The week ahead... The top-seeded Jennies (17-0-1, 14-0-0 MIAA) host the eighth-seeded Northeastern State RiverHawks on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament.
Central Missouri finished the regular season with the highest scoring offense in the MIAA, netting 50 goals for an average of 2.78 per match.
The Jennies' opponent, Northeastern State, ended the regular season winning two of its final three matches to claim the final seed in the conference tournament. The RiverHawks went 2-6 in matches away from Tahlequah this season.
Under head coach
Lewis Theobald, the Jennies are 3-3-1 in MIAA Tournament play.
Should the Jennies defeat Northeastern State on Wednesday, they would advance to the MIAA Tourney semifinals in Olathe, Kansas to face the winner of fourth-seeded Central Oklahoma and fifth-seeded Lindenwood on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.
Series History...Northeastern State: Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 6-1-1. The Jens have won the past four matchups and are 1-0 against the RiverHawks all-time in postseason play (won 1-0 in 2012 MIAA semifnals).
Central Oklahoma: The Jennies lead the all-time series, 4-3-2. The Jens have won two of the past three matchups and are 0-1 against the Bronchos in postseason play (lost 3-1 in first round of 2013 MIAA Tournament).
Lindenwood: Central Missouri leads the all-time series, 6-2-0. The Jennies have won the past five matches with the Lions. It would be the first postseason matchup between the two schools.
The Coaches...Head Coach Chase Wooten: Chase Wooten is currently in his fifth season as head coach of the Northeastern State women's soccer program. He was named to the position in January 2010 and is the third person to serve in this capacity since the sport was added in 1996. He entered the 2014 campaign with a career record of 46-19-9, and his .682 winning percentage is the best in school history.
Wooten has taken the program to new heights since arriving at NSU. He has led the RiverHawks to the four best defensive seasons in school history, including a 2013 team that conceded a program-best 14 goals. The 2010 team allowed just 17 goals, while the other two top defensive units in school history were also under Wooten's watch (2011-12). Wooten has guided Northeastern State to winning seasons in each of his first four years with the program.
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 126-22-16 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. In 2014, he guided the Jennies to their second unbeaten regular season in program history, finishing 17-0-1 with a 14-0 mark in MIAA play. 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...Northeastern State: The RiverHawks finished the regular season with a record of 8-10 and 5-9 in MIAA competition.
On offense, freshman forward Melissa Giles leads with 13 points (six goals, assist), while taking a team-high 30 shot attempts. Junior midfielder McKenzie Musella has tallied 11 points this season, netting four goals and distributing three assists. Sophomore forward Anastasia Robinson is first among RiverHawks in assists with four.
Defensively, NSU is led by sophmores Rachel Gleason and Lauren Wagner and junior Emily Burch. The defense has yielded 24 goals this season, including five games of muliple goals allowed.
Between the pipes is sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff. The Long Island, New York native has started all 18 matches this season for Northeastern State, registering a 1.30 GAA. Her 93 saves are fourth-most in the MIAA.
Dilkes Named MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week...Jennies freshman goalkeeper
Ana Dilkes earned MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week accolades for the third time this season, the conference office announced on Tuesday. Dilkes saved all seven shots she faced in two matches, improving her record to 17-0-1 and 14-0 in conference play.
Jennies Looking for Home Cooking...The last two times the Jennies have hosted an MIAA Tournament game, they have come up short. UCM lost last season to Central Oklahoma, 3-1 and fell short to Fort Hays State in 2012 by a 2-1 double-overtime tally.
Riding a Hot Streak...UCM's last game that did not result in a win was back on September 11 when they tied the University of Mary, 2-2 in double overtime. The Jennies' 15 game-win streak is tied for the second-longest streak to end a regular season, matching the 2011 squad.
Ireland Leading the Pack...Junior forward
Julie Ireland enters the postseason playing at a high level. The Lake Saint Louis, Mo. native has scored at least one goal in four of the past five matches with three assists in that span as well. In 14 conference games, she has collected eight goals and five assists for a team-best 21 points.
Dilkes Enters the UCM Record Books...The Jennies have received excellent play this season from freshman goalkeeper
Ana Dilkes. The Wichita, Kansas native has 17 wins, matching Brooke Cooley's freshman record of 17 wins in 2010. That season, Cooley made 30 saves, compared to Dilkes' 71 through 18 matches in 2014. Her 71 saves are the most for a UCM goalkeeper since 2006 when Liz Casey saved 76 shots.
Dilkes also compiled two more shutouts last week, bringing her season total to 10, a new Jennies' freshman record for a goalkeeper.
Pyle-ing Up the Assists...Sophomore forward
Hannah Pyle currently owns seven assists this season. She remains four assists away from setting the Jennies' single-season record, which would pass Teleshia Joseph (2002)
Kayla Shain (2011) and
Carly Stanley (2013), who each recorded 10 in their respective seasons.
Perfect in Warrensburg...Central Missouri finished the regular season with a 9-0 record at home. The last time the Jennies completed a perfect mark on their home turf was 2010, when they finished 9-0. It would be the third unbeaten home record for the Jens in the past six years, all under head coach
Lewis Theobald.
Jennies Soccer (By the numbers)...UCM owns a 14-4-3 record all-time against Oklahoma schools.
The Jennies are 5-2-2 all-time against Oklahoma schools at home.
