Women's Soccer 10/31/2018 3:29:00 PM

Bulldogs Take On Bellarmine In GLVC Semifinals

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Making their fifth trip in six years to the site of the semifinals and finals of the GLVC Soccer Tournament, the Truman Bulldogs will face Bellarmine University on Friday night at 8:30 p.m.

This year, the tournament moves just north of Louisville, Kentucky to the Woerhle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana after spending the two previous years in downtown Indianapolis.

Matches will be streamed on the Great Lakes Valley Conference Sports Network.

The Bulldogs earned their trip with a 3-1 victory over Lewis University last Sunday in Kirksville. The Flyers scored in the 14^th minute but three straight Truman goals gave the Bulldogs their sixth win in seven matches when allowing their opponent to score first. It was Truman's first win over the Flyers under the GLVC banner and improved the Bulldogs to a 14-3-1 overall record.

Chance Douglass scored and assisted on goals by Hanna Hickey and Kacie Trueman. The match reinforced the depth of scoring Truman has possessed this season. Fourteen players have hit the back of the net for the Bulldogs this year in scoring the team's 33 goals. Hanna Burke leads the team with five goals and five assists while Maggie Beem and Faith Branson have four apiece. Paige Peterson, with two goals, leads the team in shots on goal with 21. Seven different players have game winning goals for Truman.

On the backline, Truman has surrendered only 13 goals against. Freshman Beth Hopwood has played every minute between the pipes this season and has posted nine shutouts and a 0.70 goals against average. The defense is bolstered by senior Laura Ney, sophomores Camryn Sprague, Ketoura Ngwa and Leah Bolskar.

Friday's opponent will be #5 seed Bellarmine. The Knights are 10-5-3 overall and played the Bulldogs to a scoreless draw in Kirksville on October 14. Bellarmine advanced in the tournament with a 2-1 road win at Quincy. Natalie Teo scored 49 seconds left in the first half and 1:15 into the second half for both Bellarmine goals.

The Knights have five players with multiple tallies led by Audrey Van Der Eist with six. Isabella Zamorini and Teo have four and Kenzi Gooley and Madison Stephens have three each. Bellarmine has scored 26 times and have given up 16 goals. Elyssa Francis has seven shutouts and a 0.84 goals-against average.

Series History…
The two teams have played several tense matches since 2013. Bellarmine won the first four meetings after Truman joined the GLVC , 1-0, 2-0, 1-0 (OT) and 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament in 2015. The Bulldogs first win came in 2016 when they scored 30 seconds into overtime to win in Kirksville 1-0. The following year, the Knights scored with 35 seconds left to play to win 1-0.

This year's match, for the third time in Kirksville, saw the Knights pepper a season-high 22 shots against the Bulldogs, with 11 on goal. Hopwood made all 11 stops and earned the GLVC Defender of the Week award for her efforts. Truman managed eight shots and only one, by Mia Coyne, on goal.

The Bulldogs won six straight over the Knights from 1993 until 1998.

Other Semifinal Match…
The match prior to Truman/Bellarmine on Friday night will be #7 Rockhurst against #3 Southern Indiana. Rockhurst advanced with a 2-0 road win over #2 McKendree and Southern Indiana defeated #6 Maryville 2-0 at home. The Screaming Eagles downed Rockhurst 1-0 in Evansville on October 19.

Truman is 8-2-1 all-time over Southern Indiana including a 2-0 win in Kirksville on September 16. Faith Branson and Chance Douglass had the goals for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs are 14-2-2 all-time against Rockhurst with a 3-2 overtime victory on September 21^st. The Hawks scored three minutes into the match with McKenna Leetch getting the goal assisted by Jillian Leetch. Hanna Burke answered in the 30^th minute. Cathy Rometti scored in the 51^st minute to put Rockhurst back up but Maggie Beem scored the equalizer five minutes later. Faith Branson scored off a pass from Beem two minutes into overtime for the win.

Speaking of Overtimes…
The Bulldogs have played seven overtimes this season with five wins, one loss and one draw. The seven extra time matches are the most in a season by the Bulldogs.

GLVC Tournament history…
Truman has qualified for the league's postseason tournament every year since joining the league in 2013. They have hosted a quarterfinal game five of the six previous times and have won the match when it has been played on the home soil. Last year, Truman lost 1-0 to Maryville University on the road.

In the semifinal round, Truman is 0-2-2. The lost their first two semifinal matches in 2013 and 2014 to Wisconsin-Parkside. In 2015, Truman and Quincy played to a 1-1 tie with the Bulldogs advancing via penalties 4-3. Truman would defeat Missouri-St. Louis, in Louisville, 2-0 for their only tournament championship. The 2016 tournament semifinals saw Truman and McKendree not score over the course of 110 minutes. The Bearcats advanced to the championship with a 4-1 advantage on PKs.

Between the MIAA and GLVC, Truman has won or shared 11 conference regular season titles.

No Love From NCAA…
Despite 14 wins and a three-way share of the GLVC regular season championship, the NCAA regional advisory committee kept the Bulldogs in the bubble spot of eighth in this week's regional rankings. Grand Valley State at 16-0-1 is atop the region followed by Ferris State (14-2-2), Ohio Valley (14-2-3), Saginaw Valley (11-3-3), McKendree (11-4-1), Walsh (13-3-1) and Ashland (8-3-5).

In the coaches poll, Truman returned to the Top 25 and holds on to the #25 spot in the poll. In their regional poll, Truman is third behind Grand Valley and Ferris.

The winner of the GLVC Tournament will receive the league's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division II Tournament. The GLVC, GLIAC and GAC tournament champions will consume three of the eight spots in the bracket with five at-large bids to be announced Monday.

The NCAA Tournament will begin next weekend.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Maggie Beem: F; 5' 4"; Junior

#24 Leah Bolskar: D; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#22 Hanna Burke: M; 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

#12 Chance Douglass: M; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#7 Hanna Hickey: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#30 Laura Ney: D; 5' 8"; Senior

#15 Paige Peterson: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#4 Camryn Sprague: D; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#28 Kacie Trueman: F; 5' 4"; Senior

#0 Beth Hopwood: GK; 5' 7"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#8 Maggie Beem
: 5' 4"; Junior
: F

#24 Leah Bolskar
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: D

#22 Hanna Burke
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: M

#12 Chance Douglass
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: M

#7 Hanna Hickey
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

#30 Laura Ney
: 5' 8"; Senior
: D

#15 Paige Peterson
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

#4 Camryn Sprague
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: D

#28 Kacie Trueman
: 5' 4"; Senior
: F

#0 Beth Hopwood
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: GK