In Springfield this week there are a several games with plenty to recommend. Lot’s to see outside of Springfield as well, which is also highlighted.
Wednesday – The Drury Panthers men’s team host the Missouri Southern Lion’s. Game time is 7 pm at Harrison Stadium and there are a full slate of local players represented on these two teams. Drury is still offering their $100 Season Athletic Pass as well as new events for youth players at the games (details below). Come support!
Friday – The Drury Panthers will host Northern Kentucky University, game time is 7:30 pm. The Norsemen are ranked #1 in the country and extended their regular-season winning streak to 29 games with a 3-1 defeat of visiting Missouri S&T on Sunday. Tony Ray, a defender who leads the team in assists with 5, was featured in the Louisville Courier prior to the game. Drury is #1 in the GLVC at the moment, with a 4-0 record and 6 game winning streak, while NKU sits in 2nd with a 3-0 GLVC record.
Same situation in the individual statistics as the Panther’s Steve Wilczewski (Glendale 2006) leads the league with 8 goals and 4 assists for 20 points in 6 games. NKU’s Steven Beattie is just behind him, with 9 goals and 1 assist for 19 points in 7 games. Drury’s Marco Cherisma has 5 goals for 10 points, and Adam Peterson ranks ninth in the league in points per game at 1.50 with his four goals and one assist which points to more balanced scoring for the Panthers. Last year’s meeting was a 2-0 win for NKU at Drury, effectively knocking the Panther’s out of the GLVC Tournament.
The Women will play at 5:00 pm and will face a key test as well. Currently #1 in the GLVC with a similar 4-0 record, NKU comes in tied for 4th with a 2-1 record. The Norse finished 4th last year, just behind Drury and are currently ranked #20 nationally.
Sunday – The Drury Panthers host Indianapolis Greyhounds, with the women’s game at 12:00 pm and the men at 2:30 pm. Both the men’s and women’s teams are in 4th place and will be looking to keep pace early in the season. The men’s game feature’s the final visit for Brian Fishback (Parkview 2005), who wears #10, led team in scoring with 13 goals in 2007 and leads the team in assists this season with 3. He wears the captain’s armband for the Greyhounds and is the midfield general. If the entire Parkview team isn’t there, I’ll be disappointed!
Sunday – The Missouri State Lady Bears host the new Division 1 program, the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars. The Cougars are 4-3, including a win over SEMO Saturday. The Bear’s are 5-3-1 and are led by Jackie Jasper, who just set the career record for wins and shutouts, surpassing her predecessor Alexis Stormo.
At Rolla, the Missouri S&T Miners will host GLVC opponents Indianapolis on Friday and St Joseph’s on Sunday. I’ll be at the games on Friday, enroute to St Louis for a long weekend with my family to celebrate my birthday. Both games on Friday will be an excellent measure of the Miner’s opportunities for post-season play, while Sunday’s games are must win to keep pace.
At Joplin, the Missouri Southern Lions host Truman State, the defending MIAA Champions and currently #4 in the National rankings, jumping from#10. They are 7-0 while MSSU is 2-5 so it will be a challenge for the Lion’s but a great opportunity to see some quality soccer.
The men will host the Newman Jets at 7 pm Saturday. The Jet’s are a D2 program in Wichita that compete in the Heartland Conference and include former Carthage Tiger Nick Pfeifer (2005). They are 3-4-1 going into tomorrow’s game at Rockhurst, and will also host Drury next week.
At Bolivar, the Southwest Baptist Bearcats have a pair of home games this week against MIAA foes. The SBU Bearcats will defend their 4-0-0 record on Thursday against Emporia State, with hopes of ending the day with the best start in the history of SBU soccer. Game time is 4:00 pm.
Washburn visits on Saturday. That game will also start at 4:00 pm. Through their first four contests, the Bearcats have outscored their opponents 21-1. Keep an eye on #14, Rhiane Mitchell, who has scored 10 of them (pictured against Drury earlier this season).
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Future Panthers and Lady Panthers (12 and under) will be encouraged to come on down after games and play some ball for a few minutes with selected Panthers and Lady Panthers, who will stick around to make it an even more memorable event for the kids.
After all, who wouldn’t enjoy a chance to grab an autograph, kick the soccer ball around on the turf at Harrison Stadium … and in general, really get to know “Your Panthers?” I also wanted to drop a reminder on the special activities we have during Drury soccer home contests this fall.
Our Andy’s “Compete For A Concrete” promotion – in which kids 12-and-under come out onto the field at halftime of soccer games and try to score a goal against “celebrity keepers” for Andy’s treats – has been very popular to date. The first volleyball home match of the season is Tuesday (7 p.m. vs. UMSL), and I know there’s a serving contest for the little folks to try to take home Andy’s as well.
Got a youth team interested in getting in on the fun at a future Drury soccer game? Then give head coach Alf Bilbao (873-7449) or associate head coach Ryan Swan ((873-7830) a call. We’ll make sure they not only get recognized over the P.A. system, but leave with some Andy’s treats and a good,healthy workout on the turf after the final DU game of the day has been completed.
Missouri State Bears – 2
The Missouri State women’s soccer team opens Missouri Valley Conference play with a 1 p.m. Sunday match @ Plaster against 3rd place preseason pick Evansville. 
