WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Oct. 30, 2019) - Central Missouri Soccer hits the road this weekend determined to claim the title of 2019 MIAA Women's Soccer Champions. The Jennies need another win or a tie to secure the championship and will have two opportunities to do so this weekend against Missouri Southern and Missouri Western.
Opponents:
Missouri Southern Lions (3-12-1, 2-6-1 MIAA)
Missouri Western Griffons (4-9-3, 1-2-2 MIAA)
When:
vs. Missouri Southern - Friday, Nov. 1 - 6 p.m.
vs. Missouri Western - Sunday, Nov. 3 - 1 p.m.
Where:
Friday -
Fred G. Hughes Stadium - Joplin, Mo.
Sunday -
Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium - St. Joseph, Mo.
The Week Ahead:
• As the only team in the MIAA without a league loss, the fifth-ranked Jennies are one win away from being crowned the 2019 MIAA Champions with a week of games still remaining.
• Central Missouri picked up their fourth and fifth consecutive MIAA victories last weekend playing on Jennies Field. UCM defeated the Ichabods 1-0 last Friday, then beat the Hornets 3-2 in an intense 96 minute battle.
• The Jennies moved up one spot in week's United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll. After spending three consecutive weeks ranked fifth, the 13-1-1 Jennies are now ranked fourth in the nation. UCM is the only ranked MIAA team in this week's poll.
• Jennies junior defender
Skylar Drum was named this week's MIAA Soccer Defensive Player of the Week. Drum and the Jennies defense have recorded seven shutouts so far this season, tying for the fifth-most shutouts in Division II.
• Missouri Southern and Missouri Western are currently both at the bottom of the MIAA standings. The Lions posts a league win percentage of .278 while the Griffins is .222.
Series History:
vs. Missouri Southern - UCM leads 22-8-3
The Jennies have won 16 of their last 18 matches against the Lions. The last time MSSU defeated UCM was a 2-1 victory in 2013. Earlier this season, the Jennies had a season-high performance against the Lions and won the match 6-1.
vs. Missouri Western - UCM leads 26-1-0
The Jennies have only fallen to the Griffins onces in their all-time series that dates back to 2005. MWSU's one win happened last season in a 1-0 Griffin victory in St. Joseph. UCM and MWSU also met earlier this season which resulted in a 1-0 Jens victory.
Scouting the Competition:
The Lions
• Last season the Lions recorded the second-most wins in program history with an overall record of 19-3-1 and were 7-8-3 in the MIAA.
• The Lions return three seniors in goalkeeper Luz Galindo, defender Brianna Smith, and forward Jessica Edwards. They also bring back six juniors and four sophomores for 13 players total. One of the four sophomore returners is All-MIAA selection and last year's leader in points, forward Bailey Belcher. Belcher scored a team-high six goals and added an assist to end her freshman season.
•MSSU's won their first match since Week 4 last Sunday against Washburn. The Lions defeated the Ichabods 2-1 after UCM had beat them 1-0 the Friday before. Elena Eckwall and Jessica Edwards were responsible for MSSU goals against the Ichabods while Ashton Manwill and Carina Calderon assisted the goals.
• Edwards leads the Lions offense with four goals while Bailey Belcher has three. Belcher also leads the MSSU attack with 38 shots, 23 of which came on goal. The different Lions have protected MSSU's goal this season. The squad is lead by Riley Lover who is responsible for two of the Lions three wins and has a total of 107 saves this season.
• Head Coach Aaron Tilsen is in his first season with the Lions. Perviously a goalkeepers coach at Minnesota State-Mankato, Tilsen helped the Mavericks to a 19-3-1 record, 13-1-1 in conference play, winning the second-most matches in school history. MSU was ranked 11 of the 14 ranks, with its highest position coming in at No. 13.
The Griffons
• Last season the Griffons finished 12-7 overall and 7-4 in the MIAA. MWSU was selected fifth in the MIAA preseason poll.
• The team consists of 21 returners from 2018 and eight freshman. Of those returners come four All-MIAA honorees: Lillian Davis (second team), Anna Mayer (third team), Claire Meyers (third
team) and Taylor Schwartzkopf (honorable mention).
• MWSU went 0-1-1 last week. The Griffons tied Newman 1-1 in double overtime last Friday, then lost to Central Oklahoma 3-1 the following Sunday. Claire Meyers was responsible for the Griffins game-tying goal against the Jets, while Kaili Campbell scored MWSU's only goal against the Bronchos.
• The Griffons starting keeper Anna Mayer missed Sunday's match against UCO due to injury. Mayer ranks second in the MIAA with 103 saves on the season. Jessica Hill started her first match in the goal for MWSU and recorded 11 saves while allowing three goals.
• Five different Griffons have two goals on the season while Kelsey Roe leads the MWSU offense with two goals and an assist. Taylor Schwartzkopf leads the Griffons attack with 59 shots, 26 of which fell on goal.
• Head Coach Chad Edwards is in his his ninth season at the helm as the program's winningest head coach with a record of 70-68-7. Edwards took the program from a 2-13-3 record in 2012 to a 17-5 NCAA Central Region Championships qualifying mark in 2017.
Leading the Jennies:
•
Makayla Toth s to lead the Jennies offense for the ninth-consecutive week. Toth ranks second in the league and ninth in the DII with 35 points this season. Her 14 goals is the second-most in the MIAA while her seven assists rank fifth.
•
Haley Freeman and
Kassie Newsom are both tied for second in the league with eight assists. Newsom is also tied for seventh in the MIAA with six goals this season.
• Toth and Newsom lead the Jens offensive attack with 47 shots each.
•
Nayeli Gallo scored the Jennies game-winning goal in overtime last week. The goal was Gallo's second of the season and posts a team-high shot on goal percentage of 0.625.
•
Lindsey Johnson and the UCM defense have collected seven shutouts this season, four of which were against MIAA competitors. Johnson has the sixth-highest save percentage in the league at .817.
