This week the Jennies travel to Joplin Friday to battle Missouri Southern in an MIAA match at 7 p.m. then to Ada, Okla. Sunday for a non-conference match with East Central University at 1 p.m.
East Central: Sunday's non-conference match with Great American Conference member East Central will be the first meeting between the Jennies and Lady Tigers.
The Coaches
Alese Woolard, Missouri Southern: Alese Woolard enters her third season at the helm of the MSSU women's soccer program after serving four years as an assistant coach on former head coach Trevor Wachsman's staff.
Prior to her coaching stint, Woolard enjoyed a solid two-year playing career under former MSSU head coach Trevor Wachsman. Woolard made 14 starts in the net for the Lions and held the opposition scoreless for the final 227 minutes of the 2004 campaign. She recorded 77 saves and three shutouts in her two years at Southern.
Woolard graduated from Southern in 2005 and holds a Master of Education in Workforce Development Education with an emphasis in Adult Education from the University of Arkansas.
Riley Bailey, East Central: Bailey enters his fourth season as the head coach of the East Central University women's soccer program after leading the Lady Tigers to Great American Conference regular season and postseason tournament championships in 2011.
ECU's 12-6-1 record last season was among the best in school history as Bailey was named GAC Coach of the Year. Three of his players were named to the All-GAC First Team while five more were placed on the second team in 2011.
Bailey has a 23-25-5 record through three seasons as Lady Tiger head coach after taking over the duties from his sister Heather Beam in 2009.
Prior to his head coaching duties at ECU, Bailey spent eight seasons as the Lady Tigers assistant coach, 1998-2000 and 2004-08.
He received his bachelor's degree from Oklahoma Christian University (where he was a member of the men's soccer team) in 1995 and his masters from ECU in 1999.
Four-time MIAA Coach of the Year,
Lewis Theobald is in his sixth season as head coach at Central Missouri and currently has an impressive 86-17-10 record.
With the Jennies 4-2 win over Winona State August 31st, Theobald became the all-time winningest coach in Jennies soccer history.
He recorded more wins in his first three seasons than any other coach in school history. He was the first assistant at Division I Indiana State, where he was the lead recruiter before coming to UCM.
He is a 1999 graduate of the University of Kansas.
Scouting the week's competition
Missouri Southern: The Lions enter the week with an overall record of 3-6-1 and are 3-3 in the MIAA. Missouri Southern has won three of its last four matches in MIAA action. They are led by Megan Stueve, who has started all 10 matches, contributing seven goals for 14 points. Stueve recorded a hat-trick in the match against Nebraska-Kearney Sept. 23. As a team, the Lions average 1.6 goals/match while their opponents average 2.1 goals/match. Missouri Southern average 12.5 shots/match and its opponents average 13.2/match.
Missouri Southern's goalkeepers are Abby Risner and Beth Hammons. Risner has 29 saves with a goals-against-average of 2.20 and a 0-3-0 record while Hammons has 20 saves with a goals-against-average of 1.91 and a 3-3-1 record with one shutout.
East Central: The Lady Tigers enter the week at 2-7-1 overall and are 2-2-0 in the Great American Conference. East Central is led by Ashley Bradford and Tory Weisman, who each have scored two goals this season. As a team, the Lady Tigers average 0.70 goals/match while their opponents average 1.90 goals/match. They also average 14.7 shots/match while their opponents average 15.7.
East Central's has a trio of goalkeepers: Taylor Lowe (1.26 GAA, 13 saves, 0-2 record), Stephanie Gutierrez (1.84 GAA, 15 saves, 0-3 record) and Hunter Malcolm (1.94 GAA, 36 saves, 1-2-1 record).
Scoring Threats
Three Jennies have scored at least two goals this season. Freshman
Alexis Robbers leads the team in scoring with five goals, followed by junior
Becky Lackey with four and senior
Kayla Shain with two.
Crunching the numbers
The Jennies lead the MIAA is corner kicks taken with 91, an average of almost 10 per match. Central Missouri is third in the leage in both goals allowed (7) and goals-against-average (0.67). The Jennies have taken 91 corner kicks as compared to only 35 from their opponents.
Second period charge
Central Missouri has scored 11 of its 16 goals this season in the second period. The Jennies have outscored their opponents 11-2 in the period number two.
Veteran experience
Copenhaver, Shain, Hanson and Stones will wear the captain's armband this season.
A new year, a new region
Central Missouri will no longer be a member of the South Central Region. Beginning this season, the Jennies will compete in the Central Region, composed of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (NSIC), Great American Conference (GAC) and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).
