MIAA Soccer: MSSU Honors Seniors

Washburn Lady Blues – 3
Missouri Southern Lions – 2
Joplin, Mo. — Tia Stovall led the Washburn Lady Blues to a 3-2 win over the Missouri Southern Lions with two goals on Senior Night Thursday evening (Nov. 5) at Fred G. Hughes Stadium. The Lady Blues wasted no time jumping on top as Ashley Taylor quickly got the Lady Blues on the board by converting a penalty kick just two minutes into the first half. Stovall then scored the first of her two goals two minutes later on a breakaway assist from Ashley Taylor at the 4:19 mark.

Stephanie Heines brought the Lions (4-15, 2-13 MIAA) to within one goal by scoring on a penalty kick of her own in the 36th minute. Stovall gave the Lady Blues (10-8-1, 7-7-1 MIAA) their two-goal lead back by tallying her second goal from 10 yards away on the right side at the 57:34 mark.

But the Lions refused to quit as Alicia Vonderheid scored off an assist from Megan Stueve in the 74th minute that made the final score 3-2. Just like the final score, the shots were close as the Lady Blues held a narrow 14-12 overall shots edge and 9-6 advantage on-goal.

Heines and Michelle Dimza each led the Lions with three shots. Ashley Taylor and Lauren Henry also had three shots for the Lady Blues. Randi Russell made six saves for the Lions. while Lady Blues’ goalkeeper Ashley Klone stopped four shots.

Senior Night marked the end of the playing careers of seniors Stephanie Heines and Jentri White. Heines leads the Lions in goals this season and White paces the Lions in assists.

Truman State Bulldogs – 2
Emporia State Hornets – 0
The Truman women’s soccer team ended its 2009 regular season on a positive note with a key 2-0 MIAA conference victory at Emporia State on Thursday afternoon. Seniors Riley Mahn and Isabel Gaeta scored for the Bulldogs

The Bulldogs finished the conference season with 40 points and can clinch a share of the title with Nebraska-Omaha if the Mavericks go 1-1 this week at Southwest Baptist and at Central Missouri. Truman can also win the conference outright and secure the MIAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament if UNO picks up fewer than three points.

Currently sitting fifth in the South Central region, the Bulldogs will learn their post-season fate on Monday, Nov. 9 at 6 pm (Central) when the NCAA releases the 2009 bracket through a Web cast on NCAA.com.

Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks – 1
Southwest Baptist Bearcats – 1
BOLIVAR, Mo. — The SBU Bearcats showed their potential Thursday night, when MIAA-leading Nebraska-Omaha came to town. The Bearcats were able to play up to their opponent, forcing a scoreless tie throughout most of the match. After UNO did put one up on the board, SBU battled back, and with four minutes left, junior Lindsey Boden struck one through the back of the net to put the game into extra time.

The Bearcats have one final match in 2009, at home against Northwest Missouri State, on Saturday, November 7. The six Bearcat seniors will be recognized before the match, which is scheduled for noon.

Northwest Missouri Bearcats – 1
Central Missouri Jennies – 3
The Jennies extended their winning streak to six consecutive matches Thursday evening with a 3-1 victory over Northwest Missouri State at the UCM South Recreation Complex. Alyssa Rhodes netted a first half goal for UCM, with Cara Hennahane and Kayla Shain adding goals in the second half, helping the Jennies improve to in MIAA play and 12-5-2 overall.

The Jennies, ninth in the latest D-II South Central Regional Rankings, will close out their regular season schedule Saturday afternoon hosting a key conference and regional match against Nebraska-Omaha at 2 p.m.