RIVER FALLS, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's soccer played UW-River Falls for the second time in five days on Wednesday (Nov. 5). In a WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's) Quarterfinal matchup No. 3 Falcons defeated the No. 6 Titans, 3-1.
 
The Titans (6-7-5, 2-4-1 WIAC) qualified for their 31st WIAC Tournament in their 32 seasons as the six seed when they beat River Falls in the regular season finale at home on Saturday (Nov. 1) and UW-Stout dropped its last game of the year to UW-Stevens Point.
 
The Falcons (13-5-2, 3-3-1 WIAC) entered the league tournament as the three seed, their highest ranking in the tournament since 2009.
 
Both programs notched 13 shots and eight shots on goal on Wednesday. The Falcons were awarded six corner kicks to the Titans' two and had an assist on each of their goals while Delaney Sponholz (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) scored her first collegiate goal unassisted.
 
Sponholz scored on her only attempt of the game and Gabby Born (Fond du Lac/Fond du Lac) led Oshkosh with five shots and three on goal. Rounding out Oshkosh's shots on goal with one apiece were Maris Heun (Watertown, Minn./Watertown-Mayer), Nadia Epshteyn (Cedarburg/Cedarburg), Jaden LeRoy (Evansville/Evansville), and Taylin Heiman (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West).
 
Defender Addyson Edwards (Appleton/Appleton West) and goalkeeper Mallory Kerhin (Green Bay/Green Bay Southwest) both played all 90 minutes. Kerhin saved five shots on goal and faced 13 total.
 
The Titans took the first two shots of the contest with off-target tries in the first seven minutes before Kerhin saved her first shot halfway through the ninth minute.
 
Oshkosh's first shot on goal came off the foot of Born in the 10th minute, followed by an attempt by Heun in the 13th.
 
The Falcons scored their first goal at 22:53, and after a Kerhin save and LeRoy's attempt between the posts, went up by two goals in the 34th minute.
 
For the remainder of the half, neither team put a shot on goal and Oshkosh fought off a corner kick in the 39th minute.
 
Kerhin punched a corner kick out of a path to the goal early in the second half and jumped on the ball in the 35th minute to thwart another potential shot on goal to keep the score at 2-0.
 
Born booted a low ball in the 57th minute and the next seven minutes were uneventful until River Falls scored its third goal at 64:02.
 
Taylin Heiman (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) put a cross right in front of the goal after the kickoff and shot on goal in the 72nd minute.
 
After both teams recorded a corner kick between the 73rd and 76th minutes, River Falls shot on goal for the final time at 75:40.
 
Oshkosh used a free kick to move the ball right in front of the Falcon goal and Sponholz used a deflection to sneak the ball into the net just inside the left post.
 
Born nearly decreased the deficit to a goal in the 90th minute, however the River falls keeper stopped the ball to seal the win.
 
The Titans are now 2-4 against River Falls in the conference tournament, with 10 goals scored against six allowed. Oshkosh owns previous wins of 3-2 in overtime in 2017 and 7-0 during the 2001 tournament; both matches were played at J. J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium. The Falcons entered Wednesday afternoon's game with a pair of one-goal wins in 2003 and 2012 and a 2-0 victory in 1999.
 
River Falls advances in the WIAC Tournament to face UW-Platteville in Platteville at 7 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 7). The winner of the UW-Whitewater-UW-Stevens Point game will travel to face UW-La Crosse. Friday's semifinal match winners will play at the highest remaining seed on Sunday (Nov. 9) with the tournament champion earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.