PREVIEW: Bulldogs Look To Secure Tournament Ticket In Final Home Weekend

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – The Truman Women's Soccer team will look to punch their ticket to the GLVC postseason tournament when they host Missouri-St. Louis and Lindenwood University in the final two regular season matches of 2019.

The Bulldogs currently sit in seventh position with an 8-5 record but have a 1.5 game advantage over eighth place Lindendwood and ninth place Lewis in the standings.  Truman is only two games out of first place, a game and a half from third UINDY, a game behind Bellarmine and a half-game back of both Southern Indiana and Maryville.

The GLVC will announce the seeding of the conference tournament on Sunday evening at the conclusion of all regular season matches with the first round tilts to be played the following Sunday, November 10. The top eight make the field with top four hosting those games, winners then advance to the semifinals and finals in Jeffersonville, Indiana on November 15-17.

Truman did a lot to help their postseason opportunities this past weekend with huge home wins over Southern Indiana and McKendree. The Bulldogs downed the Screaming Eagles 2-1 in overtime and shutout the Bearcats 1-0.

Against USI, Hanna Hickey notched her first goal of the season in the 17^th minute from a pass by Chance Douglass. The Screaming Eagles leveled the contest with under five minutes to play but Douglass ended things with the golden goal in the first overtime session.

Hanna Burke scored in the 22^nd minute and the Bulldog defense along with keeper Beth Hopwood made it stand up as the game winner in the shutout over the Bearcats. Hopwood made four stops to preserve the team's sixth shutout of the season.

Douglass is the first Bulldog to crack over 10 points this season with five goals and a pair of assists for 12. Paige Peterson has eight points on three goals and two assists and Anna Meyer has three goals as well.  Truman has 18 goals to their credit this season while allowing 12.

Hopwood continues to be the workhorse in net for Truman having played all 1400-plus minutes this season. She had made 79 saves with an 86% save percentage to go with her six shutouts. She is now tied for seventh on the Truman career list with 15 shutouts with Janet Larson, 1989-92.

A desperate UMSL team will be the opponent on Friday afternoon in Kirksville at 2:30.  The Tritons are mathematically still in the hunt for the eighth spot in the tournament but need a win and some help above to climb over five teams in two games.

The Tritons are 4-8-1 in the GLVC and 4-10-1 overall but are unbeaten (3-0-1) in their last four including a 2-0 win over leader Rockhurst in St. Louis and have not allowed a goal during that span.

Sarah Lyon leads UMSL in scoring with three of the team's 11 goals. Amber Hayes has played every minute in goal and has a 76% save percentage.

Last year in St. Louis, the Hanna's scored in a 2-0 win over the Triton. Liljegren scored in the 26^th minute while Burke got an insurance goal with 12 minutes left to play. Hopwood made four saves for the shutout.

The Bulldogs are 12-8-4 all-time against UMSL and have not surrendered a goal in the five matches the teams have played under the GLVC banner. The last Triton win over Truman came in 1996.

The second newest member of the GLVC will be the final regular season match of the season. Lindenwood University will make their first trip to Kirksville since 2014 and are another team that needs a positive weekend to stay in the tournament picture.

The Lions enter the week clinging on to that final tournament spot with a 6-6-1 conference record and 7-7-1 overall mark. They currently hold the tie break with Lewis having defeated the Flyers 1-0 back on September 22 but will first play at Quincy on Friday.

Lindenwood has scored 13 goals and allowed 13 goals this season. Maggie Miller has five goals and two assists to pace the Lions on the scoresheet as Megan Swanson has played the bulk of minutes in goal and has a 77% save percentage.

The two teams last met in 2015 in St. Charles with a 1-1 draw. All-time, Lindenwood holds the slim upper hand against Truman at 5-4-2.

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Players Mentioned

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

#12 Chance Douglass: F; 5' 6"; Junior

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

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

#13 Anna Meyer: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

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

Players Mentioned

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

#12 Chance Douglass
: 5' 6"; Junior
: F

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

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

#13 Anna Meyer
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

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