Archive for the ‘Soccer’ Category

The last six times the Griffon soccer team played in a match with a one goal difference, they have been on the wrong side of the score. One smart strike from freshman Abby Widrig changed that and gave Western a win against Missouri Southern State University. The win also gave Western a winning record at home this season, going 4-3-1.

The rainy conditions and damp playing surface didn’t hurt the Griffons in this game. Early on, the team displayed great defensive tactics. The Griffons held the Lions to only one shot in the first half: letting the forwards of Western go to work on the Lions backs.

The Griffons tried their luck nine times in the opening half. Three of the nine shots came from midfielder Mary Ohm who played at a very nice pace. The good play from the starting 11 carried over into the second half. In the 50th minute, Widrig beat her marker and put the ball in the lower netting giving Widrig her 7th goal of the season.

Eleven minutes later, Missouri Southern midfielder Shannon Kuhn summed up the night for the Lions by receiving the first and only yellow card of the game. The Griffons

Photo: Matthew Fowler

remained in top form for the rest of the night allowing just one corner kick in the 2nd half and allowing only two more shots for the rest of the night.

The win was one of the most complete efforts on the season for Western. The offense and defense played with urgency all night. Griffon’s midfielder Jessica Martin believes that the team’s movement helped them succeed against their opponents.

“We passed the ball around a lot and moved off the ball well which allowed us more shots and shots on goal,” Martin said. “Our game plan was to just drop down our offensive center mid to stay with their stopper. Overall, I would rate our performance an eight out of ten.”

Forward Desi Swanson, who has started every game this season, believes that the reason for the win was winning possession of the ball.

“We just came out and pressured the ball,” Swanson said. “We won the 50/50s which allowed us to create more offense getting us so many more shots.”

Most final home games are a send off to all the seniors who play on the sports team. With this year’s team having no seniors on board, the win is more about finishing the season with a winning record at home. Martin knows that the team can take solace in having a winning record at Spratt.

“The winning record at home means we have turned one of the many pages we want to turn,” Martin said.

“It felt amazing to win a close one and come out on the positive side of things. It was a big accomplishment for our team.”

Swanson feels that the win is a step forward for the team.

“It felt awesome winning that last home game,” Swanson said. “It finally gave us a winning home season which is a big step for us.”

After losing their first game of the season just a week earlier, Missouri Western bounced back with stellar defense to stomp the Truman State Bulldogs 38-14 last Saturday.

The Griffons showed that they can respond to adversity after dropping their first loss to Northwest and coming back with a vengeance.

“After the last game it was easy to bounce back because we really wanted to win a game,” junior offensive lineman Andy Gilmore said. “Obviously that was our first loss and our first time to see what a loss feels like. I think we wanted to get back on the winning track.”

According to head coach Jerry Partridge, the team’s ability to respond had a lot to do with leadership.

“We have a lot of leaders on the offensive line, we have a good quarterback who’s a leader, we have linebackers who are leaders and we have linemen who are leaders,” Partridge said. “I don’t think Truman was a great team, but we played well and took care of business, and that was pretty satisfying.”

Photo | Ryan Richardson

“That was one of the best defensive performances we’ve ever had here,” Partridge said.

The defense took control in the first half and helped the Griffons to go into the locker room up 28-0. Touchdowns from Mike Hill, Thomas Hodges, Adam Clausen and a punt return from Cedric Houston gave the Griffons the advantage.

After another touchdown from Mike Hill to open up the second half put Western up 35-0, Truman outscored the Griffons the rest of the way 14-3. Brad Beckwith finished off the game with a 24 yard field goal to put Western up 38-14 and lead them to victory.

After this win, the Griffons improve to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the MIAA. This Saturday they will take on 14th ranked Central Missouri in Spratt Stadium at 1:30 p.m. for homecoming. Western is currently ranked 15th and tied with Central for second in the MIAA.

Missouri Western’s main goal is to limit their silly mistakes which should lead to success.
We can’t turn the football over again and we can’t give up big plays on defense,” Partridge said. “That’s kind of our problem.”

Quarterback Drew Newhart, who leads the MIAA in passing efficiency and finished Saturday completing 16 of 25 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, agreed that if the Griffons can limit their turnovers, they will be successful.

“We just need to work on the little things and take care of the football and I think we’ll be okay for Saturday,” Newhart said.

Two sisters grow up playing soccer in a small town in Nebraska. They help their high school go deep in Class B tournaments – one actually winning two state championships in a row while the other one went off to college to continue playing soccer. The other sister then joins the eldest sister at the same college with two other girls who played on their high school team.

Sounds like the plot for a made for TV movie on the Disney channel starring Miley Cyrus. But this is actually the real life story of Taylor and Brooklyn Arehart.

The two were born and raised in Elkhorn, Neb. by John and Janelle Arehart. They both were interested in athletics at an early age. Taylor, the older of the two, knew which sport she would focus on from the beginning.

“I got started a long time ago and I think it was because my parents made me, but I ended up loving it and have played soccer ever since,” Taylor said.
“My sister and I were different athletes growing up. She played a couple different sports.”

Brooklyn shared the same view of how it got started as her sister.

“I think my parents got me into soccer, and I just really liked it. I’ve been a striker all my life so it’s all I’ve ever known,” Brooklyn said.

Head coach Jeff Hansen, in his fourth season with the Griffon soccer team, sees a lot of potential in the two sisters. With Brooklyn being a freshman, he hopes that she can be a good role player for the Griffons. And with Taylor being a part of the big junior class, he hopes she can be a leader for this year’s team. Hansen knows that he has to take a different approach for both players.

“The two are nothing alike. One is joking a lot; the other isn’t. It’s like night and day,” Hansen said.

“They are always encouraging and will bend over backwards for their teammates.”

Even though the two are very close and are great teammates, they still have their ups and downs as any sibling duo would have. Taylor knows that the two will butt heads every now and then.

“Playing with a sister can definitely have its ups and downs,” Taylor said. “Sure, we can get into plenty of fights, but I think we also understand each other better than anyone else on the team. It’s nice to know she is here to fall back on and count on in times when maybe the team is down.”

The two also have freshman midfielder Lauren Lennard and back Molly Slattery to lean on. They went to the same high school and want to help the sister’s bring the winning ways of Elkhorn High School to Missouri Western. Lennard knows that the bond between the four can help do that.

“It’s really nice to come in and have people you know and Brooklyn has been my best friend since fourth grade so it’s awesome having her here,” Lennard said. “Taylor really looks out for Brooklyn.”

“They have their moments but really work well together.”

With the soccer team having no seniors this year, they hope that their youth and closeness will help them on the pitch. We don’t know what is in store for the team this year, but we do know that the Areharts will continue to be close and work hard to make the team better.

“My sister means the world to me. She’s been there through everything. I came to Western because of my sister, and it’s awesome playing with her again because she always pumps me up before games.” Brooklyn said.

Taylor feels the same way about her sister.

“My sister means the world to me; she is the only one I have,” Taylor said. “Like I said, we fight, but there are things I tell her I would tell no one else.”

The Disney Channel needs to start writing up a screen play.

It has taken five seasons for the Griffon soccer team to do something that all Missouri Western sports teams love to do every season. That enjoyable task would be beating Northwest Missouri State. The Griffons beat the Bearcats 2-0, placing them at 4-5 for the season and 2-3 in MIAA conference play.

Missouri Western ran a 4-3-3 formation and got off to a good start on the pitch, taking six shots on goal in the first half. Junior striker Desi Swanson scored the first goal of the game after receiving a nice ball from midfielder Jessica Martin. Toward the end of the half the Bearcats built up a good counter attack against Western, but the Griffon’s back forced Northwest to take shots from long distance. The strong defense gave Western the lead going in to the half.

Photo | Marty Ayers

“It felt really good beating Northwest for the first time,” Swanson said. “I think it was on our mind every time we play them because we’ve always known we’re just as good as them so it was nice to finally come out of it with a win.”

Junior back Taylor Arehart shares the same feeling about the win over their rival.

“I don’t think it could feel any better to beat Northwest for the first time,” Arehart said.

“I know it’s a team we knew we could beat for a while and finally doing it was amazing. We really came together as a whole team and when we do that we can beat anyone, including Northwest.”

The victory over the Bearcats rectifies a loss the team had early this season on their rival’s home turf. The win also hopes to put a pep in the Griffons step and help them move up the standings in the MIAA.

The season doesn’t end with that win, but in the eyes of Swanson it did throw some fuel on the proverbial fire.

“It definitely added fuel to the rivalry which will make it more fun to play them next season,” Swanson said.

We’ll have to wait until next year to see the rivals clash again. But the Griffons will be playing their next home game Thursday, Oct. 8 against Southwest Baptist University.