Box Score Video Highlights
Dubuque, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team opened its 2016 season with a 4-1 victory at the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Thursday night at Oyen Field. Dubuque (Iowa) was also playing its season opener. UWL evened the all-time series, 1-1, with Dubuque (Iowa) with Thursday's win.
UWL, picked to finish second in the 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), opened the scoring at 10:10 as
Alex Cording scored unassisted to make it 1-0. The Spartans, picked to place fourth in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC), tied the game at 1-1 as Amanda Chlebek scored at 37:45 assisted by Lauren Cangelosi.
The game remained 1-1 at halftime.
UWL, coming off a 12-7-2 overall and 5-1-1 mark in the WIAC in 2015, tallied three goals in the second half to earn the win.
Natalie Herzog scored the eventual game-winning goal at 50:21 assisted by Cording to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead.
Margaret Harings made it 3-1 at 61:17 scoring on a penalty kick and
Haley Hartkemeyer finished the scoring at 86:42 assisted by
Alex Graeber for a 4-1 advantage.
"It was nice to finally play a real game against an opponent," said third-year UWL head coach
Jason Murphy. "It took us some time to find our rhythm, but we were able to execute in the second half. It was great to have so many players play well. Our back four moved the ball very well and
Kourtni Alcock anchored our back.
Alex Cording had a goal and assist and really did well in the final third."
UWL finished with 13 shots in the game, including eight on goal, while Dubuque (Iowa) totaled six shots with three on goal. UWL's four goals Thursday tied its season-high from last year in a 4-0 victory over Carthage College (Wis.).
Kennedy Brault earned the win for the Eagles, recording two saves. Paige Dykstra finished with four saves for the Spartans.
UWL won a share of the WIAC regular-season title last season while making their first appearance in school history in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championship.
UWL returns to action Saturday, September 3 at Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) at noon.
