recorded two goals and two assists in last Thursday's 5-2 victory over the University of Mary.
Fort Hays State: The all-time series with the Tigers is tied 1-1-0. The two teams last played on November 12, 2012 in Warrensburg. The Jennies fell to the Tigers, 2-1 in double overtime.
Nebraska-Kearney: The two teams will meet for just the second time with the series knotted at 0-0-1 following a 1-1 draw in a double overtime match on September 16, 2012 in Kearney.
The Coaches...
Craig Shaw: Coach Shaw enters his third season as head coach of the women's soccer program at Fort Hays State University. In just the program's second year of existence in 2012, Shaw guided the Tigers to a record of 14-7-1 overall, the MIAA Tournament Championship, and the program's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers saw a vast turnaround under Shaw following the program's first year of competition in 2011, when it finished 6-11-1 overall. He guided the Tigers to an eight-win improvement in 2012, while knocking off the top three seeds in the MIAA Tournament to grab an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In just two years, Shaw has coached nine players to All-MIAA honors and one player to all-region honors.
John Maessner: Coach Maessner was named the Nebraska-Kearney interim head women's soccer coach in July 2012 and then was elevated to permanent head coach in February 2013.
In 2012, the Lopers went 9-7-2 (4-6-2) and were in contention for a spot in the MIAA Tournament until the final game. This marked UNK's first winning season since starting women's soccer in the fall of 2009.
Besides a school-record nine wins, the '12 Lopers set new standards for points (75), goals (28) and longest winning streak (four games).
On the pitch, Maessner was a forward and midfielder who played on three different MLS teams from 1996-01, helping United win the MLS Cup in 1996, 1997 and 1999.
He and his wife, Alexandra, have one daughter, Torey.
Five-time MIAA Coach of the Year,
Lewis Theobald enters his seventh season as head coach at Central Missouri with a stunning 97-19-14 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in Jennies soccer history during the 2012 season.
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...
Fort Hays State: The Fort Hays State Tigers are coming off a 1-2-0 week and are looking to snap a two-game skid following losses on the road at UC Colorado Springs and Colorado State-Pueblo.
The Tigers dropped five scores on Northwestern Oklahoma in a 5-1 win on September 10. Junior forward Hailey Davey (goal, assist) and freshman midfielder Hannah Jurgens (two assists) helped push Fort Hays State over the top that evening.
Defensively, Fort Hays features two goalkeepers in junior Nicole Barnaba (10 saves, three goals allowed in 238:02 minutes) and redshirt sophomore Kelsey Grey (four saves, four goals allowed in 211:58 minutes).
Nebraska-Kearney: The Lopers split both of last week's games against Northwestern Oklahoma (3-0 win) and Southwestern Oklahoma State (1-0 loss).
Nebraska-Kearney has five players with one goal apiece (Tara Knowlton, McKinzie Rieber, Montanna Hosterman, Samantha Rieber and Delanie Phillips). Hosterman and Phillips are tied for first on the team with three points on the season. Hosterman and Samantha Rieber's goals were game-winners.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper Katelin Mielke has allowed three goals while saving seven shots in a team-high 321 minutes. Three of her saves came in the team's most recent game against Southwestern Oklahoma State in a 1-0 defeat.
Approaching a Milestone...
Entering Thursday night's matchup, Jennies head coach
Lewis Theobald needs three victories to reach 100 for his career at Central Missouri.
Breaking out in Week 2...
The contributions of three Jennies helped push the team over the top last week against the University of Mary and Minot State.
Freshman midfielder
Hannah Moran scored three goals, including the game-winner on Sunday against the Beavers.
Senior
Becky Lackey recorded six points (two goals, two assists) in the Jennies 5-2 win over the University of Mary on Thursday night.
Sophomore midfielder
Nicole Pond accounted for both assists, one coming off a corner kick, in the 2-0 Sunday victory over Minot State.
Second Half Shots...
Through the first four games, the Jennies have outshot their opponents 30-16 in the second half, in comparison to the first half where they hold a 25-23 edge in the shot attempts category.
Freshman Sensation...
Freshman midfielder
Hannah Moran has already kicked two game-winning goals through the first four games of the 2013 season. A year ago, the Jennies leader in game-winning shots was
Alexis Robbers (4) for the entire campaign. Entering Thursday night's game, she is currently tied for first in the MIAA in points per contest (2.0 - Jennifer Clark, Northeastern State).
Playing Clean...
Through four games, the Jennies have committed just 17 fouls, the lowest total among all MIAA schools (4.25 per game). Thursday night's opponent, Fort Hays State, has committed a conference-high 67 fouls through five games (13.40 per game).
Jennies Soccer (By the numbers)...
The Jennies are 11-1-2 in their last 14 home games dating back to last season.
When matched up against Kansas schools, UCM is 38-15-2 all-time. The Jennies are 21-5-0 when playing a Kansas school in Warrensburg.
When matched up against Nebraska schools, UCM is 6-10-1 all-time. The Jennies are 4-1-0 when playing a Nebraska school in Warrensburg.
