The UW Oshkosh women’s soccer team beat UW-River Falls 1-0 in overtime at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium on Oct. 30. The win sealed the top spot in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the Titans, who went undefeated in WIAC play.

Neither team was able to score in the first half, even though the Titans out-shot River Falls 11-0 and forced six saves out of Falcons goalie Kaylie Krueger. The second half has the same story as the first, as the Titans just could not put the ball in the back of the net. After regulation, Oshkosh out shot River Falls 28-2 and forced 16 saves out of Krueger.

UWO goalie Erin Toomey only faced one shot on goal all game, finishing with one save. Oshkosh failed to score on three separate occasions in the second half. Forward Mallory Knight had a penalty kick saved in the 47 minute and hit the woodwork in the 61 minute. Alexia Poulos also had a shot hit the post in the 71 minute.
Finally, in overtime the Titans broke the deadlock in the 96 minute. Forward Rylie Kaufmann took a corner and found defender Mackenzie Bennett from three yards out, who headed the ball into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.

After the game, forward Piper Green said: “It [the win] was huge for our program. Our team does a good job of playing together and not individually. Each and every person on the team contributed to winning the WIAC. We couldn’t have done it without each other!”

With their win over River Falls (6-11-2, 0-6-2 WIAC) the Titans extended their winning streak to seven matches and have won 12 straight at home. Oshkosh has not lost at J.J. Keller Field at Titan Stadium since Oct. 9, 2019. The Titans have outscored their opponents this year 45-10, including 22-3 during the second half and overtime. UWO also out-shoots their opponents 314-131 and leads in shots on goal, 174-54.

“All I can say is that I’m so proud of this team and how hard we’ve all worked to get where we are now. We’ve put ourselves in a really great position for the postseason and we still have a lot left to accomplish,” said UWO goalkeeper Erin Toomey.

UWO improved to 14-2-1 and is 7-0 in the conference this season. The Titans captured its first ever outright league championship and their second title overall. The last time the Titans won the WIAC was in 2015, when they shared the title with UW-La Crosse. UW Oshkosh will be the top seed in the WIAC tournament and will play the lowest remaining seed on Nov. 4.

The Titans received a first round bye for winning the conference and will host their semifinal match at J.J. Keller field at Titan Stadium. UW-La Crosse (13-3-2, 6-1 WIAC) is the second seed in the tournament, with UW-Stevens Point (8-10, 4-3 WIAC) coming in third, UW-Whitewater (12-6, 4-3 WIAC) in fourth, UW-Eau Claire (9-8-2, 3-4 WIAC) in fifth and UW-Stout (11-7-1, 0-6-2 WIAC) in sixth. UW Oshkosh will be seeking its third WIAC Tournament title and the first since 2014.