Women's Soccer Week 5 Notes: vs. MSSU | vs. UCM

Weekly Schedule:
Friday, Sept. 28 – vs. Missouri Southern – 3:00 pm – Kirksville, Mo.
Live Stats

Sunday, Sept. 30 – vs. Central Missouri – 12:00 pm – Kirksville, Mo.
Live Stats

PDF Notes

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Following a weekend split in the Sooner State, the Truman women's soccer team returns home to jump-start a four-match homestand with a pair of matches this weekend at the Bulldog Soccer Pitch. Truman welcomes Missouri Southern on Friday afternoon at 3:00 pm before hosting Central Missouri on Sunday at noon.

The Bulldogs (6-2, 3-1 MIAA) will have just one match count towards the MIAA standings this week – Friday's showdown with Missouri Southern (2-5-1, 2-2 MIAA) – with Sunday's clash with UCM (6-0-2, 3-0-1 MIAA) counting just as a regional-only matchup. Truman's return trip to Warrensburg in late October will serve as the team's MIAA-counting contest.

Truman hits the home pitch after an explosive weekend in Oklahoma that saw the purple and white score five goals in two matches, but allow four in split decisions. The Bulldogs dropped a 2-1 match to Central Oklahoma on Friday (Sept. 21) before rebounding with a 4-2 double down of Northeastern State on Sunday (Sept. 23). Junior forward Trisha Shoemaker scored three goals on the weekend – including her first multi-goal game at Truman on Sunday – to bring her season total to eight, while both Lauren Seawright and Hayley Bollwerk found pay-dirt for the first time in their respective careers.

Shoemaker's 19 total points (8g/3a) leads the Bulldogs, while Kelsey Twellman (3g/3a) and Olivia Hayes (2g/3a) provide additional support up top. Truman's defense has been stellar throughout much of the season, having a five-match shutout streak snapped last weekend but still posting a 0.75 goals-against average through eight matches. Emily Bozdeck has played all 722+ minutes in net, allowing just six goals and making 30 saves.

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 259-92-37. He ranks seventh all-time in NCAA Div. II history in wins, and his teams have won 10 or more matches in 17 straight seasons.

Weekly Recap with Coach Cannon:
To watch this week's weekly 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.

Looking at the MIAA:
With all 13 MIAA teams having played three or four conference matches through the fourth week of the regular season, Central Missouri has jumped out to the early lead with 10 points (3-0-1). Central Oklahoma and Truman both have nine points, with UCO having the benefit of playing one less game so far.

Southwest Baptist currently holds fourth with seven points in front of a three-way tie for fifth between Northeastern State, Northwest Missouri and Missouri Southern all at six points.

Three schools – Fort Hays State, Missouri Western and Washburn – all have three points, while Nebraska-Kearney and Emporia State each have one point through three matches. Lindenwood is off to an 0-4 start in league action.

The top eight teams qualify for the MIAA tournament at the end of the season, with the quarterfinal round taking place on campus sites on Tuesday, Oct. 30, before shifting to the site of the highest-remaining seed for the semifinals and championship on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4.

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 206, 62 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 62 points sit just three behind Jill Benson (1994-97) for ninth.

With her two-assist match against NSU, Twellman moved past recent graduate Megan Buri (2008-11) into a four-way tie for seventh all-time with 19 assists. She will move into a tie for sixth with just one more and into a tie for fourth with two more assists. Kelsey also sits fifth all-time in career shots, now with 160. She is 22 behind Carie Toczylowski (1994-97) for fourth.

Bozdeck, meanwhile, in her first full season as a starter, is already up to eighth all-time in career shutouts with 10, just one behind Lisa Schmalz (2002-04) for seventh and three back of Emily Roark (2005-07) for sixth.

While she hasn't cracked a top-ten chart yet, Trisha Shoemaker (16) is just five goals away from reaching Truman's all-time top-10. The No. 10 spot is currently held by Riley Mahn, who scored 21 goals between 2006-2009.

Checking Out the Competition:
Missouri Southern “Lions” (2-5-1, 2-2 MIAA)
After opening 2012 with a tie and five straight losses, the MSSU Lions righted the ship last weekend with a 2-1 home win against Fort Hays and a 3-0 home victory against Nebraska-Kearney. MSSU is 0-3-1 away from Joplin this season, including a 1-0 loss at UCO and a 4-2 loss at NSU to open league play two weekends ago.

The Lions have been out-scored 16-10 on the season but have been out-shot by just ten total (102-92). Megan Stueve leads the green and gold with five goals and 31 shots, with five other players scoring once each. Abby Risner and Beth Hammons have split time in net, combining for a 2.07 GAA and 45 saves (.738%).

Truman is 18-3-4 all-time against the Lions, including a 2-1 record against MSSU last season. All three matches went to OT last year, with Truman winning on Kelsey Twellman free kicks in both regular season matches before the Lions stunned Truman with a 95^th-minute game-winner in the MIAA semifinals.

Alese Woolard is in her third season as the Lions head coach. She has a 16-23-7 overall record at the program.

Central Missouri “Jennies” (6-0-2, 3-0-1 MIAA)
Central Missouri has posted an eight-match unbeaten streak to start its 2012 campaign, including a 3-0-1 mark for 10 early MIAA points. The Jennies are coming off home wins against Washburn (3-1) and Emporia State (2-0) last weekend and will host Southwest Baptist in a league match on Friday night before visiting Kirksville on Sunday.

UCM is averaging 1.62 goals per game but have allowed just five goals in eight matches. The Jennies have done the majority of their damage in the second half, out-scoring teams 10-2 in the final 45 minutes of regulation.

Becky Lackey and Alexis Robbers have the top goal-scoring honors of the season with four each. Jessica Grindstaff has spent nearly two-thirds of the time in net for the red and black this season, posting a 0.53 GAA and 14 saves.

Truman holds a 19-10-4 lead in the all-time series but will be looking to snap a six-match losing streak to the Jennies dating back to the 2009 season. UCM won both matches between the teams 2-0 last season.

Lewis Theobald is in his sixth season as the UCM head coach and has a career record of 85-16-10.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs will play two home matches next week, beginning with a GLVC-preview match with Quincy on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 pm before welcoming Lindenwood on Sunday, Oct. 7 at 1:00 pm.

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