The home opener and a primetime road affair await the Truman women's soccer team this week, as the Bulldogs take on a pair of familiar foes in week three of the 2011 season. The Bulldogs welcome Northwest Missouri to Kirksville on Thursday at 4:00 pm before traveling to No. 25 Central Missouri on Saturday at 7:00 pm.
Truman is coming off an 0-1-1 trip to San Antonio, where the Bulldogs picked up a 3-3 draw with host Incarnate Word on Friday but fell, 4-2, to then-No. 24 Abilene Christian in a neutral-site contest on Sunday. The Bulldog offense continued its hot start to the season, netting five tallies off the feet and heads of four different players, led by sophomore Trisha Shoemaker's two goals and junior Kelsey Twellman's goal and two assists.
The matches against Northwest Missouri and Central Missouri this week count towards Truman's standing in the region, but do not count towards the final MIAA conference standings. See below for additional information on the 2011 conference schedule.
Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman women's soccer is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming game information and weekly updates.
When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog soccer schedule page as well as the top of each weekly update.
Keep up with the Bulldogs by tracking in-game updates (when available). Follow Truman Athletics on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TrumanAthletics. Also be sure to sign up for TextCaster updates on the Bulldog homepage.
Canine Corner:
Coming home after an 0-1-1 weekend at Incarnate Word, the Truman women's soccer team hits a more routine schedule with a 1-2-1 overall record through its first four matches. All four of the team's matches during the first two weekends were against South Central regional foes, making upcoming contests against conference teams even more important in the team's quest for a 10th trip to the NCAA tournament.
Scoring goals hasn't been a problem for the 'Dogs this season, as the team has put eight shots in the back of the net through the first four matches. Junior Olivia Hayes and sophomore transfer Trisha Shoemaker have scored two apiece so far, while both senior Megan Buri and junior Kelsey Twellman have added a goal and two assists each.
The early struggles have come in the back for Truman, as the Bulldogs have given up 10 goals so far for a goals-against average of 2.37. Senior Jayne Grisham has seen the majority of time in net – 290 of the team's 380 minutes – and has made 14 saves.
Action has been relatively equal for both offenses, with total shot count reaching a 62-61 mark in favor of Truman's opponents, but the Bulldogs have a one-shot edge (34-33) on goal.
Scouting the Bearcats:
After opening the season with a 2-1-1 mark through four games, the Northwest Missouri Bearcats visit Truman for a 4:00 pm match on Thursday afternoon. Like Truman, Northwest has had little trouble pouring in goals, having scored 12 already this season.
Half of those have come from Tammie Eiberger, who opened the season with a hat trick against Texas A&M-Commerce. Victoria Von Mende has scored four to complete the second half of NWMSU's offensive attack, including a two-goal game against Newman the last time out.
Truman and Northwest have met 23 times, with the Bulldogs never losing a match. Truman has a 22-0-1 record in the all-time series, with the lone draw coming last season.
Scouting the Jennies:
Last season's MIAA champion and this season's pick to repeat, the No. 25 Central Missouri Jennies are off to a 3-1 start in 2011 and will travel to Washburn on Thursday before hosting Truman on Saturday.
UCM has scored ten goals in its four matches this year, led by two apiece from Alyssa Rhodes, Nicky Wisnasky and Becky Lackey. The Jens are out-shooting their opposition, 61-19, and had a 26-match regular season winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss at home to Dallas Baptist last weekend.
The Bulldogs and Jennies have met 31 times, with Truman holding a 19-8-4 lead in the all-time series. UCM won all three matches last season, however, including a 3-0 decision in the NCAA tournament second round.
Bulldogs vs. NWMSU/UCM:
- Junior Megan Buri has a goal and two assists against NW and UCM.
- Senior Jayne Grisham has played 335 minutes in goal against NW, having given up just two goals and making 14 saves for a 3-0-1 overall record.
- Junior Olivia Hayes has two goals on 15 total shots against NW.
- Senior Jaclyn Schumann scored a game-winner against NW last season.
- Junior Kelsey Twellman has a goal and an assist in four career games against NW.
Hayes Cracks Top-Ten:
Junior forward Olivia Hayes cracked Truman's all-time top-ten goals scored chart last weekend with her second goal of the season. She now has 20 all-time, tying her with current assistant coach Katie Reuck's three-year total, set from 2007-2009. Riley Mahn (21; 2006-09) and Jill Benson (22; 1994-97) sit in ninth and eighth places on the career goal scoring list.
MIAA? Or Not MIAA? That is the Question…
Due to Nebraska-Omaha's sudden departure from the league last March, conference officials had to scramble to create a balanced schedule for the 2011 season. To do so, teams will play 12 matches against other MIAA programs, but only eight (four home, four road) will count towards the official MIAA championship race and standings. All of the matches will count for regional consideration, but only those denoted with an asterisk on the women's soccer schedule page count for the MIAA standings and tournament seeding.
This week's matches against NWMSU and UCM, along with the Sept. 24 match at SBU and home matches against Missouri Southern (Oct. 20) and Emporia State (Oct. 27) will be strictly nonconference matches.
Let's Just Call it Even:
Truman tied a program-high with five draws in 2010, including four coming in true road matches. The Bulldogs last had five draws in the 1996 season and have not had a draw-less season since 2001.
Truman Picked Second in MIAA Poll:
Truman women's soccer picked up one first-place vote and placed second in the 2011 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, announced Thursday, Aug. 4 by the league office.
The Bulldogs totaled 57 points in the nine-team poll, earning one first-place and seven second-place votes. Last season's conference champion Central Missouri was picked to repeat, collecting the other eight first-place votes for 64 total points, while Southwest Baptist (46), Missouri Southern (43) and Washburn (38) rounded out the top five. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, as Northwest Missouri, Missouri Western, Emporia State and first-year program Fort Hays State wrapped up the poll.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs kick off a four-match road trip next Thursday and Saturday with a trip to southwest Missouri. Truman will face Missouri Southern on Sept. 22 in Joplin before taking on Southwest Baptist on Sept. 24 in Bolivar.
