UW-River Falls' Carlson and UW-Stevens Point's Fink Lead All-WIAC Women's Soccer Team

NEWS RELEASE
Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Matt Stanek * Sports Information Director * 780 Regent Street * Madison, WI 53715 * Phone: (608) 265-6406 * www.uwsa.edu/wiac/

RELEASED: Wednesday, November 19, 2003

UW-River Falls' Carlson and UW-Stevens Point's Fink Lead All-WIAC Women's Soccer Team

Madison, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls' Sarah Carlson and UW-Stevens Point's Kelly Fink were named the 2003 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Co-Players of the Year, headlining the 22-member All-WIAC Women's Soccer Team, which was recently selected by the league coaches.

Carlson, a sophomore forward, led the Falcons to the first women's soccer title in school history this season, snapping UW-Stevens Point's six-year string of league championships. She ranked second in the conference with 16 goals, while placing third with 38 points and ninth with six assists. Carlson's 16 goals were the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, while her 38 points were sixth.

Fink, a senior forward, earned all-conference honors for the third straight season after helping the Pointers to the WIAC Tournament title for the 11th time in the 12-year history of the event and a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament. She led the league with 48 points and 21 goals and added six assists. Fink's 156 career points rank third on the conference's all-time list, while her 67 career goals position her fourth on the chart.

Fink transferred to UW-Stevens Point from Concordia (Wis.) and her totals from both institutions rank her in the top 15 in NCAA Division III history in career points and career goals.

Fink becomes the fourth straight Pointer to win the league's player of the year award, joining Molly Cady (2002), Mickey Jacob (2001) and Marie Muhvic (2000).

Jenny Bruce, Megan Frey and Tara Schmitt joined Fink on the All-WIAC squad. Bruce becomes the fifth player in conference history to capture all-league honors in four consecutive seasons. She led the league with 48 points and ranked second with 16 goals and 16 assists. Bruce established the conference's all-time assist mark with 53 career assists.

Frey finished the season with 16 points on eight assists and four goals, while Schmitt helped the Pointers register a league-high 12 shutouts. It was the third straight league honor for Schmitt.

Carlson was joined on the All-WIAC squad by Falcon teammates Apryl Jennrich and Ashley Peterson. Jennrich earned league accolades for the second straight season after registering 136 saves and a 0.84 goals against average in 1,817 minutes in goal. Her 0.84 goals against average was the second-best mark in UW-River Falls history. Peterson ranked second on the team with 20 points, seven goals and six assists.

UW-Eau Claire landed four players on the all-league team as Marcia Foltz, Maleia Damato, Kiley Zellner and Erin Ziech were recognized for their efforts.

Foltz ranked fifth in the conference with 12 goals, while placing sixth with 28 points. She also added four assists on the season.

Damato and Zellner earned all-league honors for the second straight season. Damato registered four goals and eight points, while Zellner accumulated eight goals, one assist and 17 points. Ziech contributed to a Blugold defense that compiled five shutouts this year.

UW-Oshkosh's Karin Reinke, Sara Tomajovich and Lindsay Rau earned All-WIAC honors following a 14-5-2 season for the Titans. Reinke accumulated eight goals and four assists for 20 points this year.

Tomjanovich and Rau helped the Titans post a school record 12 shutouts and a league-best 0.50 goals against average. Tomjanovich registered a 0.48 goals against average with 64 saves in 1,496 minutes in goal. Her goals against average mark established a school record and was the third-best mark in league history. Rau earned her third straight all-league honor, becoming the third player in school history to accomplish the feat.

Shannon Hermes, Carrie Schrank and Diane Ehlen helped UW-Stout to a school record 12 wins this season. Hermes ranked fourth in the league with 33 points and 14 goals, while adding five assists during the 2003 campaign. She also registered a league-high eight points and four goals against Finlandia (Mich.) on October 24.

Schrank led the conference with 19 assists and placed fifth with 29 points. Her 19 assists are the second-highest single-season total in WIAC history. Schrank is the school's all-time assists leader with 29 assists over the last three seasons.

Ehlen helped the Blue Devil defense ranked second in the league with 12 goals allowed, a 0.63 goals against average and 10 shutouts.

UW-Whitewater's Christin Acklam, Dani Daggett and Staci Gustafson earned All-WIAC accolades after helping the Warhawks to their fourth straight season of 10 or more wins (11-3-2), including a school record 12-match unbeaten streak (11-0-1). Acklam ranked ninth in the league with six assists and added six goals for 18 points.

Daggett earned her second consecutive All-WIAC honor after placing eighth in the conference with nine goals and adding two assists for a team-leading 20 points.

Gustafson also earned her straight league accolade following a season that saw her help the Warhawk defense register seven shutouts and a 1.03 goals against average.

UW-La Crosse's Amanda Pickett earned her third straight All-WIAC honor after spearheading an Eagle defense that posted seven shutouts and a 1.17 goals against average. The Eagles also put together a school record eight-match unbeaten streak (7-0-1) this season.

UW-Platteville's Jessi Jones became the second player in school history to earn three straight all-league honors. She led the team with four goals, three assists and 11 points.

UW-River Falls head coach Sean McKuras was selected the league's Coach of the Year for the second straight season. He guided the Falcons to a 17-4 record and the first WIAC women's soccer championship in school history. McKuras has compiled a 30-9-2 (.756) record in his two seasons at UW-River Falls.

2003 All-WIAC Women's Soccer Team
Name, School, Year, Position, Hometown (High School)
Christin Acklam, UW-Whitewater, Senior, Midfielder, Whitefish Bay
Jenny Bruce, UW-Stevens Point, Senior, Forward, Menasha
Sarah Carlson, UW-River Falls, Sophomore, Forward, Plymouth, Minn. (Armstrong)
Dani Daggett, UW-Whitewater, Senior, Forward, Monona (Monona Grove)
Maleia Damato, UW-Eau Claire, Senior, Midfielder, Cedarburg
Diane Ehlen, UW-Stout, Senior, Defender, Bloomington, Minn. (Jefferson)
Kelly Fink, UW-Stevens Point, Senior, Forward, West Bend (West)
Marcia Foltz, UW-Eau Claire, Sophomore, Forward, Madison (Memorial)
Megan Frey, UW-Stevens Point, Junior, Midfielder, Wauwatosa (East)
Staci Gustafson, UW-Whitewater, Senior, Defender, Mukwonago
Shannon Hermes, UW-Stout, Freshman, Forward, Prior Lake, Minn.
Apryl Jennrich, UW-River Falls, Senior, Goalkeeper, Lino Lakes, Minn. (Centennial)
Jessi Jones, UW-Platteville, Junior, Midfielder, Brookfield (East)
Ashley Peterson, UW-River Falls, Freshman, Defender, Lino Lakes, Minn. (Forest Lake)
Amanda Pickett, UW-La Crosse, Senior, Defender, Menasha
Lindsay Rau, UW-Oshkosh, Senior, Defender, Janesville (Craig)
Karin Reinke, UW-Oshkosh, Junior, Midfielder, Green Bay (Southwest)
Tara Schmitt, UW-Stevens Point, Junior, Defender, Brookfield (Catholic Memorial)
Carrie Schrank, UW-Stout, Junior, Midfielder, Reedsburg
Sara Tomjanovich, UW-Oshkosh, Junior, Goalkeeper, Sturgeon Bay (Sevastopol)
Kiley Zellner, UW-Eau Claire, Junior, Midfielder, Green Bay (Preble)
Erin Ziech, UW-Eau Claire, Senior, Defender, McFarland

Co-Players of the Year: Sarah Carlson of UW-River Falls and Kelly Fink of UW-Stevens Point
Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete: Jenny Bruce of UW-Stevens Point
Coach of the Year: Sean McKuras of UW-River Falls

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