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NCAA Division III Tournament Bracket
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One week after defeating Minnesota-Morris and Loras College 3-0 in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Tournament, the seventh-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team is prepared to host No. 18 Pomona-Pitzer on Saturday, November 19 at 1:30 p.m. in the third round of action.
The Warhawks, selected to host the third and fourth rounds for the first time in school history, are making their second straight Sweet Sixteen appearance and third in program history. Last season the Warhawks advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Washington-St. Louis 1-0, a loss they avenged this season when they topped the Bears 1-0 at a neutral site.
UW-W, currently on a 21-game winning streak, is 22-1, setting a new school record for wins in a season. The Warhawks' only blemish came in their second game of the season on September 3 at Wittenberg University where they lost 3-2.
UW-W is led by senior forward
Brianna Reid (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek), the school's all-time leading goal and point scorer and three-time Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Reid tallied one goal and one assist last weekend to bring her season totals to 14 and 6, respectively.
Reid is joined by
Carly Pottle (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) and
Kaci Schonert (Racine, Wis./Horlick) on the frontline. Pottle is a three-time All-WIAC selection and has racked up 10 goals and six assists this season. Schonert set a school record for assists in one year (13) to go along with four goals, three of which she scored last weekend.
Marie Lesperance (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) and
Mackenzie Serbousek (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Prairie) govern a strong midfield. Lesperance has tallied 10 goals and four assists while Serbousek has three goals and one helper.
The Warhawk defense is a force to be reckoned with. Led by four-year starter
Carina Krausert (Delafield, Wis./Catholic Memorial) and sophomores
Adria Schueler (Wales, Wis./Mukwonago),
Lauren Otto (Richmond, Ill./Richmond Burton Community) and
Payton DeLuga (Algonquin, Ill./Dundee Crown), the UW-W defense has tallied 14 shutouts. Freshman goalkeeper
Sara Klimisch (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail High School and Academy) has earned 10 solo shutouts and 18 wins. The fivesome has limited their opponents to 0.57 goals per game this season.
This will be the first time in school history that UW-Whitewater faces Pomona-Pitzer. The Sagehens earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament and defeated UC Santa Cruz 5-2 in the first round and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6-0 in the second round.
Pomona-Pitzer, 16-1-3, is located in Claremont, California, about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. The Sagehens are led by centerback Nadia Alalyan, Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Alalyan has contributed two goals and an assist on offense, but perhaps more notably has aided the Sagehen defense in allowing just eight goals to go along with 14 shutouts.
The other third round match is scheduled for 11:00 am and will feature the No. 11 University of Chicago (17-3) and No. 4 Thomas More (Ky.) (22-0-1). The winners of Saturday's games will meet Sunday at 1 p.m.
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