Women's Soccer | 9/2/2026 9:00:00 AM

Match 3: No. 10 Central Missouri (2-0) at No. 16 Minnesota State (1-0)
Friday, Sept. 4 | 10 a.m. | Mankato, Minn. (The Pitch)
Live Video (PPV) | Live Stats
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Match 4: No. 10 Central Missouri vs. Southwest Minnesota State (0-1-1)
Sunday, Sept. 6 | 11 a.m. | Mankato, Minn. (The Pitch)
Live Video (PPV) | Live Stats

2026 Jennies Soccer Roster | 2026 Minnesota State Roster | 2026 Southwest Minnesota State Roster

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Scene Setter

• No. 10-ranked University of Central Missouri Jennies Soccer (2-0) is scheduled to travel to Mankato, Minn., for a pair of non-conference matches against the No. 16 Minnesota State Mavericks (1-0) and Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs (0-1-1). The Jennies are slated to face the Mavericks at 10 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, before taking on the Mustangs on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 11 a.m.
• Central Missouri opened its 2026 season last week with a pair of 1-0 shutout wins at Missouri S&T on Aug. 27 in Rolla, Mo., and at Drury on Aug. 30 in Springfield, Mo. 
• Through two matches, the Jennies are paced offensively by senior midfielder Ryann Clark (1 G, 2 Pts., 2 Shots, .500 shot percentage, 2 SOG, 1.000 SOG percentage, 1 game-winning goal), senior forward Mikayla Ernst (1 G, 2 Pts., 7 Shots, .143 shot percentage, 4 SOG, .571 SOG percentage, 1 game-winning goal), and sophomore forward Alexandra Hofbauer (1 A, 1 Pt.). Senior goalkeeper Kristen Wright (2-0, 0 GA, 0.00 goals-against average, 2 SV, 1.000 save percentage, 2 shutouts, 10 shots faced, 180:00 minutes) leads UCM between the posts.
• Through two matches, Central Missouri's defense has not surrendered a goal and allowed just 10 shots and two shots on goal in 180 minutes. 
• UCM was picked third in the 2026 MIAA Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll.  

Weekly Honors for Wright

• Senior goalkeeper Kristen Wright was voted the first MIAA Women's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week for her performance on the pitch during the week of Aug. 24-30, the conference office announced on Tuesday, Sept. 1. 
• Wright helped the Jennies to a 2-0-0 start to the 2026 season with a pair of 1-0 shutout wins at Missouri S&T and Drury. 
• At Missouri S&T on Thursday, Aug. 27, Wright went the full 90 minutes between the posts and made one save on five shots faced to help Central Missouri to the 1-0 shutout victory. Sunday night, Aug. 30, at Drury, Wright again went all 90 minutes in goal and, once again, made one save on five shots faced to assist UCM to another 1-0 triumph. 
• On the week, Wright was 2-0-0 with two saves on 10 shots faced in 180 minutes of action. 

Back in the Top-25

• The Jennies are back in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Top-25 for the first time since last season, checking in at No. 10 in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Soccer Organization for Coaches (IWSOC) in partnership with the United Soccer Coaches Division II Poll released on Tuesday, Sept. 1. 

Home Sweet Home

• Dating back to the 2016 season, the Jennies are 94-9-3 at the South Recreation Complex. During that span, UCM has surrendered just 72 goals.
• All-time at the South Recreation Complex, UCM is 169-19-10 under head coach Lewis Theobald and 233-40-11 in overall program history. The Jennies have compiled undefeated home records five times.
• The 2026 season will mark a new era for Jennies Soccer at the South Recreation Complex, as UCM will play on a new, state-of-the-art turf playing surface that was installed during the summer of 2026. 

Series History

• Minnesota State: Friday's match against the No. 16-ranked Mavericks will be the 22nd meeting in the all-time series, going back to the first meeting in 2001. UCM leads the series, 12-7-2. Last year, UCM fell to Minnesota State, 1-0, in Mankato on Sept. 7. 
• Southwest Minnesota State: Sunday's neutral site encounter with the Mustangs will be meeting number six in the all-time series dating back to the inaugural encounter in 2004. The Jennies lead the series, 4-1. Central Missouri last faced SMSU in 2023 in Marshall, Minn, posting a 3-0 victory. 

New Faces for 2026

• The Jennies welcome seven newcomers in 2026, including one transfer and six high school freshmen.
• UCM's incoming transfer is sophomore midfielder Kylie Richardson (Emporia State transfer), while the incoming high school freshmen are goalkeeper Jamie Ricker, defenders Marley Ford, Annie Slamin, and Savanna Pittman, and forwards Habiba Lamrani and Allie Schroeder. 

Head Coach Lewis Theobald
Lewis Theobald, now in his 19th year, has transformed the Jennies Soccer program into one of the premier programs not only in the MIAA but also in NCAA Division II.

The 11-time MIAA and five-time region Coach of the Year has an impressive 321-57-31 record. He recorded more wins in his first three seasons than any other coach in school history and is the all-time winningest coach in both Jennies soccer and MIAA women's soccer history. He brought home the program's first-ever National Championship in the 2017 season.

Theobald enters the 2026 season as the winningest active coach in Division II women's soccer with an .822 winning percentage, among coaches with at least five years on the sidelines. He is also the all-time D-II leader among coaches with at least 10 years and is fifth all-time in all NCAA Divisions. 

During his tenure, Theobald has coached 23 All-Americans in Mikayla Ernst, Ashleigh Martin, Andree Orcutt, Lindsay Edmonds, Julia Kristensen, Kassie Newsom, Caroline Cole, Ana Dilkes, Emily Eldridge, Baylie Edwards, Randi Fernsler, Allysa Gann, Kayla Hamner, Julie Ireland, Becky Lackey, Cindy Lackey, Abby Rhodes, Alyssa Rhodes, Jada Scott, Carly Stanley, Jenna Stones, Makayla Toth and Megan Woolley and has led 63 players to All-Region status. He also coached Dilkes, a goalkeeper, to a National Player of the Year honor during the 2017 season.

He has coached 148 All-Conference players, including Most Valuable Players Melanie Hall, Kayla Shain and two-time Player of the Year Alyssa Rhodes; Offensive Players of the Years Carly Stanley, Julie Ireland, Jada Scott, Kassie Newsom and Julia Kristensen; Freshmen of the Year Alyssa Rhodes, Stanley, Hannah Pyle, Alexis Robbers, Nicki Wisnasky, Caroline Cole, Julia Kristensen and Izzy Joyce; Defenders of the Year, Emily Eldridge, Allysa Gann, Cindy Lackey and Abby Rhodes; two-time Goalkeeper of the Year Lindsey Johnson and four-time Goalkeeper of the Year Ana Dilkes.

A 1999 graduate of the University of Kansas, Theobald received his bachelor's degree in education with a concentration in physical education.

On the Horizon
The Jennies travel to Arkansas for a pair of non-conference contests, taking on Harding on Friday, Sept. 11, in Searcy, at 7 p.m. and Ouachita Baptist on Sunday, Sept. 13, in Arkadelphia at 1 p.m.