WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Nov. 21, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Soccer is set to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA DII Central Region Tournament. The Jennies are the No. 2 seed and take on the No. 7 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State in their first match of the tournament.
First Round Match #1: Friday, Nov. 22 at 10 a.m.
No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul (17-2-2, 12-1-2 NSIC)
vs.
No. 6 Northeastern State (14-4-3, 8-3-0 MIAA)
First Round Match #2: Friday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.
No. 2 Central Missouri (17-2-1, 10-0-1 MIAA)
vs.
No. 7 Southwestern Oklahoma State (13-4-3, 8-1-3 GAC)
Second Round Match: Sunday, Nov. 24 at 1 p.m.
Winner of Match #1
vs.
Winner of Match #2
Where:
University of Central Missouri's South Recreation Complex - Jennies Field - Warrensburg, Mo.
The Week Ahead:
•Central Missouri will also host the No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul and the No. 6 Northeastern State on Friday at 10 a.m. on Jennies Field.
• As the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, the Jennies will host the No. 7 seed Southwestern Oklahoma State on Friday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m.
• The winner of the Concordia-St. Paul/Northeastern State game will face the winner of the Central Missouri/Southwestern Oklahoma State game at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 24. All games will be played on Jennies Field in Warrensburg, Mo.
• Minnesota State-Mankato earned the No. 1 seed and will get a bye. Augustana (SD) grabbed the No. 4 seed and the 2019 MIAA Tournament Champions, Central Oklahoma tabbed the No. 5 seed. The Mavericks will face the winner of the Augustana/Central Oklahoma match up on Sunday.
• This is the Jennies 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and their 13th appearance overall. Central Missouri has won the Central Region Tournament the past five years in a row.
• There is a $5 entry fee for adults, $3 for seniors and $1 for children ages 2-12. Entry for Central Missouri students and children under the age of 2 is free of charge.
• Earlier this week, five Jennies were named to the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Central Region Team.
Makayla Toth,
Haley Freeman and
Allysa Gann were all honored as first-team selections while
Skylar Drum and
Lindsey Johnson received second-team honors. Central Missouri had the most players named than any other team in the region.
Scouting the Competition:
No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears
• The Golden Bears (17-2-2, 12-1-2 NSIC) will be playing in their first ever NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed.
• After winning the NSIC regular season title, Concordia falling to Minnesota State 3-0 in the NSIC Tournament Championship game on Sunday at Sea Foam Stadium.
The loss dropped the Golden Bears from second in last week's NCAA regional rankings to the third seed.
• The Golden Bears had four players named to the D2CCA All-Central Region team. Haleigh Bares, Anna Houb and Jordyn Clark were all first time D2CCA First Team honorees while Hannah Pedersen received second-team recognition.
• This season, Golden Bears keeper Clark set a career high in wins (17), goals against average (.44), shutouts (12.3) and saves (70) along with games (20). Her 1,915 minutes played tied for third in DII.
Nikki Anderson leads the CSP offense with 10 goals while Pedersen has the team-high of 12 assists, which tie for fifth in the nation. Leah Johnson leads the Golden Bears attack with 50 shots, putting 22 of them on goal.
• As a team, CSP offense averages 17.4 shots per game while the CSP defense have only allowed 12 goals on the season. Clark and the Golden Bears defense also ranks fourth in the nation with 15 shutouts.
• The Jennies and the Golden Bears have never met.
No. 6 Northeastern State RiverHawks
• Northeastern State will bring a 14-4-3 record into the first round of the tournament and are the No. 6 seed in the Central Region.
• They have gone to penalty shootouts in two consecutive matches, beating Emporia State 3-2 in PK's in the semifinals of The MIAA Tournament and losing a penalty shootout to Central Okla. 3-1 in the tournament championship.
• Like the Golden Bears the NSU RiverHawks will be playing in their first ever NCAA Tournament as well as they made it all the way to the championship game in their MIAA conference tournament before falling to Central Oklahoma in a shootout.
• Friday's tournament opener is the first matchup between NSU and the Golden Bears. The last time that NSU faced a team from the NSIC was Sept. 6, 2013 when they beat Augustana (SD) in overtime at DeLoache Field.
• Mariah Nicolet leads the RiverHawks with 13 goals this season to go along with four assists. Six of her goals have been match-winners. Paulina Chavez has scored eight goals with three assists, while Sarah Rector has scored five goals on the season. Ainsley Cunningham has been in net for 16 matches, recording 40 saves with a goals against average of 0.92. She has saved 76.9 percent of the shots she has faced this season.
• Central Missouri leads the all-time series against the RiverHawks 12-2-1. When the teams met earlier this season in MIAA play, UCM defeated NSU 3-1 on the road.
No. 7 Southwestern Oklahoma State
• As the 2019 Great American Conference Tournament Champions, SWOSU Soccer (13-4-3, 8-1-3 GAC) earned the automatic bid into the Central Region Tournament.
• This is the third all-time appearance for the Bulldogs in the Central Regional, with previous trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2017. Both of SWOSU's previous appearances to the tournament have been ended by UCM in Warrensburg, with the Jennies claiming a 3-0 victory in each match.
• The Bulldogs have faced UCM in four consecutive seasons, including a season-opening 4-3 defeat to open the 2019 season on September 5th. SWOSU has never defeated the Jennies, with an 0-8 all-time record in the series dating back to 2005.
• SWOSU senior forward Sandra Nabweteme earns her fourth consecutive selection to the All-Central Region team and third First Team selection while freshman defender Elizabeth Moreno earns a Second Team selection to cap off her first season as a Bulldog.
• Nabweteme was named the Great American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the MVP of the GAC Tournament after leading her team to both the regular season and postseason conference championships. She is the all-time leader in goals scored, assists and points in the conference and she's ranked fourth in Division II this season with 22 goals and tied for second with 51 total points to her credit. She becomes the first Bulldog to be named an All-Central Region selection in four consecutive seasons.
• Moreno adds an All-Central Region honor after previously being named First Team All-Great American Conference for her play on SWOSU's backline defense. She was part of a Bulldog defense that recorded seven shut outs and she was credited with one assist and one shot attempt during the season.
• The Jennies have never lost to SWOSU. The teams competed against one another in their 2019 season openers which resulted in a 4-3 UCM victory.
