STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The UW-River Falls women's soccer team is moving on to the WIAC Tournament semifinals.

The Falcons, who came into the tournament as the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 4 seed UW-Stevens Point 2-1 on the road in the first round of the WIAC Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 5. UWRF moves on to the WIAC Tournament semifinals, where the team will face No. 1 seed UW-La Crosse on the road on Nov. 7.

UWRF took advantage of two goals within the first 16 minutes of the match, as well as 12 saves from senior goalkeeper Grace Zellmer. Goals by UWRF's sophomore duo of Ellie Ketcher and Emery Bigler helped the Falcons punch their ticket into the semifinals.

UW-Stevens Point started off fast with three shots in the first four minutes and 13 seconds, but the Falcons remained composed and tilted the game in their favor early in the match. In the ninth minute, a counter attack saw sophomore Ellie Ketcher score from the outer left corner of the box to put the Falcons up 1-0. Lauren Best controlled the ball near the left touchline and found Ketcher in scoring position.

Shortly after the first UWRF goal, Zellmer made two more saves to hold off a potential Pointers equalizer. In the 16th minute, a deep goal kick set up the Falcons in an attacking position — Emery Bigler took a shot from the right corner of the box that fell perfectly into the left side of the goal to double UWRF's lead to 2-0. Best and Madyson Shew assisted on the goal.

Zellmer totaled nine saves in the first half as UWRF went into halftime leading 2-0, despite a 9-5 UW-Stevens Point advantage in shots on goal.

Coming out of halftime, the Pointers got back into contention with a goal in the 46th minute scored by Jessica Camarato, assisted by a Mara Gustafson free kick, that cut the Falcons' lead to 2-1. After the goal, UWRF held a 3-0 advantage in shots over the next 10-minute span, including shots on goal by Ketcher and Best.

The Falcons faced 11 total shots in the second half, but key saves in the late stages of the match by Zellmer kept the scoreline at 2-1. The Pointers fired off two shots on goal in the final minute, as Zellmer saved a shot in the box with just seconds remaining in the match that iced the game and limited a potential equalizer.

Zellmer's 12 saves were one shy of tying a season high, as she now has 114 saves on the season. Ketcher led UWRF with five shots, three of which were on target. Best added three total shots and two shots on goal, as well as two assists.

The victory for the Falcons marked the first time UWRF has advanced to the WIAC semifinals since 2019. 

Up next, UWRF will travel to face top-seed UW-La Crosse at 4 p.m. on Nov. 7 in the WIAC Tournament semifinals.