WC Missouri News

The University of Central Missouri Jennies Soccer team, ranked No. 18 nationally, will conclude its regular season with two home matches at the South Recreation Complex in Warrensburg. The Jennies (9-3-4 overall, 6-1-3 MIAA) are set to face Missouri Southern on Friday, Oct. 31 at 6 p.m., followed by a Senior Day match against Pittsburg State on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

Prior to Sunday's game, seniors Rylie Hughes and Anna Lack will be recognized for their contributions to the program.

Last week, Central Missouri split two conference road games—losing to Washburn and defeating Emporia State with a shutout performance.

Forward Mikayla Ernst leads the team offensively with 11 goals and five assists through 16 matches. She currently tops the MIAA and is tied for 13th in NCAA Division II in both goals scored and total points this season. Other key contributors include forwards Patsy O'Brien and Izzy Joyce as well as midfielder Coryn Jespersen.

Goalkeeper Kristen Wright has recorded eight shutouts so far this year and ranks second in the conference—and twelfth nationally—in that category. She has allowed only eight goals across more than 1,400 minutes played.

As a unit, UCM averages two goals per game while limiting opponents to half a goal per contest. The Jennies have also taken over one hundred corner kicks this season and are tied for first in their conference for both goals scored (32) and fewest goals allowed (8).

Ernst recently joined an exclusive group of players in program history by scoring four goals in a single match during UCM's win over Harding on Sept. 21—a feat previously accomplished by Jada Scott (2016) and Sarah Bourn (1995).

In preseason polling among coaches, Central Missouri was picked to finish first in the MIAA for the current campaign. The latest United Soccer Coaches Division II Top 25 Poll lists them at No. 18 nationally.

Since the start of the 2016 season, UCM has compiled a home record of 94 wins, seven losses, and three draws at South Recreation Complex under head coach Lewis Theobald’s leadership. All-time under Theobald at home, they hold a record of 169-17-10.

Friday’s meeting against Missouri Southern marks the forty-second matchup between these teams; Central Missouri leads the series with thirty wins. Against Pittsburg State—which is only in its second year fielding a women’s soccer program—the Jennies won last year’s inaugural meeting.

This season saw ten newcomers join UCM: eight freshmen from high school programs and two transfer students—goalkeeper Hannah McFarlane from Pacific University and defender Acacia Weis from Lamar University.

Head coach Lewis Theobald is now in his eighteenth year leading Jennies Soccer. He holds an all-time record of 317-54-31 with eleven MIAA Coach of the Year awards and five regional honors to his name. In addition to guiding UCM to its first national championship in women’s soccer during the 2017 season, he remains both the winningest active coach in Division II women’s soccer by percentage (.833) among those with at least five years’ experience—and fifth all-time across all NCAA divisions among coaches with ten or more years on staff.

During his tenure he has coached twenty-two All-Americans—including Ashleigh Martin, Andree Orcutt, Lindsay Edmonds—and led sixty players to All-Region status as well as more than one hundred forty All-Conference honorees across multiple categories such as Most Valuable Player or Freshman of the Year distinctions.

Looking ahead after this weekend's matches, Central Missouri will participate in the MIAA Women's Soccer Championship Tournament beginning November 9; details about their opponent or location have yet to be announced.