Women's Soccer Notes: #4 Seed Bulldogs to Host #5 Seed Panthers

Truman Women's Soccer Postseason Notes

Match 19 (Live Stats):
Truman (12-4-2, 10-3-2 GLVC) vs. Drury (10-4-3, 8-4-3 GLVC)
Date: Sunday, November 2, 2014 (12:00 PM)
Location: Kirksville, Missouri (Bulldog Soccer Park)
Series Record: Truman leads, 6-2-2
Cannon vs. DU: 5-2-2 (+9 goal differential)
Last Meeting: Truman won, 1-0, on Sept. 26, 2014 (Kirksville, Mo.)

Admission Prices for GLVC Tournament:
$5 – Adults
$2 – Seniors over 60, K-12 grade students
FREE – Truman students (with ID), children Pre-K

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

Opening Kickoff:
For the second time in as many seasons, the Truman women's soccer team prepares to host a Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinal contest, as the fourth-seeded Bulldogs welcome No. 5 seed Drury to the Bulldog Soccer Park this Sunday at 12 p.m.

The Bulldogs come into the 2014 postseason looking to get back on track after having their three-match unbeaten streak snapped on Wednesday night at Quincy, as the Lady Hawks scored early and held on to deal the 'Dogs a 1-0 defeat. The last time Truman and Drury met on the pitch also came following a Bulldog loss (2-0 at Bellarmine on Sept. 21), with the Bulldogs using a 2-0 win against the Panthers on Sept. 26 to kick-start a six-match unbeaten streak that ran through mid-October.

With a 4/5 match-up traditionally pitting equal teams against each other, in this case, the home field advantage could play a major role in the match. The No. 4 seed Bulldogs have used the friendly confines of the Bulldog Soccer Park to rattle off an 8-0 regular season mark, while Drury has gone just 2-4-1 away from home compared to an 8-0-2 home record for the Panthers. Truman holds a +14 goal differential at home (even in road/neutral), while DU is -4 on the road compared to +21 at home.

Overall on the season, the Bulldogs have put in 26 goals and surrendered just 12, with junior midfielder Alexis Heffernan's team-leading 10 goals ranking her second in the GLVC. A second junior midfielder, Megan Frkovic, has added three goals, while freshman forward Caitlyn Stephan ranks second on the team in points behind two goals and three assists.

Freshman Katie Mattingly has taken over in goal for the second half of the season and has posted a 0.47 goals-against average in 965 total minutes. She has made 38 saves to a tune of 88.4% and has six total shutouts (five solo) on the year.

Leading the Bulldogs on the sideline is head coach Mike Cannon, who is in his 22^nd season at the helm of the Truman program. He has a 289-104-44 all-time record at Truman and is the seventh-winningest active coach in NCAA-II history. Cannon has guided the Bulldogs to 10 NCAA postseason appearances.

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

When available, links to free online live stats are added to the Bulldog women's soccer schedule page.

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 the Opponent:
Drury checks into Sunday's match riding a streak of six wins in its last eight matches, including 3-1 season-ending victories against William Jewell and Missouri S&T this past Sunday and Wednesday at home. The squad used its late-season kick to jump to fifth in the league standings.

The Panthers have leaned on three primary goal scorers in Shelby Hatz (seven), Emily Cline (six), and Mariah Gove (six), with Cline also leading the squad and ranking second in the GLVC with eight assists. Ciara O'Brien has added four goals as well, as DU has scored 31 goals overall on the year.

Tina Haberberger has seen the majority of time in net for DU, with a GAA of 0.91 in 1,382 minutes of work. She has nine wins and five shutouts (four solo) on the year and holds a save percentage of 83.5%.

Former Truman men's soccer coach Alf Bilbao is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Panthers.

Earlier this Season vs. DU (Sept. 26):
Kirksville, Mo. - - The Truman women's soccer team picked up a key home victory on Friday afternoon, defeating previously-unbeaten Drury (Mo.) 2-0 at the Bulldog Soccer Park.

The Bulldogs (6-2, 4-1 GLVC) righted the ship after a brief hiccup at Bellarmine last Sunday with a shutout victory against DU (4-1-2, 2-1-2 GLVC), who picked up its first loss in seven matches this season on Friday. After out-shooting the Panthers 6-2 in the first 45 minutes, the Bulldogs finally benefited from its persistent pressure in the fourth minute of the second half. As Alexis Heffernan played a ball across the DU six-yard box, an errant clear by the Panther back line ended up squirting into the side netting and giving the purple and white a 1-0 lead.

With DU beginning to mount some momentum late in search of an equalizer, Truman got the insurance goal and sigh of relief it was looking for in the 90^th minute when a Caitlyn Stephan shot from 35-yards out went through DU keeper Tina Haberberger's hands and across the goal line for a 2-0 advantage. Casey Maloney was credited with an assist on Stephan's tally.

For the match, Truman out-shot Drury 12-7 overall, with both teams putting four shots on target. The Bulldogs took seven corner kicks to Drury's two and got a back line shutout from keeper Nicole Sparks (four saves).

Conference Tournament History:
This will be the Bulldogs' second attempt at a GLVC tournament championship, having reached the semifinals last season. Truman defeated William Jewell 2-1 in a home quarterfinal contest before falling 2-1 in overtime to Wisconsin-Parkside in the semifinals.

Sunday will be the fifth overall conference tournament appearance for the Bulldogs since 2007 when adding in three seasons of MIAA postseason experience to the mix. During the only three seasons the MIAA sponsored a post-season tournament, the Bulldogs qualified each time (2007, 2011, 2012). In 2007, the Bulldogs defeated Washburn and Southwest Baptist by 1-0 margins to capture the tourney title, while 2011 and 2012 both saw Truman upset in one-goal games.

Regional Outlook:
The second installment of the NCAA Midwest regional rankings were unveiled on Wednesday, with Truman still sitting eighth entering the final week of regular season play.

The region will receive six bids to the 2014 NCAA Div. II tournament on Selection Monday (Nov. 10), with the top two seeds earning the right to host first- and second-round matches. Currently, Wisconsin-Parkside and defending NCAA Div. II national champions Grand Valley State are ranked 1-2 in the region.

With Truman sitting two spots away from the cutoff line, the Bulldogs' best chance of qualifying for the tournament likely appears to be through the GLVC's automatic berth – awarded to the post-season tournament champion. Other GLVC teams in the field at the moment include No. 4 seed Bellarmine and No. 6 seed Rockhurst. UWP, BU, and RU all host first-round GLVC quarterfinal contests on Sunday afternoon.

You Can Put It on the Booooooooard, YES!:
Only 65 Div. II women's soccer players from across the nation have reached double-figure goal counts this season, and included in that is the Bulldogs' Alexis Heffernan. The Ankeny, Iowa-native has scored in nine of the team's 18 matches this season, with six of her tallies serving as game-winners. That GWG count ties her for fourth amongst all Div. II players, and she is the first double-digit single-season goal scorer for the Bulldogs since Olivia Hayes in 2009.

Etiquette Class:
The Bulldogs have shown this season that good sports can have success on the field, as Truman has been whistled for just 154 fouls (8.6/match) and a GLVC-low two yellow cards on the year. Both of those came in the span of one road trip weekend, with one being issued at William Jewell and a second coming at Rockhurst on Oct. 3-5.

Up Next:
Should the Bulldogs advance (via either win or penalty kicks) against Drury, the squad would then move into the GLVC semifinals on Friday, Nov. 7. Both the semifinals and championship (Nov. 9) will be held at the highest-remaining seed, with times to be set on Monday, Nov. 3.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Megan Frkovic: M; 5' 4"; Junior

#20 Alexis Heffernan: M; 5' 5"; Junior

#2 Casey Maloney: D; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#1 Nicole Sparks: GK; 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman

#21 Caitlyn Stephan: F; 5' 7"; Freshman

#25 Katie Mattingly: GK; 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#5 Megan Frkovic
: 5' 4"; Junior
: M

#20 Alexis Heffernan
: 5' 5"; Junior
: M

#2 Casey Maloney
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: D

#1 Nicole Sparks
: 5' 6"; Redshirt Freshman
: GK

#21 Caitlyn Stephan
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: F

#25 Katie Mattingly
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: GK