La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse soccer team earned its fifth straight Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament Championship (presented by Culver's) with a 1-0 victory over UW-Platteville Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
It is the Eagles' eighth (1996, 2017-18, 2022-26) tournament championship in school history.
UWL improves to 20-1 with Saturday's win while UW-Platteville drops to 8-4-7.
NCAA III CHAMPIONSHIPS
* With the tournament win, UWL earns the WIAC's automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Championships.
* UWL will be making its ninth (2015, 2017-18, 2021-26) trip to the championships, including sixth straight.
* The 64-team field for the NCAA III Championships will be announced on Monday, November 9 at 10:30 a.m. on NCAA.com.
* First and second round games of the championships will be played on campuses of competing institutions on either Friday-Saturday, November 13-14 or Saturday-Sunday, November 14-15.
WIAC TOURNAMENT
* UWL is the first team to win at least five straight WIAC Tournament titles since UW-Stevens Point won eight consecutive (1997-2004).
* UWL is the top-seed for the WIAC Tournament with UW-Platteville the second-seed.
* In Thursday's semifinals, UWL advanced to the championship with a 3-0 victory over sixth-seeded UW-Oshkosh while UW-Platteville earned a 2-1 home win over fourth-seeded UW-Eau Claire.
* UWL has won 10 consecutive tournament games with Saturday's win.
WIAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
* UWL won its fifth straight WIAC regular season title and ninth in school history with a 6-1 record this year.
* UWL became the first school to record five consecutive regular season conference championships since UW-Stevens Point won six straight (1997-2002).
SERIES RECORD
* UWL leads the all-time series, 33-4-3, with UW-Platteville. The Pioneers earned their first win over the Eagles since 2013 with a 1-0 victory on October 21 in Platteville.
* UWL and UW-Platteville were meeting for the fourth straight season in the WIAC Tournament Championship game. The Eagles earned wins over the Pioneers in 2023 (3-0), 2024 (2-1) and 2025 (2-0).
* UWL improved to 5-0 all-time in the WIAC Tournament versus UW-Platteville, also earning a victory in the 1993 quarterfinals (6-0).
RANKINGS
* UWL is 20th in the NCAA Division III Power Index (NPI).
* UWL is also ranked 24th on the Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches (IWSOC) Poll in partnership with the United Soccer Coaches.
WINS
* UWL's 20 wins are tied for second in single-season school history. The Eagles also won 20 games 2017 and 2023.
* UWL won a school record 21 games in 2022.
SHUTOUTS
* UWL recorded its 15th shutout of the season Thursday. The 15 shutouts are tied for second in single-season school history (2025). UWL set a school record with 16 shutouts in 2023. Needs Update
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
* The game was scoreless as UWL recorded 18 shots and UW-Platteville one.
* UWL totaled three corner kick and UW-Platteville one.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
* The Eagles scored the game's only goal at 69:50 from
Katelyn Studebaker. Gianna Zamborni recorded the assist.
* UWL finished with 12 shots in the second half while holding UW-Platteville to two.
UWL LEADERS
* UWL finished with 30 shots, including 11 on goal. The Eagles 11 corner kicks in the game.
*
Ella Opie had a game-high seven shots, including three on goal.
Aubree Caya and
Amaya Thesing each finished with five shots while
Jillian Sawadski recorded four. Caya and Sawadski had two shots on goal.
*
Summer Nicolai earned the shutout in goal, recording one save.
UW-PLATTEVILLE LEADERS
* UW-Platteville totaled three shots with one on goal.
* Jess Morawski recorded the shot on goal.
* Marguerite Mueller took the loss, registering nine saves.
UP NEXT
* The NCAA Division III Championship field will be announced Monday, November 9 at 10:30 a.m.
