Wisconsin Soccer Central

Jessica Axt (Germantown) and Milwaukee School of Engineering seemingly scored at will in a Northern Athletics Conference women's soccer match Saturday.

Axt set a school record and matched the second-best total in NCAA Division III history with seven goals in a 17-0 rout of Rockford at Uihlein Soccer Park's Time Warner Cable Stadium.

Beth Byrne of Franklin & Marshall (Penn.) holds the Division III record with 10 goals, Oct. 29, 1988 against Wilkes. Axt joins six others with seven goals in a game, including Sarah Strobino of Northland, who accomplished the feat Sept. 1, 2008 against Finlandia (Mich.).

Axt scored five consecutive goals in the 27th, 28th, 35th, 36th and 41st minutes, then scored twice in a 58-second span in the 49th. She also had an assist to finish with 15 points in the match, tied for third in Division III history.

The Raiders' output, which included eight first-half goals, is tied for 13th in the Division III record books – Nebraska Wesleyan holds the top three spots with 33, 22 and 21. Perhaps the most stunning statistic from the game was the shots: MSOE 60, Rockford 0. The NCAA doesn't keep records for that category. Boxscore

Axt came into the week tied for first in the country with 14 goals and is tied for second with 29 points, and was named the NAC women's player of the week.

• MSOE men's coach Jimmy Banks (Milwaukee Custer/UW-Parkside/UW-Milwaukee) recorded his 100th career victory as the Raiders beat Concordia (Ill.) 3-2 in an NAC match last Wednesday night at Time Warner Cable Stadium. Banks, a former U.S. national team defender who played in the 1990 World Cup, is in his 13th season as Raiders coach. Sophomore forward Mariano Suaso-Rodriguez (Greenfield) gave MSOE a 2-1 lead in the 64th minute and scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 72nd.

Honor roll

After helping the Marquette men rally for a 3-2 victory over host Syracuse in a Big East Conference opener Saturday night, Golden Eagles freshman C. Nortey added a few honors to his resume.

Nortey made the College Soccer News National Team of the Week and was the Big East Rookie of the Week in the wake of his two-goal performance, which included the game-winning goal in the 87th minute.

The Ghanaian leads Marquette with five goals – coming into the week, Nortey was tied for third in the conference in goals and tied for the most by a freshman in NCAA Division I.

• UW-Milwaukee freshman midfielder Gerardo Saavedra (Milwaukee Messmer) was named the Horizon League men's player of the week after helping the Panthers dropped Butler 3-1 in a conference opener, ending the Bulldogs' 15-game home unbeaten streak in league play. Saavedra, who redshirted last season because of a knee injury, had a goal and an assist Saturday; he ranks second in the league with four goals, four assists and 12 points in eight matches. It's the first such award for a UWM player since goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum was honored in September 2008. UW-Green Bay junior forward Alonso Flores was among the league's other top performers of the week.
• Senior midfielder Stuart Grable (Neenah) was awarded the Aldo Santaga Scholarship last weekend during UW-Green Bay's Alumni Weekend. The scholarship is annually given to a senior who has demonstrated academic and athletic excellence throughout his career.
• A trio of Marquette women's players were lauded after the Golden Eagles won two Big East matches last week in overtime, including a 3-2 thriller over defending NCAA champion Notre Dame on Sunday. Sophomore forward Maegan Kelly made the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week and was named to the Big East Weekly Honor roll along with senior goalkeeper Natalie Kulla, while freshman defender Haley Fritzlen was the Big East Rookie of the Week. Kelly scored in both games and assisted on Taylor Madigan's game-winner against the Fighting Irish, Kulla made six saves in the wins and Fritzlen played all 189 minutes for the week. In Sunday's game, Marquette held Notre Dame to a season-low nine shots.
• Two Appleton natives shared the Horizon women's player of the week award. UW-Milwaukee senior forward Sarah Hagen (Appleton North) added to her conference record by claiming the honor for the 13th time in her career, while UW-Green Bay senior keeper Maddie Drusch (Appleton Xavier) was recognized for the first time. Hagen had game-winners in both of the Panthers' victories last week and added an assist in each match, while Drusch made five saves in a 2-1 win over Cleveland State that snapped a five-game losing streak. In the process, she set the Phoenix career record for saves with 355.
• University of Wisconsin forward Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) was the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Week for the second time after scoring both of the Badgers' goals in a 2-1 win over Michigan State last Friday. Walls leads UW with six goals in 11 matches.
• Ripon freshman forward Brandi Peltier (Hustisford) was the Midwest Conference women's offensive player of the week for the second straight week after collecting five goals and three assists in a pair of victories. She led the conference in goals with 12 coming into the week. Her teammate, sophomore goalkeeper Lexi Soich (Franklin), was the defensive honoree after allowing two goals in 135 minutes during the Red Hawks' two wins.
• UW-Oshkosh senior goalkeeper James Pike (Wauwatosa West), who didn't allow a goal in 179 minutes of action last week, was the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's defensive player of the week. Senior midfielder Logan George claimed the offensive award after a two-goal week for UW-Superior that included the winning penalty kick in the 84th minute of Sunday's 2-1 WIAC victory over UW-Platteville.
• WIAC women's offensive player of the week Becca Blue (Kimberly) had three goals on the week, including two in a 3-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Saturday that marked the Titans' first win in the series in the past 11 meetings (1-9-1). The junior forward also scored in a 2-1 loss to Grinnell (Iowa) the next day. UW-Stout senior defender Courtney Tideman picked up the defensive honor, anchoring a Blue Devils backline that allowed just one goal in two victories and adding her team-best fifth goal of the season along with an assist.
• Grand Valley State (Mich.) junior forward Ashley Botts (Beloit) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's player of the week for the second straight week. She had three goals, including a game-winner, and added a game-winning assist in three matches for the defending NCAA Division II champion Lakers last week and now ranks seventh in program history with 87 career points. Grand Valley State is unbeaten in its past 24 matches.

Polling place

Despite a 3-0 loss to perennial power Wheaton (Ill.), UW-Stevens Point (6-2-0) moved back into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III women's poll at No. 19.

The Pointers, who were among others receiving votes in last week's poll, are ranked second in the NSCAA North Region – WIAC rival UW-Eau Claire (5-2-1) is eighth in the regional ranking. Stevens Point also fell three places to No. 18 in the D3Soccer.com national rankings.

• Edgewood College (5-3-1) continues to receive votes in the NSCAA Central Region women's poll.
• The UW-Parkside women (5-1-0) received votes in the NSCAA Division II poll and are fifth in the Midwest Region rankings.
• Marquette (10-2-0) and UW-Milwaukee (10-1-0) moved up and down slightly in most of the national Division I women's polls. The Golden Eagles jumped up four spots to No. 10 in the NSCAA rankings, rose two places to No. 13 in the Soccer America Top 25 and ticked up one spot to No. 14 in the Soccer Times poll. The Panthers, meanwhile, were up one No. 14 in the NSCAA poll, remained 12th in the Soccer America rankings and dropped one spot to No. 17 in the Soccer Times poll. UW (7-3-1) ascended two places to 17th in the Soccer America Top 25 and received votes in the NSCAA poll. In the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 64, Marquette is 11th, UWM is 25th and the Badgers are 33rd.
• The Panthers and Golden Eagles held on to the top spots in their respective NSCAA regional polls, UWM in the Great Lakes and Marquette in the Northeast. UW is ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region.
• UW-Oshkosh (5-1-2) fell four places to No. 12 in the NSCAA Division III men's poll, and slipped to second behind Loras (Iowa) in the North Region rankings. WIAC rival UW-Superior (6-2-0) is sixth in the North Region, while Concordia (6-4-0) is tied for 10th in the Central Region. Oshkosh slipped one spot to No. 15 in the D3Soccer.com Top 25.
• UW (4-3-1) and UW-Green Bay (4-2-1) both received votes in the NSCAA Division I men's Great Lakes regional poll.
• Green Bay is 37th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 48, which is meant to predict the NCAA tournament field.

Stat pack

Beyond Axt, the state has many more representatives on the Division III scoring charts.

Ripon's Peltier was tied for fourth in goals (12) and tied for sixth in points (27); Edgewood junior forward Elaine Gerry (Sauk Prairie) stood in a tie for eighth with 11 goals and was tied for 14th with 23 points; Maranatha Baptist junior forward Karis Rogers was tied for 11th in goals (10) and tied for 25th in points (21); Concordia junior midfielder Lauren Straehler (Kettle Moraine) was tied with Gerry for 14th with 23 points, tied for 20th with five assists and tied for 21st with nine goals; St. Norbert freshman forward Katie Vanden Avond (De Pere) also was tied for 21st with nine goals and tied for 25th with 21 points; and Lakeland senior forward Lindsay Rogers (Sheboygan South) joined Straehler and Vanden Avond with nine goals.

• MSOE senior midfielder Jamie Janczak (Germantown) headed into the week tied for third in the country with eight assists, while Ripon freshman Alex Jirik (Ashwaubenon) was tied for 20th with five.
• Alverno sophomore keeper Samantha Robinson (Kenosha Tremper) was third in the nation with 96 saves, while Lakeland sophomore Ashley Sarbacker (Middleton) was 10th with 87 stops.
• UWM's Hagen and Marquette's Kelly continue to rank among the top scorers in Division I. Hagen is tied for fourth with 13 goals and 30 points and leads the nation with seven game-winners, while Kelly is tied for seventh with 11 goals, ninth with 26 points and tied for seventh with four game-winners.
• Two players who help provide service to Hagen and Kelly are among the assist leaders – Panthers senior midfielder Keara Thompson is tied for eighth with seven and Golden Eagles sophomore midfielder Kate Reigle (Brookfield East) is tied for 25th with six.
• Drusch stands 20th in the country with a .877 save percentage, while UWM junior keeper Jamie Forbes is 27th at .868. Drusch also is tied for ninth in saves (71), while Forbes is 23rd in goals-against average (0.62).
• Botts is tied for 11th in goals with seven and tied for 17th in points with 16 in Division II, while UW-Parkside senior forward Shannon Becker (De Pere) is tied for second with seven assists and tied for 27th with 15 points.
• In Division I men, Creighton senior forward Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) ranks in the top 25 in the country in three categories: Goals (six, tied for 16th), assists (four, tied for 23rd) and points (16, tied for 12th). Among those tied with him in assists are Saavedra, Quinnipiac junior forward Philip Suprise (Milwaukee Pius), UW-Green Bay senior midfielder Tony Walls (Wauwatosa East) and UW junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro.
• Marquette junior keeper David Check (Mequon Homestead) is fifth in Division I with 49 saves.
• Two Oshkosh men's players are among the leaders: senior midfielder Robby Giljohann (Brookfield Central) is tied for 13th with six assists and Pike is 23rd with a 0.45 goals-against average.