The UW Oshkosh women’s soccer team faced off against the University of Dubuque (Iowa) in the first-ever 151 Derby rivalry game held in Dubuque Sept. 9.
The Titans, who have had a tough start to their season with a record of 0-3-1, had a challenging game ahead of them against the Spartans, who stood at 2-2-0. Unfortunately for the Titans, the first half of the game saw them conceding three goals to the Spartans, which turned out to be the only goals scored in the entire match.
The Titans kept pushing to break the shutout, with shots on goal by Lauren Silvestri in the 66th minute, Molly Jackson’s penalty kick in the 81st minute, and Gabriella Mattio’s shot in the 87th minute.
UWO’s goalkeeper, Emma Sauriol, also played a crucial role in the game, making three saves in the 10th, 16th, and 19th minutes while finishing with six saves overall. Importantly, she kept a clean sheet in the second half.
In total, the Titans had 13 shots, six of which were on target, and they earned seven corner kicks during the game.
This game marked the ninth meeting between the Titans and Spartans, two closely matched Midwest rivals who have been competing since 2014.
In a dominant match, UWO secured a big 4-0 victory against the University of Olivet (Michigan) Comets on Sept.10.
Four different Titans, Gabby Born, Lauren Silvestri, Anika Roush, and Rylie Kaufmann, all found the back of the net in this exciting game. Kaufmann led the charge with five shots on goal, while Mattio, Brianna Kehl, and Anna Zenz had four shots each.
Anika Roush contributed with three shots, and Lauren Janssens, Mackenzie Stein, and Maris Heun each had two shots. Five more Titans took one shot each. Heun and Roush also recorded assists.
This victory marked a tie in the all-time series between UWO and Olivet, with one win each. UWO outscored Olivet 5-2 throughout their two meetings.
The Titans (1-3-1) dominated the game, controlling the ball and taking an impressive 31 shots, 15 of which were on target.
Their solid defense limited Olivet (0-3) to just one shot in the match. The Comets managed an on-goal attempt in the 86th minute, but Titan goalkeeper Ella Sasse made a crucial save. Sasse played the entire 90 minutes in goal, earning her second career start.
The scoring started in the 22nd minute when Gabby Born found the back of the net, assisted by Roush. Silvestri added the second goal in the 35th minute through a penalty kick after being fouled by Ava Cristea. Roush extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second half with a corner kick that found the far corner of the goal. The final goal came in the 89th minute when Heun assisted Kaufmann, who capitalized on a rebound after her shot was saved by Krolczyk.
Looking ahead, the Titans will hit the road to face the Carthage College Firebirds on Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. Historically, UW-Oshkosh has a record of 1-2-4 against Carthage, with their most recent meeting ending in a 1-1 tie after two overtimes on Sept. 21, 2019, in Oshkosh.
