ST. JOSEPH – Cassidy Menke broke her own single-season scoring record and Sydney Cluck broke the Missouri Western assists in a game record on the way to a 5-2 Griffon soccer victory over Missouri Southern Friday at Spratt Stadium.

The win helped the No. 24-ranked Griffons to an 8-1 record and a 2-0 start in MIAA play.

RECORD BREAKERS
Menke scored her 10th goal of the season in the 60th minute, breaking the record she set last season. Her goal came off Cluck’s second assist of the game. After becoming Missouri Western’s all-time leading goal scorer earlier this season, Menke now has firm control of the record halfway through her junior season. Menke’s points record is on watch with Cluck’s performances so far this year. Cluck moved back into the Griffons’ all-time assist lead with the 11th of her career, Friday night. Cluck and Madeline Cowell have traded the record back-and-forth this season, but Cluck now has the single game record (3) along with two more career assists than Cowell. Menke’s 41 points are the most in school history, eight more than Cluck.

THINGS GOT A LITTLE TIGHT
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first seven minutes on goals by Ashley Mathis and Cowell, Missouri Southern tied the game at two early in the second half. Menke’s record breaker gave the Griffons the lead for good as they added a total of three second half goals, two in the final six minutes.

UP NEXT
Southwest Baptist (2-6-1, 0-2) visits Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 1 for a noon game. SBU lost 6-0 at Northwest Missouri on Friday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western volleyball team beat Missouri Southern 3-1 in the MWSU Fieldhouse Friday night. The Griffons improve to 9-8 and 3-1 in the MIAA.

HIGHLIGHT NIGHT
It was a highlight night for MWSU in the four set win as it finished with a .320 hitting percentage and a season-high 65 kills. As a team, the Griffons also put up another season-best, 64 assists. Individually, Stephanie Doak had 22 kills and hit .436, both career-highs for Doak. Lauren Murphy recorded 57 assists in the match, which is the most for her in a four-set match. Rachel Losch dropped a season-high 12 kills and tied her career-best for kills in a match.

SHUT IT DOWN
MWSU turned up the defensive as it finished with seven total blocks and 12 block assists. The Griffons limited the Lions to hit .167 in the second set and .057 for the third set. Missouri Western forced MSSU into 15 attack errors and eight service errors.

CONTROLLING THE SERVE
The Griffons finished with six aces in the match and dominated the service line. In the second set, MWSU rattled off seven straight points with Audrey Keim at the service line. The third set, Kayla Ruff propelled Missouri Western to eight straight points while she had the serve. MWSU in the fourth set saw rallies of four consecutive points and three consecutive points when Ali Tauchen rotated back to serve.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western closes its three-match homestand, tomorrow Sept. 30 at 3 p.m. against Southwest Baptist in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Missouri Western sophomore Patrick McCarthy has been named the MIAA Co-Men’s Golfer of the Week.

McCarthy won the JR Watkins Invitational in Lake City, Minnesota early this week with a 4-under par 140. He carded a 5-under-par 67 in the final round, the lowest round for a Griffon since 2010-11. The sophomore also shot one-over-par 73 in the opening round. Missouri Western finished fourth place as a team in event.

The individual championship is the first for McCarthy this season and second of his MWSU career. It is also the first time in his career he has been named MIAA Golfer of the Week.

— MWSU Athletics —

LAKE CITY, Minn. – Missouri Western sophomore golfer Patrick McCarthy shot a 4-under par 140 to win the JR Watkins Invitational at the Jewel Golf Course on Tuesday. MWSU’s Tom Buffington finished second with a 1-under par 143.

McCarthy carded a 5-under par 67 in the final round, the lowest round for a Griffon since 2010-11. Buffington scored a 2-under par 70 in the final round, the lowest score in his MWSU career. Jacob Majeske, Lucas Horseman and Kevin Kim all shot a two-day total of 155.

As a team, Missouri Western finished fourth with a 588, just two strokes back from three teams that tied for first place. The fourth place finish is the best for the Griffons since April 3-4, 2016 where they placed fourth at Southern Bancorp Invitational in Mountain Home, Arkansas.

Missouri Western hosts the Holiday Inn Express/Candlewood Suites MWSU Invitational on Monday, Oct. 9 and Tuesday, Oct. 10 at the St. Joseph Country Club.

— MWSU Athletics —

LAKE CITY, Minn. – The Missouri Western men’s golf team is 3rd with a score of 293 after the first round Monday of the JR Watkins Invitational at the Jewel Golf Course. The Griffons are just nine strokes back from the day one leader.

Lucas Horseman shot an even-par 72 in the round to tie for eighth place as he led Missouri Western. Patrick McCarthy and Tom Buffington both carded 2-over par 74 to finish inside the top-20 for the day. Kevin Kim recorded a 75 and Jacob Majeske rounded out the MWSU scorecard with a 77.

Arkansas-Fort Smith is on top of the team leaderboard with a 284. UAFS’s Parker Jennings and Brock Falley of Washburn are the individual co-leaders with a 3-under par 69. Missouri Western begins the final round of play tomorrow, Sept. 26 at 10 a.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team shot a 637 to finish in tenth place in the MIAA Fall Preview at Mozingo Lake Golf Course Monday.

Shi Qing Ong led Missouri Western on the final day with an even-par 72 and finished the tournament tied for 13th with a 150. Chong Yong carded a 158 and Tiffanie Yabut ended the event with a 163. Jenna Kosmatka scored a two-day total of 166. Katie Irvin shot a 175 for MWSU.

Central Oklahoma won the team championship with a score of 592. Alex Trask of William Jewell won the individual title with a score of 141. Missouri Western travels next to the Central Oklahoma RCB Classic in Edmond, Oklahoma on Monday, Oct. 2 and Tuesday, Oct. 3.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The 23rd-ranked Missouri Western soccer team improved to 7-1 with a 2-0 victory at Lindenwood Sunday. It was the MIAA opener for the Griffons as they bounced back from their first loss of the season at Central Missouri Friday. The Lions fall to 3-5 and 0-1 in the MIAA.

Two first half goals were enough for the Griffons in the 2-0 victory. Missouri Western once again controlled the tempo of the match, out-shooting the home team 17-3. The Griffons held Lindenwood without a single shot in the second half. Sarah Lyle needed just one save to pick up a shared save, the fifth of the season for the senior.

Bridget Blessie put MWSU up 1-0 in the 22nd minute on a goal from Cassidy Menke. Sara Collins added the Griffons’ other goal in the 40th minute off an assist from Madeline Cowell. The assist for Cowell again moved her into the all-time lead on the MWSU list. Cowell and teammate Sydney Cluck have been taking their turns as MWSU’s all-time assists leaders so far this season.

UP NEXT
The Griffons begin a four-game homestand Friday, Sept. 29 when they host Missouri Southern (0-5-2).

— MWSU Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team shot a 320 in the first round of the MIAA Fall Preview at Mozingo Lake Golf Course in Maryville Sunday. MWSU finished the round in ninth place in the 16-team field.

Shi Qing Ong and Chong Yong led Missouri Western as they both finished with a 78. Jenna Kosmatka carded an 81 and Tiffanie Yabut finished with an 83. Katie Irvin recorded an 86 to round out the MWSU scoring.

Central Oklahoma leads the team standings after one round with a 294. William Jewell’s Alex Trask is the clubhouse leader with a 4-under-par 68. Final round play begins Monday at 9 a.m.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Dom Marino hooked up with Elijah Cunningham for two long, fourth quarter touchdown passes to help the Missouri Western football team (2-2) come back and defeat Central Oklahoma, 41-37, Saturday night inside Spratt Stadium.

Down 30-27 with 3:23 left in the game, Marino hit Cunningham in stride as he raced for a 48-yard go-ahead touchdown. The lead didn’t last long as Central Oklahoma answered with an 83-yard touchdown strike from Chas Stallard to J.T. Luper with 2:24 left. The game winner came with 1:28 left when Marino and Cunningham connected again, this time for 68 yards on a first and five from the Missouri Western 32.

The game wasn’t over after the second long touchdown from the duo. After Missouri Western stopped UCO on a fourth-and-one on their ensuing drive, the Griffons turned the ball over on downs to UCO with 24 seconds left at the Central Oklahoma 30. The Bronchos drove to the MWSU 25-yard line with three seconds left, but the final pass of the game was jarred loose from the receiver by Jonathan Owens in the corner of the end zone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DOM
Marino celebrated his birthday on Saturday with the best game of his young Griffon career. The junior completed 13 of his 20 passes for 226 yards and four touchdowns. He also rushed 10 times for 87 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown run that gave MWSU a 15-7 lead in the first quarter. In all Marino was responsible for five of his team’s six touchdowns and had 313 yards of total offense.

THIRD DOWN IMPROVEMENT
Missouri Western was six-of-14 on third down in the game, good for 43 percent. Missouri Western entered Saturday night’s game converting just 20 percent of its third down opportunities. The six conversions against UCO nearly equaled the eight the team had in its first three games, combined.

AVOIDING DANGER
Missouri Western escaped on the better end of two of its own fumbles in the third quarter. Down 23-15 with less than nine minutes left in the quarter, Dom Marino fumbled following a five-yard rush. UCO recovered on the MWSU 16, but an offsides penalty against the Bronchos negated the fumble. Four plays later, Joshua Caldwell had the ball knocked from his arms following a one yard carry that was scooped up by Dijuan Ussery who took the ball 45 yards for a Griffon touchdown that pulled MWSU within two (23-21).

ENDING LIKE THE BEGINNING
After the teams combined for 28 points and more than 340 yards of offense in the first quarter, things slowed down for the next two quarters. The scoreboard and stat sheet lit up again in the fourth as the teams traded punches to total 34 points and 392 yards of offense in the final frame. Each team scored two touchdowns in the final 5:49 of the game.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western travels to Oklahoma to face Northeastern State (0-4) in Tahlequah. Northeastern State was defeated 31-7 at Fort Hays State, Saturday afternoon.

— MWSU Athletics —