The 15 mph south breeze put Northwest Missouri State women’s soccer team at a slight disadvantage against Emporia State.

Northwest started Tuesday’s afternoon game at the Bearcat Pitch going into the wind.

The Bearcats made the wind a moot point as they scored two first-half goals that carried them to a 2-1 victory that counts in the MIAA standings. Northwest improved to 5-2-2 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA.

“It’s a great start for us,” said Northwest senior defender Jacque Dedovesh said. “It’s a great start to the week.”

The star of the first 45 minutes was sophomore Tori Von Mende. She scored two goals, and her second one came from 15 yards out when she whistled her kick past Nikki Schmitz with 12 minutes left.

Both of her goals came in a span of 3 minutes. The Bearcats’ relentless attack took some of the starch out of Emporia State defense.

“We work well together,” Von Mende said. “We were just in the flow of things. We had good passing and good talking.”

Just as impressive was the way Northwest defense responded to the desperation by Emporia State.

The Hornets were trying to take advantage of playing with a stiff south wind at their backs. It worked for them early in the game when they put the pressure on Northwest’s back three and sophomore goal keeper Kelsey Adams.

With 1:40 left in the first half, Adams faced a blistering shot from way out. The ball was headed for the upper half of the goal. Adams timed her jump perfectly and tipped the ball over the goal, preserving the first-half shutout.

“I expected it,” Dedovesh said of Adams’ save. “I saw the ball and said ‘Kelsey jump.’ And she jumped and made the save.”

Northwest, though, needed a few minutes at the start of the game to adjust to the wind. Much of the action was near Adams.

Slowly, the Bearcats took control, and 15 minutes into the contest, they nearly scored on a shot by sophomore midfielder Anna Calgaard.

Northwest kept the pressure on and finally Emporia State buckled with 15:22 left in the first half. Assists from junior midfielder Amanda Bundrant and senior forward Tammie Eiberger led to the first goal byVon Mende.

The Bearcats weren’t satisfied with just that one goal. They kept attacking and scored again.

Von Mende nearly had a hat trick in a 5-minute span, but her third attempt at scoring was stopped by the Hornets defense.

“The heat was a big factor,” Von Mende said. “I could tell they were getting tired. We took advantage of that.”

With a 2-goal lead, Northwest only needed to play smart in the second half to secure the victory. The Bearcats had a couple of opportunities to score that just missed. More importantly, they prevented Emporia State from getting good scoring chances.

The Hornets finally broke through with a goal by Morgan Wheeler with 5 minutes left, and that built a bit of drama.

Emporia State pushed forward with 4 minutes left. Northwest defense was organized enough to prevent a shot.

The Hornets kept attacking. Northwest was up for the challenge.

“We just had to keep our head in situations like that,” Dedovesh said. “It makes us work. We are going to get scored on.

“The rest of the game was awesome. Kelsey played great. She’s the best goalie in conference.”

Northwest has won two straight and is looking to keep its momentum going for Thursday’s game against Truman at the Bearcat Pitch at 4 p.m.

The Bearcats finish the week with a 6 p.m. game at Washburn on Saturday.

“I think everybody will be ready for these games,” Von Mende said. “They are big games. They count for conference. We are not really used to it. But I’m excited to get all three games in and see how it goes.”

— David Boyce, NWMSU Sports Information —

Due to high demand for tickets for No. 7 Northwest Missouri State’s upcoming game with No. 19 Central Missouri in addition to Homecoming activities for the home team fans are asked to read for information about tickets and tailgating on the UCM campus.

Fans wanting to buy tickets before Saturday’s game may do so by calling the UCM Ticket Office at 660.543.4063 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. All remaining tickets are general admission starting at $10 for adults and $3 for ages 6-18 and Northwest Students with a valid ID.

The main Ticket Office on the southwest side of Walton Stadium will be open on Saturday as well as a ticket window on the east side of the stadium facing the visiting tailgating lots. Gates to Walton Stadium will open at 11:30 a.m.

All fans wishing to tailgate may do so in lots S26 and FS1. In addition to the two visiting lots UCM will also open lots FS 27 and FS 3 which are located just to the east of lost S 26 and FS 1 on South Street (they are not shown on the attached map). This is due to the normal visiting parking lots being used during the homecoming parade at 9 am. Visiting fans will be able to get directly into lot FS 3 from Hwy 13 if they arrive earlier in the morning while the parade is still going on. Lots S 26 and FS 1 should be cleared out after the parade and will re-open at 11:30.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State fell seven spots to No. 7 in the latest AFCA Top 25 after a, 38-35 loss to Pittsburg State over the weekend as announced by the organization on Monday.

The Bearcats were not the only top 10 team to lose as Shepherd (W. Va.) and Valdosta State lost over the weekend knocking both teams out of the top 10 on Monday. With their field goal as time expired, Pitt State made the biggest jump to No. 8 as they ended a five game losing streak to the Bearcats.

North Alabama takes over the new No. 1 spot followed by Bloomsburg (Pa.) at No. 2 and last year’s national runner-up Delta State at No. 3. Future MIAA foe Nebraska-Kearney received their highest ranking ever in the AFCA poll at No. 4 as Washburn rounds out the top five. The Ichabods will travel to Maryville on Oct. 22 for a top 10 match-up with the Bearcats for Homecoming.

Wayne State (Mich.) sits in front of the Bearcats at No. 6 as PSU moves to No. 8 after their win on Saturday. Minnesota-Duluth sits at No. 9 as Abilene Christian rounds out the top 10.

The Bearcats opponent this weekend, Central Missouri stayed put at No. 19 as they prepare for their second top 20 opponent in as many weeks. Kickoff from Warrensburg is set for 1:30 p.m.

Click here to see the AFCA Top 25.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Chase McCoy nailed a 26-yard field goal as time expired ending Northwest Missouri State’s 49 game MIAA winning streak as Pittsburg State took an exciting 38-35 win over the Bearcats Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Bearcats (4-1, 3-1 MIAA) saw their record winning streak snapped as well as a seven game winning streak over the Gorillas. PSU (5-0, 4-0 MIAA) picked up only their third win over the Bearcats in the Fall Classic, but managed to stay undefeated on the season.

Northwest raced out to an early 21-0 lead silencing the PSU crowd; however, the Gorillas scored 28 unanswered point s including an interception return by Jason Peete and a 56-yard half back pass to take a 35-28 lead.

After fighting back to inside the red zone for the fourth time of the afternoon the Bearcats found themselves with a 4th and 11. Trevor Adams would find Jake Soy with man coverage for a 14-yard touchdown to tie the game with 3:16 left.

“It was a play we didn’t put in our game plan,” said head coach Adam Dorrel. “We want to look for Jake any chance we get, but we still feel good about him with single coverage and we made a good play.”

Pittsburg State would swing the momentum again as a Zac Dickey run put the Gorillas into Northwest territory.

A Northwest penalty would give PSU the needed five yards on 3rd and 1 to extend their drive setting up McCoy’s game winning field goal.

The Bearcats came out firing in the first quarter taking an early 21-0 lead. Scoring with ease Blake Christopher drove the Bearcats on each scoring drive showing the Fall Classic crowd the explosive offense displayed in the first four games of the season.

Christopher finished 21-of-29 for 287 yards and three touchdowns. However a pick six midway through the third quarter was another momentum swing back to the Gorilla sideline.

“We did a great job of executing in the first half and we got away from that a little bit,” Dorrel said. “That falls back on me, and is something I’ll learn from, but we should of stayed more aggressive into the second half.”

James Franklin rushed 10 times for 116 yards, but the ground show belonged to Dickey and PSU.

Leading the MIAA in rushing the Gorillas fell just short of 200 yards on the ground as Dickey raced for 102 of his own on 19 carries. Dickey also proved to be serviceable with his arm going 14-of-21 for 223 yards and one touchdown.

“We had a player assigned to the quarterback and he got to the outside a couple times and we can’t make that type of mistake,” said senior linebacker Chad Kilgore.

Kilgore finished with one of his better performances of his career with 17 tackles including five solo tackles.

Northwest returns to action next weekend in Warrensburg as the Bearcats will try to rebound against Central Missouri.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State University volleyball team split a pair of games to kick-off weekend play at Pittsburg State’s Regional Challenge Friday falling 3-1 to Midwestern State but bouncing back to beat St. Mary’s 3-1 in their second game of the day.

The Bearcats are now 5-9, 1-2 MIAA on the season after losing a heartbreaker to Rockhurst University, 3-0, Tuesday night at Bearcat Arena.

Northwest bounced back after falling 18-25 in the first set against Midwestern State to take the second set 28-26 but Midwestern State would prove to be too much and the Bearcats would fall 15-25 and 20-25 in the last two sets.

The Bearcats played strong defensively in the match with a trio of players recording double figures in digs as they were led by Tori Beckman with 20.  Laira Akin and Bailey Vance recorded 13 and 12 digs respectively while Akin also contributed 32 assists in the match.

Abby Graves contributed 9 kills in the loss.

In their second match of the day the Bearcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead taking the first set 25-16 but allowed St. Mary’s to come back and take the second set at 18-25.  Northwest quickly rebounded and took the finally two sets at 25-13 and 25-22 for the 3-1 victory, ending their three-game losing streak.

Northwest’s offense was led by Whitney Mason and Abby Graves who each recorded double figures in kills as they were led by Mason with 12 with Graves contributing 11 respectively.  Akin added 36 assists in the match.

Vance was again outstanding defensively for the Bearcats.  Along with her 12 digs from Northwest’s first match of the day, she would add 11 in the win against St. Mary’s.

Northwest continues action on Saturday against Newman at 11 a.m. before closing out tournament action with St. Edward’s at 3 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

A flurry of second half goals helped propel Northwest Missouri State soccer to a, 4-1 victory over Missouri Southern in non-conference action at Bearcat Pitch Thursday afternoon.

The Bearcats (4-2-2) knocked off winless MSSU in a match that was noted as a non-conference game by league officials. Due to conference expansion each team will play only four home and four road games against conference foes that count toward determining the league champion.

Victoria Von Mende notched her sixth goal of the season just before the end of the first half in the 42nd minute giving the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead.

Both teams would keep consistent shooting number into the second half, as the Lions picked up a goal from Kelsey Haist. However, three goals in five minutes would give Northwest plenty of a cushion in a tough battle.

Fiona Moloney and Emilee Davison would pick up their first goals of the year after slipping in the top of the box giving the Bearcats a 3-1 advantage. Davison’s goal would come on an assist inside the right side of the box from Tammie Eiberger, slipping the ball past the Lion goal and the right corner post.

Northwest’s leading scorer Eiberger would add her eighth goal of the season after a Southern yellow card allowed for a Bearcat penalty kick. Eiberger would find the back of the net just after the 73rd minute for an eventual final score of 4-1.

The Bearcats enter the final two games of their five game home-stand on Tuesday hosting Emporia State in MIAA action. Kickoff from Bearcat Pitch is set for 4 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Northwest Missouri State battled to the end Tuesday night dropping a heartbreaker to Rockhurst at Bearcat Arena in non-conference college volleyball action.

No athlete or coach wants to lose. It’s why they spend hours in practice, call timeouts to shift momentum and battle until the whistle blows to end the contest.

But winning is a process, one the young Northwest Missouri State volleyball team is learning in September.

Despite falling 25-22, 25-22, 27-25 to Rockhurst Tuesday evening at Bearcat Arena, Northwest showed plenty of signs that it will be a formidable opponent in the MIAA in October.

The two key ingredients in a youthful team are talent and a couple of seniors to lead the way. The Bearcats have it.

Instead of getting discouraged by a 4-8 start to the season, seniors Laira Akin and Alex Hanna must remain positive as sophomores Mackie Keller, Amy Majors, Whitney Mason and freshman Abby Graves continue to gain experience.

“We are just trying to get them to learn some mental toughness from the rest of us,” Akin said. “As seniors and captains, we are hoping to set that example for them so they know what this is supposed to look like.

“Tonight, we showed we didn’t have a 100 percent effort from everybody on the court. We want them to learn what Bearcat volleyball is all about. It’s about bringing everything we have to everything.”

Late in the second set, Graves, a powerful hitter in a somewhat small, 5-foot-9 frame, demonstrated some nuances in volleyball that helps win close matches.

Also during the match, Majors and Mason had kills that changed the momentum in the Bearcats’ favor

“We all come from a really good base,” said Graves, who finished with a team-high 11 kills. “What we’ve learned is we can rely on each other. We all have played a lot of volleyball. It is going to come together.”

Northwest trailed 23-19 when Graves showed her versatility to help the Bearcats score points at a critical time. She started off with a booming kill. That didn’t surprise Rockhurst because she had been doing that throughout the first two sets.

“She is really doing great things out there,” Akin said. “She has done a great job the last couple of weeks and has taken it upon herself to make a difference.”

After Rockhurst scored, Graves came back with a tip and it completely caught Rockhurst by surprise.

“You got to mix it up,” Graves said. “The whole goal is to catch people off their feet. You have to think what if you were playing defense, what would you expect. You got to think what the other team is expecting and do what they aren’t.”

Graves followed that move with a block for a point.

“You got to have that killer instinct and push to the end,” Graves said.

It helped Northwest close to 24-22.

“She is really athletic,” Rockhurst coach Tracy rietzke said. “She jumps well, hits the ball hard and she sees the court. She did a nice job. We had a difficult time stopping her.”

But Rockhurst ended the second game the same way it ended the first: a thunderous kill by McGovern.

Although the Bearcats trailed 2-0, they fought hard in the third set and held an 18-15 lead. Rockhurst scored five of the next six points for a 20-19 lead.

Trailing 23-21, Mason showed she has the clutch gene when she hit a kill to help the Bearcats close to 23-22. She did it again when Rockhurst had match point at 24-22.

Mason then served an ace that tied the set at 24-24 and Majors followed with a block that gave Northwest a 25-24 lead.

Rockhurst, though, concluded the match by winning the last three points. Once again McGovern was instrumental in the run. Her 19th kill of the match gave Rockhurst a 26-25 lead.

“She (McGovern) is tough,” Rietzke said. “When she gets on a roll, she is tough. When she plays well, typically our team plays well.”

The Bearcats want to get to the point where they can feed off a player on a roll that carries them to victory.

They will try to build that momentum Friday and Saturday when they play four matches in the Pittsburg State Regional Challenge.

“We are really going to focus on our start and getting off on the right foot,” Graves said.

It’s the last group of non-conference games before the Bearcats hit the bulk of their MIAA matches.

“We are really trying to focus on mental toughness,” Akin said. “With this young team, it is hard for them to come back from a loss in the first game. In high school and club you are playing two out of three. It is more normal to play two games and be done.

“We are trying to teach them that endurance and mental toughness to get in there and fight for every point and every game matters. We are really trying to manufacture those things in practice. We need to do a better job.”

— NWMSU Sports Information —

The Northwest Missouri State volleyball Bearcats snapped a four game skid on Friday night taking a, 3-1 win from Fort Hays State in MIAA action at Gross Coliseum.

The Bearcats improved to 4-7 on the year and picked up their first conference win moving to 1-2 in the MIAA winning, 25-14, 21-25, 27-25, and 25-23. Northwest two losses to open league play came against perennial powers and top 25 teams, Emporia State and Washburn. Fort Hays St. fell to 8-6 on the year and 0-4 in league play.

Northwest was led by senior setter Laira Akin, who notched her fifth double-double of the season, finished with 40 plus assists for the fifth time of the year as well. Akin and the Bearcats would roll in the first set aided by a, 6-0 Bearcat run which saw three blocks from Amy Majors with Akin adding an block assist.

Majors would be outstanding on the defensive side of the net with five of her 12 blocks coming in the first set.

The Tigers would battle back to steal the second set, but it would not be enough as the Bearcats would show resolve to finish out the final two sets.

Whitney Mason would knock down six kills to keep Northwest close in the second set before FHSU pulled out a, 25-21 win. Mason would finish the night with a season high 17 kills which was also a team high on the year.

In the final two sets, FHSU made the Bearcats earn the victory, as Northwest proved to be the better team. After back-to-back matches against ranked opponents the Bearcats showed resolve taking a, 27-25 win in the third set before closing out the Tigers, 25-23 in the final set.

The Bearcats return home to host Rockhurst on Tuesday night before closing out the weekend at the Pittsburg State Regional Challenge. Tip from Bearcat Arena is set for 7 p.m.

— NWMSU Sports Information —

Fifteenth-ranked Central Missouri scored three goals in the second half to beat the Bearcats 4-0 at Bearcat Pitch on Thursday night.

The Bearcats are now 3-2-2, 1-0 MIAA after shutting out Southwest Baptist 2-0 last Saturday when sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Adams recorded her second shutout of the season.  With the win the Jennies improve to 6-1-0, 0-0 MIAA.

The Jennies started the game hot scoring in the 1st minute when Alyssa Rhodes scored off of a perfectly delivered corner kick from Carly Stanley.  Central would strike again in the 38th minute when Caysi Shouse scored off of an assist from Jenna Stones.

Northwest was outshot in the first half 15-2 and was only able to attempt one shot on goal.  Adams had nine saves in the half.

Central went on the attack in the second half outshooting Northwest 10-3.  Rhodes upped the Jennies’ lead to 3-0 in the 47th minute when she netted her second goal of the night off another corner kick from Stanley.  Stanley would put the game out of reach for the Bearcats in the 52nd minute when she netted her second goal of the season.

Northwest would finish with only two shots of goal.  Adams recorded fourteen saves in the loss.

The Bearcats (3-1-2, 1-0 MIAA) will enjoy the weekend off before continuing MIAA action next week when they host the Missouri Southern Lions (0-4-1, 0-0 MIAA) at Bearcat Pitch on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m.  Last season Northwest lost 1-2 and tied 0-0 when facing Southern; overall, the Bearcats are 11-10-3 when facing the Lions and 7-3-1 when facing them at Bearcat Pitch.

— NWMSU Sports Information —