The week ahead... Entering this week's action riding a five-game win streak, the No. 13 Jennies soccer team (7-0-1, 4-0-0 MIAA) will host a pair of MIAA foes in Nebraska-Kearney on Friday, October 3 and Fort Hays State on Sunday, October 5.
The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers enter Friday night's match with a 1-5-1 record, and 1-3-0 mark in conference play having lost their past two games. They have yet to win on the road this season (0-4-1).
Fort Hays State (4-3-1, 2-1-1 MIAA) will visit Lindenwood to play the Lions in a 7:30 p.m. showdown Friday night prior to Sunday's match in Warrensburg.
Freshman midfielder
Alex Yockey led the Jennies with three goals last week, all coming in a 5-1 win at Washburn. Sophomore forward
Hannah Pyle picked up two assists, giving her six this season and putting her in a tie for most in the MIAA.
Series History...Nebraska-Kearney: The Jennies lead the all-time series with the Lopers, 2-0-1. Last season, UCM took the lone match, 5-1 on Sept. 21, 2013 in Warrensburg.
Fort Hays State: UCM leads the all-time series 3-1-0. Last season's game went to the Jennies, a 1-0 shutout at home on Sept. 19, 2013.
The Coaches...John Maessner (Nebraska-Kearney): John Maessner is in his third season as Nebraska-Kearney head women's soccer coach.
Throughout his two seasons in Kearney, he has brought unprecedented success and energy to a program that started in 2009.
He recorded the program's first winning season (9-7-2 in 2012), guided the Lopers to their first-ever postseason appearance (2013 MIAA Tournament) and seen team and individual school records fall.
Five different players have been named to the All-MIAA team the past two years, including defender Sarah Talcott. She ended her career as a three-time all-conference pick and with UNK records for minutes played (6,047) and games played (72).
A native of Hackensack, New Jersey, Maessner graduated Virginia in 1992. He holds the USSF A coaching license and a USSF youth license.
Maessner lives in Kearney with his wife, Christine, and their two children, Daisy and Miko.
Craig Shaw (Fort Hays State): Craig Shaw is in 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.
He and his wife, Alexandra, have one daughter, Torey.
Head Coach Lewis Theobald Six-time MIAA Coach of the Year, Lewis Theobald is in his eighth season as head coach at Central Missouri with a stunning 116-22-16 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in Jennies soccer history during the 2012 season. He earned his 100th victory as head coach of the UCM program on September 27, 2013 at Washburn. He entered the 2014 season as the sixth-winningest active head coach in Division II women's soccer with a .798 winning percentage. 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...Nebraska-Kearney: The Lopers look to snap a two-game skid when they arrive to Warrensburg on Friday night. Nebraska-Kearney's offense has been outscored, 15-5 this season.
The offense is paced by Montanna Hosterman who leads UNK with five points (two goals, assist). Three other Lopers, Meaghan Pasbrig, Marika Van Brocklin and Lauren Hoeft are the others to score in 2014.
Protecting the net is junior goalkeepr Regan Zach, a native of Omaha, Neb. She has saved 18 shots (45 shots faced) while allowing 10 goals for a 1.75 average. Zach owns one shutout and is 1-3-1 this season.
Fort Hays State: The Tigers' visit to Central Missouri on Sunday concludes a four-game road swing for FHSU.
The offense features five players with two goals or more. Hailey Davey leads with five assists in addition to two scores, both game-winners.
The defense has yielded just seven goals in eight matches, led by Mallory Diederich, Taylor Siedel, Gabrielle Makatura and Hannah Smith. Together, they have helped the Tigers record three shutouts in their last four matches, allowing 13 goals or less in three of those games.
Between the pipes is Kristen Thompson, a 5-8 redshirt freshman from Manhattan, Kan. Her 0.82 GAA is fourth-best in the MIAA, while her .863 save percentage is third among MIAA goalkeepers.
Yockey Named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week...Jennies freshman midfielder
Alex Yockey was named the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by the MIAA office on Tuesday. Yockey is the Jennies first offensive player to win MIAA Player of the Week this season. She joins goalkeeper
Ana Dilkes (twice) and defender
Emily Eldridge (once) to earn MIAA Player of the Week honors in 2014.
Yockey's Game...Yockey's hat trick at Washburn was the first time a Jennies player scored three goals in a game since October 6 of last season.
Julie Ireland and
Hannah Pyle both turned in hat tricks in a 9-1 win against East Central in Warrensburg. That same game marked the last time a UCM player scored six points in a match.
Comeback Victory...The Jennies' 1-0 halftime deficit at Emporia State last Friday night was the first time UCM has trailed in a match this season. It was also the first time the Jens came back to win a game when trailing at halftime since Sept. 20, 2012 against Washburn (3-1).
Five Goal Game...Central Missouri scored five goals last Sunday for the first time since Nov. 1, 2013 against Northwest Missouri (5-0 win).
September Success...Through September, the Jennies have seven victories. It is the fourth time in the past five years head coach
Lewis Theobald has guided his team to that many victories through the first month of the season.
Dilkes Unbeaten...Freshman goalkeeper
Ana Dilkes continues her strong play protecting the Jennies' net. Last week, she picked up two victories, while allowing just two goals and saving five shots.
Dilkes is the second freshman UCM goalkeeper in the past three seasons to begin her career 7-0-1, joining
Morgan Hartzler, who owned the same record in 2012 through eight matches. Dilkes needs three more victories to eclipse Hartzler's nine victories from that season.
Jennies Soccer (By the numbers)...UCM owns a 7-10-1 record all-time against Nebraska schools.
The Jennies are 42-15-3 all-time against Kansas schools.
Central Missouri is 5-1-0 all-time against Nebraska schools at home.
Central Missouri is 22-5-0 all-time against Kansas schools in Warrensburg.
