The UW Oshkosh women’s soccer team concluded its eighth-consecutive winning season in a 0-3 loss to UW-Whitewater on Thursday in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Association Conference Championship Semifinal. The Titans ended their season with an overall record of 10-9-1.
Senior midfielder Robyn Elliot said she and her teammates tried to stay positive after the game by supporting one another.
“Obviously it hurts to lose to our rivals, but I don’t have as sour a taste in my mouth as I have in past years when our season was over,” Robyn said. “After the game, my sister Rachel told everyone to form a circle and we all leaned on each other and I just started off by saying ‘Thank you for everything,’ to my teammates. It sucks to lose, but it was great to be surrounded by teammates and family.”
All three of the Warhawks’ goals came in the first half of the match, while the Titans were able to sneak one in during the last 45 minutes.
Warhawks’ Adria Schueler scored her first collegiate goal in the fifth minute of play on a pass from Payton DeLuga. The ball flew past the hands of freshman goalkeeper Madd Runyan to put Whitewater up by one.
Less than seven minutes later, the Warhawks went up by two when leading scorer Brianna Reid rocketed the ball past Runyun to mark her 12th goal of the year. This was Reid’s 135th career point, making her the all-time leading scorer at UW-Whitewater.
UWO was able to hold off Whitewater, who is ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, until Morgan Beaty scored her second point of the season off an assist from Emily Mouille in the 36th minute.
Whitewater entered halftime with 11 shots on goal and nine corner kicks, while UWO had just five and three of each, respectively.
Robyn kept her team’s hope alive by scoring her sixth goal of the season in the 57th minute mark. Her 25-yard shot sailed into the net after it deflected off of Whitewater goalie Jennie Novak.
Senior forward Rachel Elliot said her twin sister continued to give it her all even after being down by so much in the second half, something she did all throughout playing at UWO.
“It shows that she is willing to work for what she wants,” said Rachel. “Robyn is the hardest worker I know and I don’t think giving up will ever be a part of Robyn’s character. She is the definition of someone who leads by example, and what a great example it has be to follow all of these years.”
The Titans concluded the second half with four shots while the Warhawks were able to produce seven. UWO was able to hold their opponent to three corner kicks in the final 45 minutes, but were unable to get any of their own.
Runyan saved six shots in the game, concluding her freshman season with 69 saves and a goals per game average of 1.33.
The Elliots paced UWO with two shots each in the match.
Senior Alyssa Arnold said she has met so many great people at UWO soccer and it certainly has been a journey of ups and downs.
“I learned a lot more than just skills that I use out on the field and for that I am extremely grateful,” Arnold said. “The best part- for me was that I got to play with my sister. Having her here made it really feel like home and memories we will always share together.”
Sophomore forward Alek Kleis said the team is already preparing for next season by working out, lifting, starting training in the spring and traveling to Germany in the summer to compete against some talented opponents.
“I’m looking forward to everyone coming back next year,” Kleis said. “It will be a new year losing the Elliot twins but I believe in our team that we can come together and make it happen. Starting with going to the East Coast in the beginning of September and then just going on with the season one game at a time.”
