Payton Deluga
  • Communication Sciences & Disorders
  • Class of 2019
  • Algonquin, Ill.

Algonquin Native DeLuga Part of WIAC Tournament Champion, NCAA Qualifying UW-Whitewater Women's Soccer Team

2016 Nov 10

Payton DeLuga, a native of Algonquin, IL, and graduate of Dundee Crown High School, is a member of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's soccer team, which won its fourth Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament in the last five years and will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship beginning this Saturday.

DeLuga, a sophomore at UW-Whitewater, is majoring in communicative sciences and disorders.

After setting several school records, winning the WIAC regular season title and the WIAC Tournament crown, the seventh-ranked UW-Whitewater women's soccer team is set to begin play in the NCAA Division III Tournament Saturday at Fiskum Field against Minnesota-Morris at 5 p.m.

The Warhawks, selected to host the first and second rounds for the third time in the last four seasons, are making their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season the Warhawks advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to Washington-St. Louis 1-0, a loss they avenged this season when they topped the Bears 1-0 at a neutral site.

UW-W, currently on a 19-game winning streak, is 20-1, tying the school record for wins set last season. The Warhawks' only blemish came in their second game of the season on September 3 at Wittenberg University where they lost 3-2.

The Warhawks are led by WIAC Coach of the Year Ryan Quamme, WIAC Offensive Player of the Year Brianna Reid (Oak Creek, Wis./Oak Creek) and WIAC Defensive Player of the Year Carina Krausert(Delafield, Wis./Catholic Memorial).

Quamme, in his fifth season as the head coach, has led the Warhawks to four regular season WIAC titles, four WIAC Tournament titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances. He is 91-16-5 during his tenure for a remarkable .835 winning percentage.

Reid, a four-time First Team All-WIAC selection and three-time Offensive Player of the Year honoree, is the school's all-time leading goal scorer (60) and point scorer (137), both records she set this season. This year she leads the team with 13 goals and five assists.

Krausert, also the WIAC's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete, made a switch from the attack to defense after her sophomore year and has flourished on the backline helping the Warhawks to 12 shutouts this season. Krausert also finds her way to contribute offensively, scoring one goal and notching two assists this season.

Senior teammate Carly Pottle (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East) and sophomore transfer Kaci Schonert(Racine, Wis./Horlick) also provide offense for the Warhawks. Pottle, a First Team All-WIAC selection, has scored nine goals to go along with four assists this season. Schonert set a school record with thirteen assists so far this season to go along with one goal.

UW-W goalkeeper Sara Klimisch (Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail High School and Academy) is expected to carry much of the load in net for the Warhawks. Klimisch has tallied nine shutouts this season, good for third in the UW-W record books. She boasts a goals against average of 0.51 to go along with 67 saves.

The Warhawks' opponent, Minnesota-Morris, won the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament to earn their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars, 8-7-3, are led by junior midfielder Molly Harcuh, sophomore forward Yu Itu and senior goalkeeper Torri Jordan.

Harcuh leads the team with 18 goals and five assists while Itu has chipped in seven goals and six assists. Jordan has posted six shutouts and 164 saves this season.

The Warhawks and Cougars share three common opponents this season. UW-W defeated all three, St. Catherine 7-1, UW-River Falls 3-0 and UW-Stout 2-0. UMM lost to both St. Catherine and UW-RF and tied with UW-Stout.

The other first round match is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m. and will feature St. Thomas (Minn.) and Loras (Iowa). The winners of Saturday's games will meet Sunday at 5 p.m.