STEVENS POINT, Wis.- Nadia Epshteyn (Cedarburg/Cedarburg) gave UW-Oshkosh women's soccer a halftime lead over UW-Stevens Point on the Pointers' home turf on Wednesday (Oct. 7) night with a strike to the back of the net in the 37th minute. Stevens Point scored a pair of second-half goals and held the Titan offense scoreless to take a 2-1 win.
Oshkosh (4-4-3, 0-1-1 WIAC) outshot the Pointers (6-3-3, 1-1-0 WIAC), 21-12, and led by a 7-3 margin in shots on goal, however Pointer goalkeeper Jocelyn Blahnik saved six of the seven shots she faced. Both teams had five corner kicks.
Larissa Likes (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) added another first half of shutdown defense in goal for the Titans and had help from her defenders, not facing a single shot.
Jamaya Mariner (Green Bay/Green Bay East) was Oshkosh's goalkeeper in the second half and saved a shot but allowed both of the Pointers' goals.
Epshteyn scored her second goal of the season off the bench while
Addie Wreath (Appleton/Appleton East) paced the match with four shots (two on goal). Wreath also recorded her third assist of the season which moved her into a 3-way tie for the team lead with
Addyson Knoebel (Appleton/Appleton West) and
Belle Dehner (Cottage Grove/Monona Grove).
Hannah Huntley (Hudson/Hudson),
Laney Wiebel (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West),
Marie Van Zeeland (Kimberly/Kimberly) and
Taylin Heiman (Oshkosh/Oshkosh West) each put a shot on goal.
The Titans earned a pair of corner kicks before the seventh minute and shot four times, including on goal attempts from Huntley and LeRoy, but the Pointers denied an early lead.
Oshkosh shot three more times with another shot on goal before Epshteyn settled a header pass from Wreath in the 37th minute and found the back of the net with a chip shot over Blahnik's head.
Greta Steines (Eau Claire/Eau Claire Memorial) put a shot above the net and Van Zeeland's late header attempt at the goal was saved to send the teams to the locker rooms with a 1-0 Oshkosh lead.
The teams shot a combined five times before the 55th minute and Stevens Point tied the score in the 58th with a goal by Christa Borchardt.
Oshkosh put an additional two shots on goal and another off the top woodwork while Mariner notched her save in the 81st minute before the Piper Gunderson netted the game-winner in the 83rd.
The Titans head to Menomonie on Saturday (Oct. 7) to face UW-Stout Polytechnic at the Blue Devils' Nelson Field at 3 p.m. Oshkosh leads the all-time series, 24-5-8, and were undefeated in eight consecutive matches before dropping a 2-1 decision in Oshkosh last season.
