ABERDEEN, S.D. – Cassidy Menke became Missouri Western soccer’s all-time leading goal and point scorer in a 3-0 win at Northern State Friday afternoon.

Menke’s record breaking 14th career goal and fifth of the young season, came in the 33rd minute. In the 73rd minute she assisted on Ashley Mathis’s first career goal for Menke’s 31st career point.

BREAKING NEW GROUND
The win moved Missouri Western to 3-0 on the season for just the second time in program history. The Griffons scored 14 goals through the first three games of the season and allowed just one. The 14 goals at this point in the season are nearly double the most any Griffon team had scored through three games before 2017. The previous high was eight in 2014. Four previous MWSU soccer teams didn’t even score 14 goals in a season, and the Griffons are already more than halfway to the team goals in a season record of 26 set in 2009.

MENKE RE-WRITING RECORD BOOK
At this point, there are actually few records left for Menke to break, but her own. Three games into her junior season, she’s MWSU’s all-time leader in goals, points and game winning goals. She broke the school record for goals in a season in 2016 with nine and has already scored five this year. Her six game winning goals in 2017 were also a single season record, she has one this season.

DON’T FORGET THE DEFENSE
Not only are the Griffons experiencing unprecedented scoring, they’re handcuffing opponents as well as any previous Missouri Western team. And that’s saying something. The one goal allowed through the first three games is only one more than the 2014 Griffons’ record of three season-opening shutouts. After holding Northern State to just nine shots – three in the second half – MWSU opponents are averaging just over seven shots per game compared to the Griffons’ 29. Opponents have only got 23 of their shots on frame and all three MWSU goalkeepers have combined to save 22 of them.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western stays in South Dakota this weekend, finishing its road trip at Sioux Falls on Sept. 10. Sioux Falls is 2-1 after a 2-0 win over Southwest Minnesota State on Friday.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Missouri Western volleyball team swept both matches in day one of the Lindenwood Last Minute Challenge Friday.

In the first match, MWSU swept Illinois Springfield (25-23, 25-21, 25-13) and swept St. Mary’s (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) in the second match of the day. In the two matches, the Griffons finished with 89 kills, 19 blocks and five service aces.

MORNING GLORY
Stephanie Doak hammered down 17 kills and hit .324 in the sweep of UIS. Her 17 kills are a new career-best and tied for the second most in a three-set match in program history. Doak’s hitting percentage of .324 is also the second highest in her career. In the sweep, Missouri Western as a team knocked in 44 kills, had a season-best hitting percentage of .327 and recorded five solo blocks, the most since Oct. 13, 2012.

LATE RALLIES FUEL LEADS
Down 22-21 in the first set of the opening match, Missouri Western outscored Illinois Springfield 5-1 to close out the set and take an early 1-0 match advantage. With a 22-20 second set lead, MWSU used a 4-1 rally to pull away from the Prairie Stars and take a commanding 2-0 match lead.

COMPLETE CONTROL
The Griffons had complete control against St. Mary’s as they never trailed in the first two sets. MWSU wasted little time starting the match as it opened with an 11-2 run in the first set. The Rattlers led for only two points in the third set before Missouri Western answered with four straight points and would never trail again.

TAYLOR SHINES BRIGHT
Shellby Taylor led the Griffons with her season-high 14 kills and hit .481 in the second match. For the season, Taylor has three matches of at least 10 kills or more.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western (3-3) concludes the Lindenwood Last Minute Challenge with two games on Saturday, Sept. 9. MWSU opens play at 9 a.m. with University of Bridgeport and its final match is scheduled for 2 p.m. against West Texas A&M.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – It was an impressive rebound for the Missouri Western football team as the Griffons ran through Missouri Southern for a 45-7 home opening win Thursday night at Craig Field at Spratt Memorial Stadium to earn Matt Williamson his first win as head football coach.

After being held to 209 yards last week in a 14-3 loss at Nebraska-Kearney, the Western offense exploded for 468 yards against Missouri Southern. The defense continued its stellar play, holding Missouri Southern to one touchdown and 282 yards, just 3.5 yards per play. The defense also forced four Lion turnovers, two interceptions and two fumbles.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY
Only one of Missouri Western’s seven scoring drives went more than five plays. That was an eight-play, 48-yard drive in the third quarter that resulted in a Tyler Basch 28-yard field goal. The Griffons’ first three scoring drives were three plays or less. No scoring drive took more than 3:04 off the clock. Don Marino and Corey Bertini weren’t asked to do much through the air, replacing the injured Skyer Windmiller, but the quarterback duo combined to go 10-for-15 with three touchdown passes and 157 yards. Joshua Caldwell carried the ball just 14 times, but scored on three of those carries and averaged more than ten yards per carry to end the game with 142 yards rushing.

RUN, RUN, RUN
The Griffons had 47 official carries for 311 yards. Bertini netted 52 yards on 10 carries. Marino had 43 yards on seven carries. It was the team’s highest rushing total since going for 329 against Nebraska-Kearney on opening night of the 2016 season. Caldwell had TD carries of nine, 31 and 27 yards.

QBs DELIVER
Marino finished 6-of-9 through the air for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his Griffon debut. He connected with Austin Burau for a 57-yard touchdown in the third quarter and threw a six-yard fade to Nino Johnson for a score in the fourth quarter. Bertini threw one touchdown pass and was 4-of-6 through the air for 47 yards. Bertini got 38 of those yards on his one TD pass to Dijuan Ussery in the first quarter.

DEFENSE SOLID AGAIN
The offense’s efficiency meant Missouri Southern ran 19 more plays (81), than the Griffons, but they gained 186 fewer yards than Missouri Western. Southern was 4-of-17 on third down and only made it into the red zone once, resulting in the Lions’ only score of the night. Along with the four turnovers, MWSU also had four sacks. Through eight quarters, the defense has given up 10 points and limited opponents to 276 yards per game. Jabbar Miles had a team-high eight tackles with an interception. Jonathan Owens had the other interception to go with his seven tackles. Kyle Dumler had seven tackles, with 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western (1-1) travels to No. 13 Central Missouri (1-1) on Sept. 16. Central Missouri lost 35-6 at Fort Hays State Thursday night.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Another top-ten finish in the decorated young career of Shi Qing Ong led to another honor for the Missouri Western women’s golfer.

The junior was named MIAA Women’s Golf Co-Athlete of the Week after tying for seventh place at the Central Region Fall Preview at Prairie Highlands Golf Club in Olathe, Kansas earlier this week. Ong and Fort Hays State’s Hannah Perkins were the highest MIAA finishers at the event. Ong finised the event with a 2-over-par 74 in both rounds of the challenging regional event.

Ong was named the 2016-17 MWSU Female Student-Athlete of the Year after winning MIAA Women’s Golfer of the Week honors four times. She was also named WGCA All-Region and first team All-MIAA after ten top-ten finishes last season. She was named MIAA Freshman of the Year following a stellar 2015-16 campaign.

— MWSU Athletics —

OLATHE, Kan. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team shot a 622 in the final round of the Central Region Fall Preview at Prairie Highland Golf Club. The Griffons finished seventh and they finished just eight strokes away from a third place finish.

Shi Qing Ong led MWSU with a 2-over-par 74 in the second round and finished 4-over-par 148 for seventh place in the event. Chong Yong was tied for ninth place with a 150 after she shot a 78 in the second round. Tiffanie Yabut carded a 158 as Katie Irvin ended her tournament with a 167. Jenna Kosmatka rounded out the MWSU score card with a 173.

Augustana’s Hannah Hankinson won the individual championship with a 5-under-par 139 as the Vikings claimed the team title with a 588.

Missouri Western travels to the Northeastern State University Women’s Golf Classic on Monday, Sept. 11 and Tuesday, Sept. 12 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

— MWSU Athletics —

OLATHE, Kan. – The Missouri Western women’s golf team shot a 306 in the first round of the Central Region Fall Preview at Prairie Highlands Golf Club and they sit in fifth place after day one.

Chong Yong was the top Griffon in the round with an even par 72 and is tied for fourth place. Shi Qing Ong carded a 2-over par 74 to sit just outside the top 10 for MWSU. Tiffanie Yabut ended the round in the top 20 as she carded a 4-over par 76. Jenna Kosmatka scored an 84 as Katie Irvin recorded an 85 to round out the scoring for the Griffons.

Southwestern Oklahoma State leads the team standings with a 289 as SWOSU’s Gloria Choi sits atop the individual leaderboard with a 4-under par 68. Missouri Western finishes the second round Wednesday.

— MWSU Athletics —

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Four goals and nine points in Missouri Western’s first two soccer games of the 2017 season was good enough to earn Cassidy Menke MIAA Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week honors.

The junior scored two goals in each of the Griffons’ first two games over the weekend. The four goals moved her into a tie for the program’s career goals record with 16 more games to play in her junior season. Menke also added an assist and led the team with 20 shots taken through the first two games, with 12 of her shots on goal. She put MWSU up 1-0 on Harding Sunday with a penalty kick before adding the last goal of a 3-0 win. On Friday, Menke scored two of the Griffons’ record breaking eight goals against Ouachita Baptist.

Menke wasn’t the only star of the weekend as the Griffons outscored opponents 11-1 during the Stoney Creek MIAA/GAC Crossover. Freshman Taylor Schwartzkopf broke the MWSU goals in a game record with a hat trick in her first-ever game as a Griffon. Sydney Cluck scored a goal in each game, and the back line limited opponents to just 14 total shots all weekend.

Missouri Western hits the road this week to take on Northern State on Sept. 8 and Sioux Falls on Sept. 10.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – The Missouri Western soccer team continued its dominance of the Stoney Creek MIAA/GAC Crossover with a 3-0 win over Harding Sunday afternoon.

Missouri Western is now a perfect 8-0 all-time in the conference challenge event, and outscored its opponents 11-1 this weekend.

MENKE TIED FOR FIRST
Cassidy Menke scored her third and fourth goals of the season in Sunday’s win over Harding, giving her 13 in her MWSU career. She’s now tied for the most goals in a Griffon career with Abby Widrig. The two scores along with an assist Sunday on Sydney Cluck’s header gave Menke 28 career points, good for second all-time at MWSU and just two behind Widrig for first.

SCORING MACHINE
Chad Edwards promised more scoring this season and so far, he’s been right. MWSU’s scoring average is now at 5.5 goals per game. The Griffons’ 11 goals through the first two games of 2017 were by far the most in program history. The 2014 Griffons scored seven in their first two games, the previous record. With 16 games left to play, MWSU needs 16 more goals to break the program record for goals in a season. Missouri Western will also enter its third game of the season with 32 points, just 41 off the program record set in 2009.

HOW THEY SCORED
Menke struck first with a penalty kick in the 32nd minute. Cluck’s header came in the 53rd minute off a Menke assist. Then Menke adder her second of the game in the 59th minute with assists to Cluck and Ashley Mathis.

UP NEXT
The Griffons head northwest to take on Northern State (1-0) in Aberdeen, South Dakota on Friday, Sept. 8 before playing at Sioux Falls (1-1) on Sept. 10.

— MWSU Athletics —

MARYVILLE, Mo. – The Missouri Western cross country teams’ clever hashtag, #BeFirst for its inaugural season turned out to be pretty telling, Friday night.

The women’s team dominated the field at the Bearcat Open, claiming the team championship by 34 points with six of the top-nine individual finishers, including champion Kaitlyn Shoemaker. The men finished third as a team and placed two individuals in the top-eight, including Noah Rasmussen in fourth.

They did all that in their first-ever competition.

WOMEN RUN AWAY WITH TEAM TITLE
Shoemaker, the 2016 national junior college national champion, finished a minute ahead of her teammate, Claire Reedy, who had slightly more than a one minute lead on the third place finisher. Shoemaker finished the 5K in 18:46.9, while Reedy handled the course in 19:46.9. Megan Gillen was fifth, Allison Goos was seventh, Kelsey Cox finished eighth and Alison Nutt was ninth.

MEN STRONG AT THE TOP
Rasmussen’s 22:13.2 in the 4.2-mile race was good for fourth place, four seconds behind the third place finisher. Christian Arbuthnot ran a 22:38.8, good for eighth. Ross Baumer finished 19th, Alex Bautista was 21st and Chris Dunn rounded out Missouri Western’s final qualifying score at 23rd.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western’s newest sports teams will ride high into the Woody Greeno/Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska on Sept. 16.

— MWSU Athletics —

ST. JOSEPH – Seven team and individual records fell on the first night of the 2017 Griffon soccer season in an 8-1 trouncing of Ouachita Baptist.

Missouri Western completely dominated its opening game of the Stoney Creek MIAA-GAC Crossover with the most prolific offensive night in the program’s 13-year history. Freshman Taylor Schwartzkopf became the first Griffon to achieve a hat trick and the team’s eight goals eclipsed its previous high of six from the second game of the 2014 season. The Griffons out-shot Ouachita Baptist 41-7 on the night, including a 24-2 advantage in the first half.

RECORDS BROKEN
– Goals in a game (team) – 8
– Goals in a game (individual) – Taylor Schwartzkopf, 3
– Points in a game (team) – 21
– Points in a game (individual) – Schwartzkopf, 6
– Shots in a game (team) – 41
– Shots in a game (individual) – Cassidy Menke, 11
– Assists in a game (team) – 5
– Career Starts (goal keeper) – Sarah Lyle, 53

PHENOMENAL NIGHT FROM FRESHMEN
Schwartzkopf scored Missouri Western’s first two goals and took seven total shots, five on goal, but she wasn’t the only freshman to make an impact. Madison Utley also scored her first career goal and Chad Edwards was able to work 10 of his first-year Griffons into the game.

LYLE RETURNS
Sarah Lyle returned to the pitch after sitting out the 2016 season for personal reasons. Her start in goal made her MWSU’s all-time leader in that category to go along with some of her other career accolades. The senior’s services were only required for one half as she made one save on Ouachita Baptists’s only first half shot on goal. Freshman Ally Barb played the entire second half in goal, making two saves and allowing one goal.

UP NEXT
Missouri Western continues hosting duties of the crossover event with Harding at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Emporia State defeated Harding, 2-0 at Spratt Memorial Stadium Friday night.

— MWSU Athletics —