Northwest Missouri State women’s soccer team lost a tightly contested game 2-1 to Winona State Sunday.

The first half was a battle of possession as neither team could gain an advantage. Winona State was able to get off seven shots in the first half as Northwest goalie Kelsey Adams kept the score at zero. The Bearcats managed four shots on goal but could not capitalize.

The second half started with a quick goal in the 49th minute by Samantha Fegen of Winona State.

Northwest answered back with a goal of their own by Amanda Bundrant with an assist by Natalie Long in the 57th minute.

It remained a 1-1 tie until the 77th minute when Caitlin Lilly put in what would be the determining goal for Winona State.

With the loss the Bearcats move their season record to 2-1-1. Northwest will head out on the road this week to open league play at Lindenwood at 7 p.m. Friday followed by a trip to Truman State Sunday.

The Bearcats will return home Sept. 25 to play Graceland at 4 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team finished 2-2 at the Missouri S&T Middle of Everywhere Classic losing to No. 3 Southwest Minnesota State and host Missouri S&T Saturday.

The Bearcats hung with the 3rd-ranked Mustangs in the day’s first match before falling 25-17, 25-19, 25-9. Southwest Minnesota stepped up with solid defensive play recording nine blocks as a team as the Bearcats posted four.

The Lady Miners did no favors for Northwest as they took the tournament’s final match 25-21, 27-29, 25-17, 25-21. A pair of Bearcats would post double-doubles to highlight the tournament’s final game of the weekend.

Abby Graves tallied her first double-double with 14 kills and 11 digs in the loss.

The Bearcat defense stepped up as well with Tori Beckman recording 28 digs to lead the team. Dallas Gardner also finished with a double-double as she added 31 assists and 10 digs.

Northwest moves to 4-4 on the year as they will open conference play at Missouri Western on Tuesday. Tipoff from St. Joseph is set for 7 p.m. as the Bearcats will open their home schedule on Friday against Lindenwood.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State women’s volleyball team had a clean sweep on day one Friday at the Missouri S&T Middle of Everywhere Classic.

The Bearcats took on Upper Iowa in the first match winning 3-1 (25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 28-26). Dallas Gardner led Northwest with 17 kills, while Tori Beckman shelled out 31 digs to push the Bearcats past Upper Iowa.

Match two saw Northwest take its second win of the day a 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-21) win over Southern Indiana. The Eagles jumped out to a fast start to take the first set. Northwest then swept the next three to move to 2-0 after day one.

Brooke Bartosh and Abby Graves combine for 34 kills and Dallas Gardner led the way with 44 assists.

Day two of the tournament will have Northwest facing off against Southwest Minnesota at 1 p.m. Their final game will be a 5 p.m. tipoff against host, Missouri S&T. The Bearcats go into tomorrow’s games with a 4-2 record this season.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State women’s soccer team got off to a slow start Thursday, but finished with its second win, a 4-3 overtime victory against Wayne State.

The Bearcats had only five shots on goal in the first half and were not able to capitalize on any of them. Wayne State (Neb.) scored the first goal early at the 11th minute, but was held scoreless the rest of the first half.

The second half started with two more goals from the Wildcats to give them a 3-0 lead over the Bearcats. Northwest then answered with an offensive explosion putting in three unanswered goals.

Chelsea Fournier put in the first goal at the 60 minute mark. Four minutes later Amanda Bundrant added goal number two with an assist from Anna Calgaard. Jordan Albright hit the game tying shot late in the match to help send it to overtime.

The Bearcats headed into overtime scoring three consecutive goals and it wasn’t going to stop there.  Six minutes into overtime Fournier decided it was time for the game to be over. She added her second goal of the game with an assist from Katelynn Lindsey.

Northwest is now 2-0-1 and will return to Bearcat Pitch Sunday to take on Winona State (0-2). Kickoff is set for noon.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State men’s basketball team will conduct an alumni basketball game at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 inside Bearcat Arena. The game is free to the public and will take place prior to the 1 p.m. football kickoff between Northwest and Fort Hays State.

The basketball activities begin Friday with the Sixth Annual Chip Strong Memorial golf tournament at Mozingo Lake Golf Course at 12:30 p.m. A portion of the proceeds from the tournament will benefit the Bearcat basketball program. Following the golf tournament, there will be a social at Mozingo starting at 5:30 p.m. with entertainment, prizes and a live alumni game draft. Fans are invited to attend the event even if they are not participating in Friday’s golf tournament.

Northwest President John Jasinski will serve as the honorary head coach for the Green team and will be assisted by Kori Hoffmann, the Student Conduct and Development Coordinator at Northwest. The White team will be led by former team doctor Pat Harr and assisted by Rick Carter, owner of Price Chopper Pharmacy in Platte City.

The 2012-13 Bearcat men’s basketball team will be in attendance Saturday and fans are encouraged to meet and greet this years’ team. Players will be available for autographs and photos; kids will also be able to participate in a shoot-around with the team following the alumni game. Saturday’s events are free and open to the public.

“We are very excited about the weekend. We can’t express how fortunate we are to have Allison and Kori Hoffmann, as well as everyone involved in running the tournament,” fourth-year Head Coach Ben McCollum said. “We receive great support from many different sponsors in the community. It’s a great way to remember Chip, as he was a tremendous supporter of our program and student-athletes’ in general. It also gives us a chance to bond with Chip’s friends & family, former players, coaches, fans and alumni. ”

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University women’s soccer team finished its weekend with its first win of the season, 9-1, Sunday against Newman University.

In a showcase of the Bearcats youthful team, two goals were scored by freshmen. Anna Holden and Sara Worsfold scored their first goals of their collegiate careers as junior Jordan Albright added her first of the season as well.

Bearcats Victoria Von Mende and Elizabeth Walde both scored two goals in the win. Von Mende scored two goals in a game for the third time in her career. The two goals bring Von Mende to three goals this season. Walde scored her first and second goals of her Northwest career in the game also.

The team was one goal shy from tying the school record for goals in a game. The record of 10 goals in a game was set against Presentation College in 2001. The Bearcats offense set the momentum for the game with 38 shots on goal compared to Newman’s five shots.

Amanda Spade also scored her first goal of the season in the 28th minute to give Northwest a 3-0 lead. The Bearcats first three goals all came in a span of six minutes as Chelsea Fournier netted her first goal of the year in the 25th minute.

Newman’s only goal came in the 59th minute of the game as Mallory Hurst shot the ball passed Kelsey Adams. Adams received the win, making her season record 1-0-1. Adams had four saves in the game.

The loss was credited to Haley Borchers who allowed five goals in the first half.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball team was able to break even as they closed out the Hyatt Place Sunshine Classic rolling past Saginaw Valley State before falling to Lewis University Saturday evening.

The Bearcats moved to 2-2 as they split both matches Friday and Saturday. Northwest will continue tournament action next weekend as they return to Missouri for the Middle of Everywhere Classic hosted by Missouri S&T.

The Northwest defense was solid as they rolled past Saginaw Valley, 25-14, 25-11, 25-18 to claim their only win on Saturday. Double figure dig efforts from Tori Beckman and Dallas Gardner helped limit the Cardinal to under a .100 hitting percentage in all three sets.

Whitney Mason paced the Bearcats offensively with 10 kills and a .769 hitting percentage.

The nightcap saw Lewis outlast a Bearcat team that put up a solid effort before falling 25-18, 25-19, 25-17.

Beckman and Abby Graves were again solid defensively, but errors in the first and second sets hurt the Bearcats. Beckman recorded 16 digs in game two while Graves added 10.

On the weekend Brooke Bartosh led Northwest offensively with a .247 hitting percentage and 34 kills. Bartosh also added seven blocks on the defensive side of the net.

A number of Bearcats were solid defensively as Beckman recorded 54 digs in the four games followed by Gardner with 28 digs. Mason also paced Northwest with 10 blocks.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball kicked off the 2012 season going 1-1 on the first day of the Hyatt Place Sunshine Classic, knocking off Barry University in the nightcap after falling to host Palm Beach Atlantic in game one.

The Bearcats start off 1-1 on the year and will finish action at the Classic Saturday with a pair of games. Northwest will take on Saginaw Valley State at 2 p.m. before closing out tournament action against Lewis University at 5 p.m.

A combination of first game jitters and hot hitting from Palm Beach Atlantic saw the Sailfish take a 3-0 shutout in game one.

Despite a few errors in the second set the Bearcats were still able to hang with PBA falling 25-20, 25-20, 25-18. The Sailfish hit over .400 in sets one and three.

Brooke Bartosh led Northwest with eight kills as the PBA defense recorded nine blocks.

Game two was a different story for the Bearcats as they were able to find open floor space. Northwest edged out the first set before running away with the second set, 25-23, 25-12.

Barry would steal the third set 25-21 before Northwest picked up the win 25-18 in set three.

Abby Graves paced Northwest offensively with 15 kills while Tori Beckman and Mackie Keller guided the defense. Keller recorded six blocks while Beckman finished with 15 digs.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University women’s soccer team began its season Friday with a draw, 2-2, against Saint Cloud State at Bearcat Pitch.

The Bearcats set a fast pace early in the home opener, but the Huskies were at their side through the whole game. Both teams took 19 shots in the game. The Bearcats lost the lead in 83rd minute, and could not recover.

Amanda Bundrant connected with Victoria Von Mende for a goal in the fourth minute to give Northwest an early 1-0 lead. The goal was Von Mende’s first of the season. In the 2011 season, she tied the program record for most goals scored in a season with 11.

St. Cloud made their comeback in the second half. The unassisted goal by Bailly Drayton started their final push to the end of regulation. Coco Cammon assisted with the tying goal by Gabby Fleck in the 83rd minute.

Freshman, Crystal McElhose, scored her first career goal in the 53rd minute that gave Northwest a 2-1 lead.

Bearcat Goalkeeper Kelsey Adams was solid in the net with 12 saves out of 14 shots on goal.

With the draw, the Bearcats and Huskies records start at 0-0-1. The Bearcats host Newman University at Bearcat Pitch Sunday at 1 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —