LA CROSSE, Wis. — The UW-River Falls women's soccer team saw its tournament run come to a conclusion, falling on the road to top-seeded UW-La Crosse 3-0 on Thursday, Nov. 7.
The Facons' WIAC Tournament run came to a close after advancing past UW-Stevens Point 2-1 in the opening round on Nov. 5. UWRF's semi-final berth marked the first time the program has made the semifinals since 2019. UW-La Crosse saw a high volume of shots (38) en route to punching its ticket into the WIAC Tournament Championship game, which the Eagles will host on Nov. 9
The Eagles, who entered the match ranked fourth in the NCAA Region IX rankings, managed 13 shots on goal and 20 total shots in the first half. UWRF goalkeeper Grace Zellmer, who was named WIAC Goalkeeper of the Year today, recorded 13 saves in the first half as the Falcons kept things within contention.
After a scoreless first 18 minutes of action, UW-La Crosse scored the first goal of the match off a shot by Amaya Thesing, assisted by Ellie Arndt. The goal was Thesing's fifth of the season.
Lauren Gregory, Elizabeth Felty, and Madelyn Johnson recorded shots on goal in the first half for the Falcons, who went into halftime trailing by just one goal.
In the second half, UW-La Crosse added a goal by Alexis McMahon in the 50th minute and a goal from Aubree Caya in the 72nd minute, extending the lead to 3-0. The Eagles added 18 more shots in the second half.
UWRF saw shots on goal in the second half from Gabby Kempf, Lauren Best and Mariah Martin. The Falcons totaled five second-half shots, but were unable to cut into the deficit as the Eagles held on to win 3-0.
Zellmer recorded six more saves in the second half, bringing her total in the match to 18. She recorded 132 total saves this year, the most by a Falcon goalkeeper since Emily Stieler recorded 134 in 2007. Zellmer is one of just five Falcons all time who have recorded at least 130 saves in a season.
As a team, UWRF totaled nine shots, six of which were on goal.
UW-River Falls finished the season 9-9-2 overall and 3-4 in WIAC competition.
