WARRENSBURG, Mo. (Sept. 26, 2019) - Central Missouri Jennies Soccer is set to host back-to-back games at Jennies Field this weekend as they face Missouri Western on Friday, then open MIAA play on Sunday against Northwest. Friday's match against the Griffons has been changed to a 6 p.m. start time due to implemented weather conditions.
Opponents:
Missouri Western (3-2-1)
Northwest Missouri (1-4-1)
When:
Friday, Sept. 27 - 6 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 29 - 1 p.m.
Where:
Jennies Field - South Rec. Complex - Warrensburg, Mo.
The Week Ahead:
• The Jennies went undefeated last week with two wins over fellow MIAA competitors, Northwest Missouri and Missouri Southern. UCM defeated the Bearcats 3-1 last Friday, then beat the Lions 6-1 the following Sunday.
• UCM's nine goals and eight assists totaled 26 points which was the most of any MIAA team last week.
• The Jennies junior forward
Makayla Toth continues to lead the league with seven goals and 17 points.
• UCM comes in at No. 7 in this week's United Soccer Coaches DII Top-25 Poll. The Jens were ranked No. 8 last week.
• NWMU was picked to finish at the bottom of the MIAA preseason poll while MWSU was selected fifth. Although all three teams are MIAA members, only Sunday's match against Northwest is an official MIAA game.
Series History:
Missouri Western: UCM leads 25-1-0
The Jennies have been victorious in all but one of their 26 meetings against the Griffons. MWSU earned their one and only victory against UCM in their first of two meetings last season. The Griffons beat the Jennies 1-0 early in the season, then UCM earned payback with a 4-0 shutout over the Griffons in the Jens final regular-season match.
Northwest Missouri: UCM leads 31-3-4
The Jennies have won the last 20 match-ups against the Bearcats. The last time Northwest defeated UCM was a 1-0 victory in 2008. The Jennies and the Bearcats competed last Friday in Maryville, which resulted in a 3-1 UCM victory.
Scouting the Competition:
Missouri Western Griffons
• Last season the Griffons finished 12-7 overall and 7-4 in the MIAA. MWSU has been 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).
• Friday's game is MWSU's first away game of their 2019 season. The Giffons come to Warrensburg on a three-game win streak, defeating Sioux Falls (2-1), Missouri Southern (1-0) and Northwest (2-0) in their last three matches.
• The Giffons have recorded 111 shots, 29 of which were on goal. Schwartzkopf leads the team with 31 shots while Ashley Mathis is the only Griffon to have two goals.
• MWSU's two losses came in their first two matches of the season against Lindenwood and Rockhurst. The Giffons were shutout 2-0 in each loss.
• Head Coach Chad Edwards enters 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.
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
• Last season the Bearcats finished 2-15 overall and 1-10 in the MIAA. They returned 20 players that started in at least one match last season.
• One of NWMU's key returners is senior Emily Madden who led the Bearcats in goals last season with three. Madden is the only returner to earn All-MIAA recognition in 2018. Other key returners for the Bearcats are juniors Taylor Wolfe, Madi McKeever, Madie Krueger and Alex Mausbach. A key newcomer for the Bearcats is Manuela Gonzalez, a junior college transfer. Gonzalez spent the last two seasons at Johnson County Community College where she earned first-team all-conference honors in 2017 and 2018.
• NWMU's one win in their 1-4-1 start to the 2019 season was a 4-0 victory over Sioux Falls. Krueger, Mausbach and newcomer Kaitlyn Case each scored the Bearcat's four goals with Case scoring twice.
• The Bearcats have recorded 41 shots on goal, lead by Teagan Blackburn with six total. Case holds the team-high of four goals while three different Bearcats have two assists.
• The Bearcats suffered a 3-1 loss to UCM and 2-0 loss to Missouri Western last week. Bria Wawiorka scored her first goal of the season against the Jennies and Kaylie Rock totaled a team-high of three shots on goal against the Griffons.
• This is Marc Gordon's second season as head coach for the Bearcats. With nine years of head coaching experience, Gordon displays a career record of 115-53-15.
Jennies Spotlight:
• The Jennies totaled 42 shots on the weekend with
Makayla Toth and
Kassie Newsom leading with 10 shots, two goals and one assist each.
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Macy Ruffalo also finished with week with two goals, scoring each against Northwest.
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Haley Freeman lead UCM with two assists last week.
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Allysa Gann was a big help on defense as the Jennies allowed just two goals in two games. She was on the field for all 180 minutes and routinely kept the ball away from her own. Northwest Missouri and Missouri Southern totaled just 15 shots with only four making their way onto the net.
