Showing that there is more to soccer than just playing a competitive game, the UW-Platteville Pioneer women’s soccer team was awarded with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Ethics/Sportsmanship Award.

The award is based on the number of penalty cards, red and yellow, a team receives over the length of the regular and play-off season.

Photograph by Jessica Stoppelmoor
The Pioneer women won the 2008 NSCAA Team Ethics/Sportsmanship Award in the Silver category for having no red cards and only four yellow cards.

According to the Sports Information Wed site, during the 2008 season, the Pioneers had just four yellow cards and no red cards, earning a silver award from the NSCAA. The NSCAA award is divided into gold, silver and bronze categories.

Receiving the Team Ethics/Sportsmanship Award proves that the UW-P soccer program’s sportsmanship image is improving tremendously from previous seasons.

“It’s a sign that we are moving in the right direction,” senior forward Sarah Gengler said. “We used to have more yellow cards than all the teams in the conference combined and to win this award definitely proves that we don’t need to be a dirty team. We can play physical enough but still keep our composure and still win games.”

According to the Sports Information Wed site, the Pioneers averaged 26 yellow cards per season between 2004 and 2006 and had more cards than the other eight WIAC teams combined in 2004.

Second year head coach Enzo Fuschino said that winning the award was a product from achieving good results and playing a different brand of soccer since the previous seasons were full of fouls and yellow cards.

“The image of the program in the past was tarnished so it [the Ethics/Sportsmanship Award] will bring respect back to our soccer program,” Fuschino said.

Second year head coach Enzo Fuschino led UW-P to a 9-9-2 record in the 2008 season. UW-P was the only WIAC school to win the Ethics/Sportsmanship Award.