Alexia Poulos scored three times in the first 28 minutes of play to propel the UW-Oshkosh women's soccer team to a 7-0 season-opening victory over Ripon College on Wednesday (Sept. 1) at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium.

UW-Oshkosh was kicking off its 28th season of intercollegiate soccer after the Titans' 2020 campaign was canceled due to the global coronavirus pandemic. The competition was UW-Oshkosh's first since suffering a 1-0 loss to UW-La Crosse in the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship held Nov. 5, 2019.

Poulos, who counted only one goal during each of her two previous seasons with the Titans, gave UW-Oshkosh leads of 2-0, 3-0 and 5-0 with her scores. Piper Green and Kate Whitney also recorded goals in the first half as the Titans took a 5-0 lead to intermission. It was the first career goals for both Green and Whitney.

Green gave UW-Oshkosh (1-0) an early 1-0 lead with her 25-yard kick just eight minutes (7:31) into play. Poulos then converted shots from 18- and 25-yards out within a span of 84 seconds (11:17 and 12:41) to extend the Titans' advantage to 3-0.

Whitney increased UW-Oshkosh's lead to 4-0 with her 5-yard kick in the game's 18th minute (17:04) before Poulos concluded the Titans' first-half scoring with her 20-yard boot at the 27:57 mark.

UW-Oshkosh took all 27 shots in the first half as it held the Red Hawks in their own territory for most of the period's 45 minutes of action. Maddie Hill was credited with an assist on UW-Oshkosh's first, second and fifth goals of the opening period.

The Titans held their 5-0 lead until Mackenzie Stein scored her first collegiate goal off a serve from Alex Lopez in the contest's 64th minute (63:31). Stein's goal was scored from 5-yards out.

Rylie Kaufmann concluded UW-Oshkosh's scoring two minutes later (65:18) with her 10-yard kick. Kaufmann's fourth collegiate goal followed a pass from Alyssa Gunderson.

UW-Oshkosh totaled 44 shots for the match, including seven by Greta Hanthorn, six by Kaufmann and five from Hill. Hanthorn paced the Titans with six shots on goal.

Ripon College (0-1), which suffered its sixth straight loss to UW-Oshkosh, was held to just one shot, an Abby Anderson kick that was saved by Titan goalkeeper Erin Toomey in the contest's 57th minute.

Toomey guarded the UW-Oshkosh goal for the entire match. The shutout was the fifth of her career and the first since UW-Oshkosh's 2018-19 season.

Ripon College had two players protect its goal – Maddy Springer and Lucie Hodgkins. Springer played the first 21 minutes for the Red Hawks and saved four shots with four goals allowed while Hodgkins saved 14 shots with three goals allowed during her 69 minutes of activity.

UW-Oshkosh, which earned all 16 of the game's corner kicks, had 22 players see action.

The Titans continue their four-match, season-opening homestand with Saturday's (Sept. 4) contest at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium against Marian University (0-0-1).

Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Athletics