Women's Soccer Takes Aim At Davenport/Southwest Baptist To Start Season

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The home and season opener for the Truman Women's Soccer team will be this Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. when the Bulldogs host Davenport (Mich.). Following that match, Truman will host Southwest Baptist University on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. No admission is charged at the Truman Soccer Park.

The Bulldogs were 6-6-5 last season and return a pair of leading goal scorers from last year in junior Isabel Kurzban and sophomore Paige Peterson. Both scored three goals and finished with seven points on the year. Another big addition to the offense is the return of 2016 leading scorer Hanna Burke to the lineup. Burke scored six goals and added three assists during her freshman season.

The defense has been the calling card of Mike Cannon's squads over the years and the back line will feature returning all-conference defender senior Laura Ney along with sophomore Camryn Sprague. In net, Truman will rely on a pair of newcomers in Beth Hopwood and Laina Routson. Both will be looking to replace Katie Mattingly, who notched 40 career shutouts and finished second in goalkeeper minutes played for a career with 6,853 over the past four seasons.

Also returning for Truman were team award winners senior Jen Seithel (Most Improved) and sophomore Leah Bolskar (Rookie Award). Seithel came off the bench in 13 matches last year and scored a pair of goals with one assist from her midfield position. Bolskar played and started in all 17 matches with one assist.

This will be the first meeting with Davenport (Mich.) as the Panthers have full transitioned to Division II and are members of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference. Davenport was 9-7-1 last season and picked to finish fifth in the GLIAC Coaches' poll.

Truman and Southwest Baptist will renew their rivalry on Sunday. The two former conference mates in the MIAA have not played since 2012 but following this year's non-conference match will see each other on a more regular basis as SBU will join the GLVC in 2019. The Bulldogs have won the last seven matches with the Bearcats and own a 22-3-5 all-time record against SBU. The Bearcats struggled to a 3-11-2 record last year and will open their season against Quincy University on Friday afternoon at home.

Following Sunday's match, Truman will play next weekend on the road at Northwest Missouri and Upper Iowa before starting GLVC action at home on September 14 against Lewis (Ill.).

All home matches will be streamed for free via the GLVCSN Sports Network (GLVCSN.com/Truman).

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#5 Isabel Kurzban: M; 5' 5"; Junior

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

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

#10 Jen Seithel: M; 6' 2"; Senior

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

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

#1 Laina Routson: GK; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

#5 Isabel Kurzban
: 5' 5"; Junior
: M

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

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

#10 Jen Seithel
: 6' 2"; Senior
: M

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

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

#1 Laina Routson
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: GK