Chippewa Valley Times

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's soccer team secured a victory against UW-Whitewater with a 4-1 win in a penalty shootout on Tuesday. The match, held at Simpson Field, marked the first round of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Tournament. Both teams were tied 2-2 after double overtime before the Blugolds prevailed in penalties.

In regulation time, both teams scored once in each half. Taylor Czarapata gave UW-Eau Claire an early lead in the 16th minute, assisted by Molly Henderson. However, UW-Whitewater equalized in the 39th minute to level the score by halftime.

UW-Whitewater briefly took the lead just after halftime, scoring in the 46th minute. The Blugolds quickly responded with Jayda Swopes netting a goal three minutes later, again assisted by Henderson.

With no goals during overtime periods, the match went to penalties. Scorers for UW-Eau Claire included Henderson, Haley Von Rentzell, Mia Leszko, and Paige Crawford. Goalkeeper Kennedy Boll made one crucial save during the shootout to secure their advancement.

Boll had four saves throughout the match as well. Overall, UW-Eau Claire outshot their opponents 22-13.

Next up for UW-Eau Claire is a semifinal match against second-seeded UW-Platteville on Thursday, November 7 at 7 p.m. This encounter follows their regular-season meeting which ended in a 2-2 draw.