The UW-Platteville men’s soccer team continues to improve their winning record despite having tough opponents.

The Pioneers won their third game of the season, 2-0, over Clarke College Thursday night at Ralph E. Davis Pioneer Stadium.

The win over the Clarke Crusaders improved the Pioneer’s record to 3-1-1.

UW-P’s sophomore forward Blake Beetham scored the first goal after splitting two defenders for a pass from sophomore forward and midfielder B.J. Gottschlich. The second goal came from senior forward Ben Terpening to clinch the win by stealing the ball from a Clarke defender and scoring from 25 yards away.

“We knew it would be a tough game,” men’s head soccer coach Enzo Fuschino said. “We have been playing well and we came out with a good win.”
Thursday’s game gave the Pioneer defense their second shutout for the season. The defense held Clarke at only 10 shots while UW-P had 18 and one save by Kris Bosshart. The first shutout was in the season opener against No. 3-ranked Loras in a 0-0 tie.

The Pioneers won their first road game of the year 5-2 at Ripon Sept. 9. Junior midfielder Tyler Holle scored the first two goals for UW-P during the first half. The Pioneers lead the Red Hawks 4-0 going into the second half. Freshman midfielder Kyle Hoerter and sophomore forward Mitch Cornelius scored in the second half with Cornelius making his second goal of the game. Leading the Pioneers with two assists was freshman forward Zach Wall.

“I thought that we played really well as a team and had great support from the players that came off the bench,” Terpening said.

The Pioneers main goal for the season is to make the NCAA tournament, which has never been done Coach Fuschino said.

UW-Platteville is coming off another home game against UW-Whitewater, followed by two more road tests against St. Mary’s, Minn. on Sept. 21, and Dubuque, Iowa on Sept. 24.