Bulldogs Prepare for Hawks in Opening Round

Truman Women's Soccer Match #21 Notes
Full Notes (PDF)

Match 21 (Live Stats | Live Video):
#4 seed Truman (12-4-4) vs. #5 seed Rockhurst (12-5-3)

Date: Friday, November 15 (6:00 pm CST)
Location: Allendale, Michigan (GVSU Soccer Field)
Series Record: Truman leads, 10-1-1.
Cannon vs. RU: 10-1-1 (+16 goal differential)
Last Meeting: Truman won, 1-0, on Oct. 4, 2013 (Kirksville, Mo.)

Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || #TSUGameDay || @TrumanWS

Opening Kickoff:
The Truman women's soccer team is set to make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2010 this Friday, as the Bulldogs kick off the 2013 dance with a first-round match against league-rival Rockhurst (Mo.) on the Grand Valley (Mich.) State campus at 6:00 pm (CST).

The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Wis.-Parkside in the Great Lakes Valley Conference semifinals last Friday, check into the 2013 tournament with a 12-4-4 overall record and having finished second in the GLVC regular season standings. On the season, Truman has out-scored its opponents 30-10 and has taken 114 additional shots (+68 on goal).

The advancing team from the Truman/Rockhurst contest will advance to the second round, where it will face top-seeded and host GVSU. The Lakers won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference regular and post-season titles and posted a 19-0-1 record along the way. That match will take place at 12:00 pm (CST) on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Truman and Rockhurst are two of four GLVC representatives in the six-team NCAA Midwest regional, as No. 2 seed Quincy is hosting No. 3 UW-Parkside in the second sub-regional. UWP will face sixth-seeded Michigan Tech in its Friday opener, before the advancing team tackles QU in the second round on Sunday.

On the season, the Bulldogs have been led offensively by senior all-GLVC forward Trisha Shoemaker's eight goals and four assists for a team-high 20 points. Sophomore all-GLVC midfielder Alexis Heffernan ranks second in goals (4) and is tied with both Shoemaker and senior all-GLVC midfielder Kristina Weishar for the team lead in assists with four. Truman has seen 14 different players log goals this season, with six different players finding pay-dirt at least twice.

Defensively, the Bulldog back line is represented by three all-GLVC performers in senior Suzanne Pelley, junior Lauren Seawright and sophomore Jessica Hanson. Senior Emily Bozdeck – the Bulldogs' seventh all-conference selection – has played all 1863 minutes in goal this season and has posted a goals-against average of 0.48 with 74 saves and 11 shutouts.

Leading the Bulldogs on the sideline is head coach Mike Cannon, who is in his 21^st season at the helm of the Truman program. He has a 277-100-42 all-time record at Truman and is the seventh-winningest active coach in NCAA-II history. Cannon has guided the Bulldogs to all 10 of the program's NCAA postseason appearances.

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-match 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.

Scouting Friday's Opponent:
The Hawks come into Friday's match having suffered a similar fate to Truman, as RU dropped a 1-0 decision in the GLVC tournament semifinals to snap a four-match winning streak. RU was nearly untouchable at home this season (9-0-1) but went just 3-5-2 away from Kansas City – including an 0-3 record on grass surfaces.

RU out-scored its opponents 28-12 on the season, scoring 12 first-half goals and 16 goals in the second-half/overtime. Taylor Skala is the team-leader in goals (7) and points (18), while Kasey Lierz ranks first in assists with six. Katie Kujawa (5), Morgan Dahm (4), and Caroline Brandt (3) have also found the back of the net more than twice this season.

Ali Wallner has made 19 starts in goal for the Hawks, posting a 0.56 GAA with 70 saves and 10 shutouts on the season.

Greg Herdlick is in his 15^th season at the helm of the RU program, where he has amassed a 155-98-22 (.644) record.

NCAA Postseason History:
The Bulldogs are entering the NCAA postseason for the 10^th time overall (all under Cannon) and have posted an 8-9 all-time record in 17 tournament matches.

Truman will be making its first appearance following a four-year run from 2007-2010. The Bulldogs have picked up a victory in each of its last three postseason runs, defeating Washburn and Texas A&M-Commerce in 2008, Nebraska-Omaha in 2009, and Midwestern State in 2010. Truman is 2-5 all-time in true road matches in the NCAA tournament while holding a 3-1 record in neutral site tourney contests.

This will be Truman's first NCAA tournament appearance as a GLVC member and will be the second tournament match against a GLVC team (W 1-0 vs. Saint Joseph's – 1997).

NCAA Tournament Protocols:
NCAA postseason guidelines are in place for the rest of the season for all remaining 48 teams, so should any match finish tied throughout 90 minutes of play, plus two golden-goal overtime sessions, the two squads would head to penalty kicks.

In a combined 23 postseason matches (17 NCAA + 6 MIAA/GLVC), Truman has never gone to PK's to decide a match and has advanced into an overtime session just three times.

You Can Put It on the Board…:
Soccer statisticians point to the correlation between earning at least a win/draw when scoring the game's first goal, and that has been seen this season with the Bulldog women. When Truman scores first, the purple and white are 11-1, compared to just a 1-3-1 record when the opponent scores first.

Truman did buck both trends during the first two GLVC tournament matches, however, winning after falling behind against WJC in the quarterfinals while losing after jumping ahead against UWP in the semifinals.

Up Next:
Should the Bulldogs advance (via either win or penalty kicks) against Rockhurst, the squad would then move into the NCAA second round on Sunday, November 17 against the host GVSU Lakers. Kickoff for that contest is set for noon (CST) in Allendale, Mich.

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