The week ahead... The No. 24 Central Missouri Jennies soccer team (3-0-1) opens MIAA play this weekend when they pay a visit to Lindenwood on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. The Jennies conclude the weekly schedule hosting Northwest Missouri on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.
UCM is coming off a week where they went 1-0-1, tying the Marauders of the University of Mary, 2-2 in double overtime on Sept. 11, followed by a victory at Minot State, 2-0 on Sept. 13. The shutout against the Beavers marked the third in the first four games for the Jennies this season.
Sophomore forward
Hannah Pyle leads the Jennies offense with six points (goal, four assists) and 10 shot attempts through the first four games. Freshman forward
Mikala Modiri owns two goals and an assist, the only Jennie with multiple goals in 2014.
Freshman goalkeeper
Ana Dilkes has turned in four strong outings defending the net. The Wichita, Kansas native has saved 10 shots and allowed just two goals for a 0.47 GAA. She owns three shutouts in her young collegiate career.
Series History...Lindenwood: The Jennies lead the all-time series, 4-2-0. UCM is 2-1-0 all time in St. Charles. The two teams met last season on Nov. 3, 2013 with UCM coming away with a 4-0 shutout.
Northwest Missouri: UCM holds a 20-3-4 lead over the Bearcats. The Jens are 12-1-0 all-time against Northwest Missouri in Warrensburg. The Jennies won both matches last season by a 5-0 tally. The Jennies have won the past nine matches dating back to 2009.
The Coaches...Laurie Kaminski (Lindenwood): Laurie Kaminski is in her 10th season as the head coach of the Lindenwood Lions women's soccer program. During her career at Lindenwood she has compiled a record of 85-67-15 and the program has advanced to postseason play three times.
Lindenwood was the most improved team in the MIAA last season. The Lions went 5-5-1 in conference action and advanced to the MIAA Tournament in their first season of eligibility. Lindenwood finished with an overall record of 8-10.
Prior to arriving at Lindenwood in 2005, Kaminski was an assistant coach at Lindenwood under head coach Thom Champion. As an assistant, she played a significant role in helping guide Lindenwood to the 2003 NAIA National Tournament.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Communications with a minor in Marketing from Saint Louis in 2003. In 2004, she earned a master's degree in Sport Management from Lindenwood.
Tracy Hoza (Northwest Missouri): Tracy Hoza has been the head coach of Northwest Missouri State's soccer program since 2003.
The Bearcats made their second consecutive trip to the postseason under Hoza in 2013. Northwest finished with an 8-7-3 record. Northwest played in 12 games decided by one goal or less including an MIAA tournament loss to Northeastern State 2-1.
The Bearcats won a program-record 11 games in 2009 and placed fifth in the MIAA standings, the team's best finish since 2001. That performance followed a 10-win season in 2008 and a nine-win mark in 2006. The three best records in the program's 11-year history have come in the last five seasons.
Hoza and her husband, Matt, have one daughter, Cora, and reside in Maryville.
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 112-22-16 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...Lindenwood University: The Lions (1-2-1) will look to rebound from a 2-1 overtime loss to Truman State Tuesday night.
Offensively, Lindenwood has scored four goals in four games. Former Jennies forward Alexis Robbers scored the lone goal for the Lions against Truman State and is one of three Lions (Becky Roberts, Shannon Stewart, Miranda Huebner) to score this season.
Defensively, Huebner, sophomore Jackie Lindner and junior Kelsey Becker roam a Lindenwood backline that has yielded six goals and 60 shot attempts.
At goalkeeper, a pair of freshman in Melissa Weiss and Lauren Groathouse have started two matches apiece, combining for 23 saves (11 for Weiss, 12 for Groathouse). Weiss owns the team's only shutout.
Northwest Missouri: The Bearcats (3-1-0) will host Missouri Western prior to arriving in Warrensburg for Sunday afternoon's matchup with the Jennies. Northwest Missouri is 2-0-0 away from Maryville this season.
On offense junior forward Anna Holden, junior midfielder Crystal McElhose and freshman midfielder Jessica Spradley are responsible for six of the nine goals for Northwest Missouri.
On the defensive backline, Jill Kieffer, Taylor Sellars, Hannah Goetz and Nicole Mitchell have seen action in all four games, allowing just two goals on 37 shots (17 on-goal).
Between the pipes is Ashley Malloy, a 5-6 freshman from Omaha, Nebraska. In four starts, Malloy has made 15 saves and has yielded two goals for a 0.51 GAA.
Recent Dominance against LWU, NWMSU...Central Missouri has been in control in the recent series history against its two opponents this week.
The Jennies have won the past three games against Lindenwood, all 4-0 shutouts. Two of those wins have come in St. Charles.
Against the Bearcats of Northwest, the Jennies have come out on top in the past nine matches dating back to 2009. UCM has also won or tied against Northwest Missouri in 13 of the past 14 meetings.
Staying Unbeaten...With the 2-0 win over Minot State last Saturday, the Jennies boast an unbeaten record through the first four games for the second time in the past three seasons (2012).
Jennies Soccer Facts...The Jennies have won 11-consecutive MIAA openers dating back to 2003. The last conference opener the UCM program lost was on Sept. 24, 2002 against Missouri Southern in Warrensburg (2-1 final).
The last four double-overtime games for the Jennies have resulted in ties, dating back to Nov. 16, 2012 against Minnesota State.
Spreading the Scoring Wealth...In the first four games of this season, seven players have scored at least one goal. Three Jennies:
Julie Ireland,
Baylie Edwards and
Erin Robinson, all recorded their first scores of the season in last week's games. At this time last season through four matches, only four Jennies had scored a goal.
Keeping Opponents off the Scoreboard...Entering the week, UCM was tied with Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western for the least goals allowed with two (0.50 average). Opponents have attempted just 13 shots on goal, third-least in the MIAA. UCM is also one of three MIAA schools (Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western) with three shutouts.
A Tale of Two Seasons...This season the Jennies have committed 40 fouls, second-most in the MIAA, compared to last season when they were the least-penalized team with 101 fouls in 20 games (5.05 per game).
Jennies Soccer (By the numbers)...The Jennies are 122-71-14 all-time against Missouri schools.
Central Missouri is 58-31-10 all-time against Missouri schools on the road.
UCM is 61-27-4 all-time against Missouri schools in Warrensburg.
