four, respectively.  Sophomore midfielder Alyssa Chamberlain (De Pere/De Pere) is second on the team in assists (5) and third in points (11).  Freshman Jordan Myers (Aurora, IL/Waubonsie Valley) has started sixteen games, compiling a 10-4-2 record, 1.13 goals against average, .786 save percentage and four shutouts. 

Aurora has won thirteen of the last sixteen Northern Collegiate Athletics Conference championships.  The Spartans have added five NCAC tournament championships in the last six years, and are making their eighth NCAA tournament appearance in ten years.  Raquel Rodriguez, a junior forward, tops the team with 32 points, on 12 goals and eight assists.  Senior forward Jordan Joyce has also scored 12 goals and totals 28 points.  Liz Wong, junior goalkeeper, is 16-4 with a .745 save percentage and four shutouts.  Aurora lost, 3-1 to Loras College, in the opening round of the 2010 NCAA tournament.