Women's Soccer MIAA Quarterfinal Notes: vs. Fort Hays State

Schedule:
Tuesday, October 30 – vs. Fort Hays State – 2:00 pm – Kirksville, Mo.
Live Stats

PDF Notes
Twitter | @TrumanWS

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The MIAA tournament bracket is set, and four conference quarterfinals will get underway Tuesday, including the Truman women's soccer team hosting Fort Hays State in a 2:00 pm match at the Bulldog Soccer Park.

The Bulldogs (12-5-1) enter the eight-team conference tournament as the league's No. 3 seed and will take on sixth-seeded Fort Hays for the second time in 12 days in Kirksville following FHSU's 2-1 win on Friday, Oct. 19. That win helped catapult the Tigers to the No. 6 spot but booked a second trip to Kirksville with Tuesday's pending winner set to advance to the MIAA semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2 at a to be determined site.

Admission for Tuesday's conference tournament match is $5 for all ages. There will be no student/staff free admission, due to rules set by the MIAA office. Official NCAA tournament procedures will be in place for the event, with the teams observing normal timing rules (two 45-minute halves, followed by two 10-minute golden goal overtimes if still tied) before the implementation of penalty kicks to determine an advancing team if necessary.

Truman needed a come-from-behind victory on Saturday at Southwest Baptist to snap the program's first three-match losing streak since 1993 (head coach Mike Cannon's first season) but still rode its early success to a home match in the quarterfinals. Last Thursday, the Bulldogs lost 1-0 at No. 12 Central Missouri, settling for a split in the season series following Truman's 1-0 home win against the Jennies on Sept. 30. Then, on Saturday, Truman recorded its first win this season after trailing, falling behind in the 36^th minute before getting a game-tying goal in the 55^th by Lauren Seawright and a gifted own-goal by the Bearcats with just 2:09 to play for a 2-1 regular season-ending victory.

Overall on the season, Truman still has a +20 goal differential, averaging 1.8 goals per game offensively and holding the opposition to just 0.7 goals per game. Truman has out-shot its opponents 302-173, including a 130-83 edge in shots on goal. The Bulldogs lead the league with 29 assists, as seven different players have contributed multiple helpers.

Despite missing the last six contests, Trisha Shoemaker remains the team's goals (9) and points (21) leader, with Kelsey Twellman ranking second in total points (14) behind five goals and four assists. Alexis Heffernan has scored five goals in her freshman season, with Melanie Hunt taking the team-lead with seven assists.

Emily Bozdeck captains a Bulldog back line that has surrendered 12 goals (0.66 GAA) this season, with Bozdeck pitching 10 shutouts and posting an 85.5% save mark.

Mike Cannon is in his 20^th season at the controls of the women's soccer program at Truman and has a career record of 265-95-38. He ranks seventh all-time in NCAA Div. II history in wins, and his teams have won 10 or more matches in now-18 straight seasons.

Video Recap with Coach Cannon:
To watch this week's video recap with coach Mike Cannon, click the video link below. If the video is not appearing, please access the full weekly notes at TrumanBulldogs.com.

Following the Bulldogs:
Full coverage of Truman women's soccer is available online at TrumanBulldogs.com, including results, upcoming match information and weekly updates.

When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog women's 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 (@TrumanAthletics). Also be sure to sign up for Text Caster and Newsletter updates on the TrumanBulldogs.com homepage.

MIAA Tournament History:
2012 marks the third season of the MIAA conference tournament, with the league sponsoring the year-end event both in 2007 and 2011. In 2007, the Bulldogs defeated Washburn and Southwest Baptist by 1-0 margins to capture the tournament title, while last season saw the Bulldogs upset 2-1 in overtime by Missouri Southern in the semifinals.

Megan Buri scored Truman's goal last season, with Kelsey Twellman's five shots leading the Bulldogs against the Lions.

Regional Outlook:
The NCAA will unveil its third set of regional rankings on Wednesday (Oct. 31), counting all matches through Sunday, Oct. 28, prior to the official national selection show on Monday, Nov. 5.

The Bulldogs were punished greatly for its two losses to FHSU and Nebraska-Kearney on Oct. 19-21, dropping from fourth to eighth in the Central region. With the top-six teams granted NCAA tournament berths, the Bulldogs would need to leapfrog Upper Iowa (No. 6) and Minot State (No. 7) to be in line for a potential at-large bid.

Truman's other option would be to win the MIAA tournament, earning the league's automatic berth into the national tournament. That free pass is awarded to the conference tournament champion and would “bump” the sixth-place team out of the final selection.

Always known for playing a tough schedule, the Bulldogs have played each of the top-four teams currently ranked, as Minnesota State, Central Oklahoma, Central Missouri and Winona State led the region in last Wednesday's announcement. Great American Conference member Southwestern Oklahoma State was ranked fifth in front of UIU, MSU and Truman. Northeastern State and Fort Hays rounded out the ten team ranking.

Career Chart Check:
Three Bulldogs continue to make noise on the Truman all-time charts, as seniors Olivia Hayes and Kelsey Twellman, along with junior Emily Bozdeck, inch their ways up a variety of different lists.

Hayes sits third all-time in career shots with 238, 30 back of Shauna Putnam (1987-90) for second. In addition, her 24 career goals are just three back of Jessica Wiegert (2006-09) for seventh, and her 63 points sit just two behind Jill Benson (1994-97) for ninth.

Twellman, meanwhile, tallied her 20^th career assist in Saturday's match at SBU, moving her into a tie for sixth all-time with Stacy Erickson (1987-90). She is one behind a pair of players for fourth, and needs four more to catch third. Kelsey also sits all alone in third with 191 career shots, having passed a pair of players last week. She is likely to finish there, needing 77 more shots to reach Shauna Putnam (1987-90) in second.

Bozdeck, meanwhile, in her first full season as a starter, has 15 career shutouts, passing Emily Roark and drawing even with Janet Larson for fifth (1989-92). She is now eight behind current graduate assistant Jayne Grisham (23; 2008-11).

Checking Out the Competition:
Fort Hays State “Tigers” (11-6-1)
The FHSU Tigers make their second trip to Kirksville in 12 days, having closed the season with a 4-1-1 record to earn the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament. Fort Hays will be playing its third match in five days on Tuesday, having defeated Nebraska-Kearney 5-1 on Friday, Oct. 26 and non-conference rival Western (Colo.) State 1-0 on Sunday, Oct. 28 to wrap up the regular season.

The Tigers sport a +23 goal differential on the season, averaging 2.17 goals/game while allowing just 0.89. Three of the team's top offensive weapons made their mark a dozen days ago in Kirksville, as team scoring leader Jordan Hester (8) and team assist leader Alexis Aiman both scored, with Cindy Benitez adding a pair of assists. Rachael Schaad made three saves in goal, allowing one, as Truman put just four of its 22 total shots on target.

Truman and Fort Hays have split the two all-time matches, having each won on the others' home field in the past two seasons. Craig Shaw is in his second season at the helm of the program, having complied a 14-16-2 (8-5-1) record.

Up Next:
With a win, the Bulldogs will advance to the MIAA semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2 at the site of the highest-remaining seed, with the MIAA championship scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 4.

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