Wisconsin Soccer Central

All three divisions of the NCAA women's soccer national goal-scoring charts this week feature Wisconsin players at or near the top of the list.

UW-Milwaukee senior Sarah Hagen (Appleton North), right, led Division I players in goals per game (1.231), points per game (2.85) and game-winning goals (eight) and was second in points (37) and tied for second in goals (16) heading into the week.

Marquette sophomore Maegan Kelly wasn't far behind, ranking ninth in points (30), tied for ninth in goals (12) and tied for fifth in game-winners (five).

Two of Hagen's teammates also were among the country's leaders: Panthers senior midfielder Keara Thompson's 11 assists were tied for first, while junior goalkeeper Jamie Forbes was tied for 16th in save percentage (0.871) and 17th in goals-against average (0.560).

In Division II, Grand Valley State (Mich.) junior forward Ashley Botts (Beloit) was tied for second with 13 goals and tied for third with 29 points and five game-winning goals. UW-Parkside senior forward Shannon Becker (De Pere) was tied for sixth with nine assists.

And Milwaukee School of Engineering senior forward Jessica Axt (Germantown) topped Division III in goals (25), goals per game (1.923), points (54) and points per game (4.15). Axt's longtime teammate, Raiders senior midfielder Jamie Janczak (Germantown), was tied for second in the nation with 11 assists.

Ripon freshman forward Brandi Peltier (Hustisford), meanwhile, was third with 19 goals, tied for third with 42 points and fourth in goals per game with an average of 1.462. St. Norbert's Katie Vanden Avond (De Pere), another freshman, was tied for 12th with 14 goals and tied for 19th with 32 points. Maranatha Baptist junior forward Karis Rogers was tied for 18th in goals (13).

• University of Wisconsin junior midfielder Tomislav Zadro was tied for second in the country among Division I men's players with seven assists.
• Cal Poly senior keeper Patrick McLain (Eau Claire Memorial) ranked 19th in the nation in goals-against average (0.689), while Marquette junior David Check (Mequon Homestead) was tied for fourth with 65 saves.
• In Division II, UW-Parkside senior Spencer Bursten (Grafton) was tied for 14th nationally with six assists.

Honor roll

Marquette senior goalkeeper Natalie Kulla is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for women's soccer.

The award program, which is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, recognizes senior class student-athletes for success in four areas: community, classroom, character and competition.

Kulla ranks second in NCAA history with 40 shutouts and is the reigning Big East Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, and has a 3.596 cumulative grade-point average. She also is involved with service projects on the Marquette campus and in Milwaukee and serves as the secretary of the school's Student Athlete Advisory Committee.

The finalists were chosen by a committee of media members from a list of 30 candidates. Nationwide fan voting will be combined with votes from NCAA Division I coaches and media members to determine the winner, who will be announced during the College Cup in early December.

Fans can vote online through Nov. 14 on the Senior CLASS Award site or the group's Facebook fan page. As of Tuesday night, Kulla was in fifth place with 9.6 percent of the vote.

• Kulla also was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week after posting a pair of shutouts in victories over Providence and Connecticut.
• One of the members of the Marquette backline in front of Kulla for those clean sheets, sophomore Katie Hishmeh (Brookfield Central), was named the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The Golden Eagles allowed a total of five shots on goal in the wins, and Hishmeh also had a goal and an assist.
• The UW women's team had two Big Ten Conference weekly award winners after its 2-0 victory over Nebraska. Senior keeper Michele Dalton was the Co-Defensive Player of the Week following her 11-save performance in her fifth shutout of the season, while forward Cara Walls (Wauwatosa East) was the Co-Freshman of the Week after scoring her third game-winning goal. Dalton claimed a weekly award for the fifth time in her career but for the first time this season, while Walls has been honored three times in the first eight weeks of the season.
• Three state players were among the Horizon League's "Top Performers" for the week. UW-Milwaukee's Thompson was recognized after she had a goal and three assists in two victories for the Panthers, while UWM senior forward Robert Refai and UW-Green Bay senior midfielder Stuart Grable (Neenah) were saluted on the men's side. Refai scored both goals for the Panthers in their matches, a 2-1 loss to Michigan State and a 2-2 draw with Detroit, while Grable assisted on the tying and winning goals Saturday night as the Phoenix came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Tulsa 3-2 on the road.
• Peltier was the Midwest Conference women's offensive player of the week for the third time this season after scoring or setting up all five of the Red Hawks' goals last week – she had two goals and an assist in a 3-2 win over Lawrence and scored both goals in a 2-1 overtime victory over Knox.
• Beloit College senior midfielder Tom Slusher was the Midwest men's offensive player of the week after helping the Buccaneers win a pair of matches and move into a tie atop the conference standings. He had the lone goal as Beloit handed Lake Forest its first loss with a 1-0 decision last Wednesday, then assisted on the first goal in a 4-1 victory over St. Norbert on Saturday as the Buccaneers (4-1-0 Midwest) matched Carroll (4-0-0) with 12 points.
• Senior keeper Jared Kuehl (Oregon/MATC) was voted the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's defensive player of the week after backstopping the Pioneers to victories over Wartburg (Iowa) and UW-Oshkosh. On the offensive side, UW-Whitewater freshman forward Austin Saari (River Falls) was honored after scoring the first goal and drawing a penalty kick that led to the third goal in a 3-0 victory over UW-Superior on Saturday.
• The WIAC women's defensive award went to UW-La Crosse junior midfielder Saskia Taylor (Madison West), who led a strong defensive effort and scored both goals in the Eagles' 2-0 win at UW-Superior – UWL has won all 19 matches against the Yellowjackets in the series history. UW-Stout senior midfielder Grace Salwasser, who had two goals and an assist on the week as the Blue Devils tied Hamline (Minn.) 3-3 and beat UW-Stevens Point 2-1, was the offensive award winner.
• Loras junior defender Kinsey Campbell (Greendale) received special mention on the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors after helping the Duhawks beat Coe 4-0 and Central 5-1 to improve to 11-2-0 on the season. Loras moved into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III poll this week at No. 20.

Milestones

Senior forward Donald St. George (Brookfield East) had a goal and two assists Sunday as then-No. 7 Loras (Iowa) routed eighth-ranked Dominican (Ill.) 5-0 in a non-conference match between two of the country's top-ranked NCAA Division III men's teams in River Forest, Ill.

St. George assisted on Chris Comstock's opener in the fifth minute, doubled the lead in the eighth and set up the fourth goal as the Duhawks (11-1-2) handed the Stars (11-2-0) their worst loss in nearly nine years. St. George ranks second on the team with six goals and five assists.

• Junior defender Cole Aschenbrenner (Milton) scored his first goal of the season in the 28th minute and Kuehl made eight of his nine saves in the second half as UW-Platteville beat UW-Oshkosh 1-0, only the fourth win for the Pioneers in the teams' 27-game series. The Titans, who are 22-4-1 all-time against Platteville, were shut out for the fourth consecutive match for the first time in their 27-year history.
• Salwasser and sophomore Alix Hyduke scored first-half goals as host UW-Stout held off UW-Stevens Point 2-1 last Thursday in Menomonie, just the second victory for the Blue Devils over the Pointers. Stout, which matched its win total from last season, is 2-16-0 all-time against Point – the Blue Devils' only other win was back in 2004. It marked only the second time the Pointers have lost back-to-back WIAC matches, the first time coming in 2005. In 20 seasons in the WIAC, Point has finished the conference schedule with two losses on only two previous occasions (2005 and '06).

Polling place

UW (6-4-2) fell out of the Soccer America men's Top 25, but moved up to sixth in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region poll. The Badgers received votes in the Soccer Times national poll and are 32nd in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 48, which is meant to project the NCAA tournament field.

• Carthage (7-4-2) is ranked sixth in the NSCAA Division III men's Central Region rankings, while UW-Oshkosh (6-4-2) is sixth and UW-Superior (8-4-0) is seventh in the North Region.
• UW-Parkside (7-2-1) received votes in the NSCAA Division II women's poll and is ranked fourth in the Midwest Region.
• Three WIAC sides are ranked in the NSCAA Division III women's North Region: UW-Eau Claire (9-4-1) is fifth, UW-Stout (7-1-1) is seventh and UW-Stevens Point (8-4-0) is eighth.
• Marquette (14-2-0) moved up two spots to No. 7 in the NSCAA Division I women's poll, while UW-Milwaukee (13-1-0) remained 12th. The Panthers and Golden Eagles stood pat at Nos. 12 and 13 in the Soccer America Top 25, while UWM inched up one place to 13th in the Soccer Times Top 25 and Marquette slipped one place to 12th. UW (8-4-2) was among others receiving votes in both the NSCAA and Soccer Times polls.
• Marquette is ninth, UW-Milwaukee is 19th and the Badgers are 37th in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Tournament 64. The NCAA released the first Ratings Percentage Index of the season last week, and UWM was ninth, the Golden Eagles were 22nd and UW was 30th.
• UW-Milwaukee and Marquette continued their runs atop NSCAA regional polls, the Panthers in the Great Lakes Region and the Golden Eagles in the Northeast Region. The Badgers are ranked sixth in the Great Lakes.