Box Score La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team claimed the program's fourth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament title with a 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Sports Complex. The Eagles, tied for 13th in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll, improve to 19-1-1 overall while the Blugolds fall to 13-6-2.

With the win, UWL earns the conference's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships. This will be the Eagles' fifth trip to the championships having also qualified in 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2021.

UWL also captured the WIAC Tournament title in 1996, 2017, and 2018. 

The Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to 16 (15-0-1) with Saturday's victory while also earning their 12th straight win. UWL's 19 wins are second most in single-season school history. The Eagles won a school record 20 games in 2017. The 12-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in school history after winning 12 consecutive in 2017 and 14 in 2018. 

UWL got on the scoreboard first in the 11th minute as Chelsea Gale found Ainsley Allan for her her 13th goal of the season. Gale's assist was her fifth of the season. Then in the 26th minute, Maggie Hernandez sent a free kick into the goal box, finding Allan for her second goal of the match. It was Hernandez's sixth assist on the year.

The score would remain 2-0 at the half. UWL finished the first half with a 15-2 advantage in shots, including nine shots on goal. Allan led the Eagles with five shots, including three on goal while Hernandez and Ellie Arndt each had three shots, two on goal. Ava Johnson and Savannah Swopes each had a shot in the opening half for the Blugolds. 
 

In the 65th minute, the Blugolds would force an Eagle turnover into a goal. Emma Stange found the net for her sixth goal of the season to cut the Blugolds deficit to 2-1. The Blugolds would even the score in the 73rd minute on a goal by Sydney Spencer. Katlyn Byhre assisted on the goal off her corner kick. 
 
Lindsey Szymanski scored the game-winning goal for the Eagles as she received a centering pass from Hernandez and Arndt in the 78th minute. It was Szymanski's fifth goal of the season. Hernandez's second assist of the match is her seventh on the year while it was Arndt's sixth assist. The Eagles defense would prevail from there as they would not allow another shot over the final 13 minutes. 

For the match, the Eagles finished with a 21-9 advantage in shots including a 11-4 edge in shots on goal. Allan and Arndt led the Eagles with five shots each, including three on goal. UW-Eau Claire had three players finish with two shots, including Stange, Swopes, and Moly Henderson. 

McKenna Lloyd earned the win in goal for the Eagles, finishing with two saves. Kennedy Boll had eight saves for UW-Eau Claire. 

The 64-team field for the NCAA Division III Championships will be announced at 1 p.m. on Monday, November 7. First and second round games of the championships will be played on campuses of competing institutions on either Friday-Saturday, November 11-12 or Saturday-Sunday, November 12-13.