Related Links:
WIAC Women's Soccer Championship Web Page

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team earned the No. 1 seed in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship (presented by Culver's) after tallying a 12-5-3 record, including 5-1-1 in conference play, during the regular season.
 
The Warhawks received a first-round bye and will start the tournament by hosting a semifinal match against No. 6 UW-River Falls on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Falcons defeated No. 3 UW-Eau Claire by a score of 2-1 on Tuesday night.
 
In their last meeting on Nov. 2, UW-W shutout River Falls 5-0 with help from Anna Brodjian's (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) hat trick.
 
The Warhawks got off to a slow start to this season. Through their first seven games, they held a record of 2-4-1. But beginning in mid-September, the young team came together and registered an 11-match unbeaten streak.
 
The Warhawks have outscored WIAC opponents by a 17-3 margin, showcasing both a strong offense and stout defense. The majority of the team's offensive statistics come from four players.
 
Leading the surge is junior Anna Brodjian (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) with a total of 11 goals. Sophomore Savannah Curtis (Lodi, Wis./Lodi) has tallied seven, while junior Anna Boyd (De Pere, Wis./De Pere) and senior Elli Wahlberg (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) have scored six and five goals, respectively.
 
The young defense has made a drastic improvement since the beginning of the season. In the first 10 matches, opponents recorded 15 goals against the Warhawks. In the last 10 games, UW-W has limited opponents to just four goals.
 
Junior Katy Kusswurm (South Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) leads the underclassmen as a two-year starter. Sophomores Carley Albrecht (Milton, Wis./Milton) and Ally Bosetti (Beloit, Wis./Beloit Turner) and freshman Megan Kurtz (Wilmette, Ill./Loyola Academy) wrap up the defensive end of the field.
 
Senior goalkeeper Sara Klimisch (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail High School and Academy) will play behind the defense and use her experience to keep opponents out of the net. Klimisch has racked up 56 saves so far this season. In her career, she has totaled 185 saves, fifth most in school history, and 21 shutouts, second-most in the record book.
 
If UW-Whitewater wins tomorrow's match, it will host the championship match on Saturday, Nov. 9, at 6 p.m.. They will play the winner of the UW-Stevens Point and UW-La Crosse game, the other semifinal scheduled for Thursday night.
 
The winner of the league tournament receives the conference's automatic NCAA Championship bid. The Warhawks seek their eighth trip to the national tournament in program history.