Women’s Soccer

Category: Women’s Soccer

Appleton Soccer Club to hold appreciation night at Banta Bowl

APPLETON, Wis. — The Appleton Soccer Club is set hold its appreciation night on Wednesday on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl when the Lawrence University men’s team takes on Ripon College.

The match begins at 7 p.m. and admission is free. Prior to the match, tailgating will take place in the Banta Bowl parking lot.

All players attending will receive a ticket for door prizes, and the main prize is a Team USA soccer jersey. Other door prizes include soccer balls, shin guards, Appleton Soccer Club clothing and more.

All Appleton Soccer Club U11 players, both boys and girls, attending will play on Ron Roberts Field.

Berkley’s goal lifts Vikings past Cornell

APPLETON, Wis. — Ryan Berkley’s goal in the 55th minute lifted the Lawrence University women’s soccer team to a 1-0 Midwest Conference victory over Cornell College on Sunday at Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

Berkley took a pass from Rebecca Bernheimer a few yards outside the penalty box and hammered a ball past Cornell goalkeeper Tal Neilly at the 54:35 mark.

It was the team-best eighth goal of the season for Berkley.

Lawrence (8-7-0, 3-4-0 MWC) dominated the play with a 21-7 edge in shots, but Neilly made 10 saves to keep the Rams (2-13-0, 1-7-0) in the match. Lawrence goalkeeper Patsy Kealey made five saves to pick up her fourth shutout of the season.

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Pair of late goals rallies Vikings past Grinnell

APPLETON, Wis. — Ryan Berkley and Anne Leung scored in the final 13 minutes to rally the Lawrence University women’s soccer team to a 2-1 Midwest Conference victory over Grinnell College on Saturday at Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl.

The Vikings (7-7-0, 2-4-0 MWC) trailed 1-0 after a penalty kick in the 67th minute gave the Pioneers (4-9-0, 2-5-0) the lead.

Ten minutes later, Berkley took the ball away from a Grinnell defender and beat goalkeeper Katy Oldach to tie the match at 1-1 at 77:45.

The Vikings were putting on the pressure again when a handball in the box gave Lawrence a penalty kick. Leung calmly slammed the ball into the left corner of the net, and the Vikings led 2-1 with 9:04 left.

Grinnell was unable to mount any kind of serious pressure in the final nine minutes.

Lawrence goalkeeper Patsy Kealey made 10 saves and a Lawrence defender also cleared the ball off the goal line in the first half for another save.

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Banta Bowl rededication caps busy weekend at Lawrence

bowl_coverAPPLETON, Wis. — The rededication of the Banta Bowl caps an epic weekend as Lawrence University also celebrates Fall Festival and hosts the Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame ceremony.

School officials, led by President Mark Burstein, will conduct the rededication ceremony at 4:40 p.m. on Ron Roberts Field at the Banta Bowl. Burstein will be joined by Director of Athletics Mike Szkodzinski, All-America quarterback Chuck McKee ’68, lead donors Tom Rogers ’65, and Steve ’62 and Joan Gilboy and members of the family of legendary coach Ron Roberts.

Rogers, Steve Gilboy and Ron Roberts Jr., ’84, will serve as honorary captains as the Lawrence football team takes on Carroll University at 5 p.m.

Saturday’s events on Roberts Field begin at 11 a.m. when the Lawrence women’s soccer team faces Grinnell College. The men’s match vs. Grinnell follows at 1:30 p.m. In addition to the action on Roberts Field, the Lawrence volleyball team faces Northland College at 6 p.m. inside Alexander Gymnasium.

The rededication ceremony caps a hectic six-month renovation of the iconic stadium, which opened for play in 1965. The $4.5 million project has given the Banta Bowl a new life as it now serves as the home for men’s and women’s soccer in addition to football.

The stadium floor was raised four feet and expanded to accommodate both football and soccer. The natural grass surface was replaced with FieldTurf, an artificial surface that allows for more and varied use of the facility. The transformation of the field was made possible by Rogers’ gift, and he renamed it Roberts Field to honor Lawrence’s renowned coach.

The Gilboy Athletic Center, the new building constructed beyond the north end zone, was made possible by a gift from Steve and Joan Gilboy. The building houses the Lawrence locker room, a visiting team room, the training room, concessions, bathrooms and ticketing.

The facility also features new aluminum bleachers, an LED scoreboard adorned with “Roberts Field” and improved sound system.

A memorial to Bernie Heselton, long-time coach and director of athletics, is under the Lawrence flag. Heselton served as Lawrence football coach from 1938-64, won six Midwest Conference championships and served as director of athletics and head golf coach.

A memorial for Carl Berghult ’64, a friend and fraternity brother of Rogers, rests under the American flag. Berghult, a native of Chicago, Ill., was a running back for the Vikings and played in the final years of Heselton’s tenure. After graduating from Lawrence, Berghult was a lieutenant (j.g.) in the United States Naval Reserve, and he was killed in the flight deck fire aboard the USS Enterprise on Jan. 14, 1969.

The weekend’s festivities kick off with the induction ceremony for the Lawrence Hall of Fame on Friday evening at the Warch Campus Center. Five former student-athletes and one former coach are being inducted.

Long-time swimming and diving coach Kurt Kirner joins eight of his former swimmers in the Hall of Fame. Kirner coached from 1991-2007, won a pair of league titles and was honored as Midwest Conference Coach of the Year three times. Former softball and volleyball star Shannon Arendt, who earned all-conference honors four times, is joined by four-time all-conference basketball selection Felice Porrata. Two great runners, Courtney Miller and Shelley Ebert, combined to win 13 conference track titles and led the cross country team to a pair of league championships. The other inductee is former baseball and football star Steve Blomberg, who played five seasons in the minor leagues after leaving Lawrence.

Bucs shut out Lawrence

BELOIT, Wis. — The Beloit College women’s soccer team scored a pair of second-half goals to seal a 3-0 Midwest Conference victory over Lawrence University on Saturday at Strong Stadium.

Genesis Dade scored in the 37th minute to put the Bucs (5-5-0, 2-2-0 MWC), and Jordyn Murch then scored less than two minutes into the second half for a 2-0 edge. Alexis Miller added a goal in the 74th minute to seal the win for Beloit.

Haylee Irwin recorded five saves for the shutout. Patsy Kealey made six saves for Lawrence (6-7-0, 1-4-0) before giving way to Carolyn Ford for the final 18-plus minutes.

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Big first half leads St. Norbert past Vikings

DE PERE, Wis. — Katie Vanden Avond scored four first-half goals to lead the St. Norbert College women’s soccer team to a 6-1 Midwest Conference win over Lawrence University on Wednesday at Schneider Stadium.

Vanden Avond’s four goals were sandwiched around a tally by Lawrence’s Casey Merkle, and the Green Knights led 4-1 at the break.

The Green Knights added a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes to complete the scoring.

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Prairie Fire edges Lawrence

GALESBURG, Ill. — A first-half goal proved to be the difference as the Knox College women’s soccer team defeated Lawrence University 1-0 on Sunday in a Midwest Conference game.

Sydney Fretwell scored an unassisted goal at the 37:05 mark to lift the Prairie Fire (10-1-2, 3-0-2 MWC).

Sierra Daniger made two saves to get the shutout for Knox. Patsy Kealey stopped 11 shots for the Vikings (6-5-0, 1-2-0).

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Merkle’s goal lifts Lawrence as Vikings pitch shutout at Illinois College

JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Casey Merkle’s goal in the 17th minute Saturday proved to be the difference as the Lawrence University women’s soccer team defeated Illinois College 1-0 in a Midwest Conference match at England Field.

Merkle scored at 16:26 as she got the ball over the head of goalkeeper Cat Solberg for the only score of the match.

Lawrence goalkeeper Patsy Kealey made five saves to earn the shutout for Lawrence (6-4-0, 1-1-0 MWC). Solberg stopped 11 shots for the Lady Blues (3-6-2, 0-2-1). Lawrence had a 17-11 edge in shots.

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Big second half leads Edgewood past Vikings

MADISON, Wis. — The Edgewood College women’s soccer team scored two goals in just over a minute in the second half and went on to a 5-0 nonconference win over Lawrence University on Monday at Breese Stevens Field.

After a scoreless first half, Jennifer Dailey scored at 51:31 and Taylor Pampuch added a goal at 52:39 to give Edgewood (3-5-0) a 2-0 lead.

An own goal made it 3-0, and the Eagles added goals in the 67th and 74th minutes for the final margin.

Sabelle Seabrook did not have to make a save for Edgewood as the Eagles limited Lawrence to three shots.

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Merkle named MWC Player of the Week

Casey Merkle
Casey Merkle

APPLETON, Wis. — Lawrence University women’s soccer standout Casey Merkle has been chosen as the Midwest Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Merkle (Tower Lakes, Ill./Barrington) was chosen for the league’s weekly honor after Lawrence won a pair of nonconference road games last week. Merkle scored or assisted on all but one of Lawrence’s goals last week.

A junior midfielder, Merkle picked up a pair of assists as Lawrence won 3-1 at Wisconsin Lutheran College on Sept. 22. She assisted on Ryan Berkley’s goal in the fifth minute to put the Vikings up 1-0. Merkle got another assist when Berkley scored again in the 73rd minute to help seal the victory.

Merkle picked up her third goal of the season when she scored the game’s first goal in a 2-0 victory at Finlandia University on Sept. 26. Merkle then assisted on Genna Matt’s insurance goal in the second half.

This is Lawrence’s second straight week with a player earning MWC Player of the Week honors. Goalkeeper Patsy Kealey was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 21.

Lawrence is now 5-3-0 on the season, and the Vikings have three more road contests this week. The Vikings play at Edgewood College tonight before traveling to Illinois College and Knox for Midwest Conference games next weekend.