LA CROSSE, Wis.- UW-Oshkosh women's soccer's season concluded on Thursday (Nov. 5) night with a 3-0 loss at UW-La Crosse in the semifinal round of the WIAC Tournament (presented by Culver's). The finish is the Titans' best since 2021.
The Eagles (19-1), the top seed in the WIAC Tournament and the 24th-ranked Division III program in the most recent Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches poll, shot 29 times in the match with 16 going on goal while facing 15 shots (six on goal) from the six seed Titans (9-7-4). La Crosse also held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Oshkosh reached the semifinal for the first time since 2021 and the 14th time in program history with a Tuesday's (Nov. 3) 2-1 upset win at No. 3 seed UW-Whitewater. The victory was just the fifth in the league tournament's history since it began in 1992.
La Crosse will host the winner of the No. 4 seed UW-Eau Claire at No. 2 UW-Platteville match on Saturday (Nov. 7). The winner of the tournament championship match will earn the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
Three Titans accounted for 10 of Oshkosh's shots.
Addie Wreath (Appleton/Appleton East) shot four times with one on-target attempt, followed by
Addyson Knoebel's (Appleton/Appleton West) three shots (two on goal).
Ariana Gonzalez (Appleton/Appleton North) recorded one shot on goal in three attempts.
Maddie Daigle (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho/Coeur d'Alene Charter Academy) and
Hannah Huntley (Hudson/Hudson) added a shot on goal on their only attempts of the match.
Oshkosh goalkeepers
Larissa Likes (Kaukauna/Kaukauna) and
Jamaya Mariner (Green Bay/Green Bay East) split time in goal with Likes starting the match and making six saves against two goals allowed before Mariner came in for the second half and made seven saves against two goals allowed.
The Eagles scored an early goal in the fifth minute off a deflected attempt that bounced off Likes' foot before Likes and the Titan defense held the hosts to six shots on goal for the remainder of the period.
The Titans meanwhile shot on goal four times in the period. Knoebel and Gonzalez both shot in the seventh minute and Wreath and Knoebel shot in the 20th and 23rd minutes.
The score remained 1-0 through the end of the first half and 18 minutes into the second until the Eagles tallied their second goal in the 63rd minute. La Crosse matched the score of its regular season win over Oshkosh in the 80th minute by scoring its third goal.
La Crosse held Oshkosh two a shot on goal by Dehner in the 68th minute and a second by Daigle in the 88th while an attempt by
Ella Duckmann (Elk Grove Village, Ill./Elk Grove) bounced off the crossbar in the 87th.
The Titans finished their season with a 9-7-4 record and went 2-3-2 in conference play. Both the winning season and nine wins are the most for the program since posting a 16-2-2 mark in 2021 on its way to the WIAC regular season and tournament championships and a trip to the national tournament.
Earlier on Thursday, Wreath collected WIAC Newcomer of the Year honors and was joined on the All-WIAC First Team by Edwards, Gonzalez and LeRoy.
Greta Steines (Eau Claire/Eau Claire Memorial) was named to the All-Sportsmanship Team.
Head coach
Erin Coppernoll, who owns a 211-170-54 record through 23 seasons leading the Titans, will graduate Gonzalez,
Ryley Meenk (Waukesha/Waukesha South),
Kylie Morrey (Spring Green/River Valley) Steines,
Shannon Walsh (Des Plaines, Ill./Maine West) and
Anna Zenz (West Allis/Nathan Hale).
