Soccer falls short to Truman, regains ground against Lindenwood

By Mika Cummins

September 19, 2012

Missouri Western opening game against Truman State.

Missouri Western fumbled their MIAA opener against Truman State on Friday, Sept. 14 in Kirksville, Mo., but came back just a couple days later with a big win in overtime against Lindenwood on Sunday, Sept. 16 in St. Charles, Mo.

Truman State — 2     Missouri Western — 0

The Griffons opened up MIAA conference play Friday Sept. 14 at Truman State. However, the Bulldogs came out ready to play, with Kelsey Twellman scoring in the fourth minute putting them up 1-0. While the girls played much better in the second half, they never caught back up. Twellman added one more goal off of a free kick making the score 2 to 0. Western would fall to 2-3 this season and 0-1 in MIAA.

Senior goalkeeper Kelly Voigts recorded another nine saves, but the girls were outshot 21-2, with sophomores Katie Kempf and Teddi Serna (off of K.C. Ramsell’s corner kick) recording shots.

“We came out flat and we struggled,” coach Chad Edwards said. “But coming out of halftime, we settled down and played better. I was really proud of our effort in the second half.”

Missouri Western — 2     Lindenwood — 1

With only 13 shots combined between the two teams, the first 25 minutes of Western’s game at Lindenwood wasn’t much of an offensive display. Lindenwood finally got the game going with a forward Bailey Cody-goal at the 27-minunte mark, putting them up 1-0 going into halftime. Senior forward Abby Widrig put the Griffons on the board with a goal of her own at the 53-minute mark. The score would remain tied 1-1 until the end of regulation, sending it into overtime.

“We knew that we were the better team, and if we could score one more goal, then we could walk away as winners,” Forward AJ Powers said. “Coach Edwards always says, ‘Be mentally tough,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”

Just three minutes into overtime, Kempf would put in her fourth goal of the season, ending the game. The Griffons sealed their first MIAA victory over Lindenwood with a final score of 2-1. The team now stands at a record of 3-3 on the season and 1-1 in conference play.

The Griffons outshot the Lions 18-7.

Western comes back on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7 p.m. at Spratt Stadium to host rival school Northwest Missouri State, which is 3-2-1.