EMPORIA STATE SOCCER OPENS SEASON AT MIAA/GAC CHALLENGE

STARTING OUT FRESH
Emporia State opens the year against Harding in the MIAA/GAC Challenge in St. Joseph Missouri. This years Hornets return ten players after graduating four key players last year. The Hornets have 12 new players this year, all of which are freshmen.
 
THE COACHES
Bryan Sailer is 23-36-15 going into his fifth year at Emporia State and is the winningest coach in program history. He is 10-9-6 over his last 25 matches dating back to last year. He is 1-0 against Harding in his career at Emporia State.
Greg Harris is 100-129-18 in his 15th year at Harding. He is 0-1 against Emporia State.
Riley Bailey is 31-49-9 in his sixth year at East Central. He is 2-2 against Emporia State.
 
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State was 7-7-5 on the season in 2014 and went 4-5-5 in the MIAA to place seventh in the conference standings. It is the first time in the programs history they have put together back to back winning seasons. The Hornets graduated four key players last year and are returning ten players this year. There will be 12 new faces on the field this year for the Hornets to go along with the past years returners.
 
SCOUTING THE BISON
Harding was 6-12-1 last season and went 6-3-1 in the GAC. The Bison dropped their final game last season 0-1 against Ouachita Baptist University. They are returning 17 players from last season and have seven new players coming to the team.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST HARDING
Emporia State won against Harding in a 4-2 victory.  The Hornets were the first to strike when Perri Mulder scored on an assist from Shannon Thomas in the 20th minute. The score remained 1-0 into the second half until Grace Linton scored in the 69th minute on an assist from Jessica Shellhase.  Then in the 72nd minute Mallory Walden would score on an assist from Katie Strait to make the score 3-0 Hornets. In the 76th minute Harding's Ashley Sampson would score on an assist from Audrey Adkison.  In the 79th minute McKenzie Koch would score assisted by Elizabeth High. The last score of the game came from Harding's Audrey Adkison assisted by Ashley Sampson making the score 4-2 Hornets.
 
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the second meeting between Harding University and Emporia State under coach Bryan Sailer. The Hornets took the last meeting in 2014 in a 4-2 victory over the Bison.
 
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
East Central returns 17 letterwinners and four starters from the 2014 season, when the team went 7-8-3.  The Tigers bolstered the roster with nine newcomers in 2015.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST EAST CENTRAL
Emporia State posted the largest margin of victory in school history with a 4-0 win over East Central (Okla.) in the MIAA-GAC Challenge in Searcy, Ark.  Yadira Rivera posted her tenth career shutout and Jordan Foutch scored a pair of goals with an assist in the win. Grace Linton got the Hornets on the board in the 13th minute on a cross from the left to the middle of the goal with assists going to Jordan Foutch and Liz High.  Foutch made it 2-0 on a header to the upper left corner from Shannon Thomas in the 53rd minute. Foutch made it 3-0 in the 64th minute as she scored from the right side on a shot to the lower right corner from Jessica Schellhase.  Kelsey Wakefield scored the final goal in the 82nd minute with assists from Perri Mulder and Schellhase. Rivera had seven saves on 11 total shots from the Tigers.
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Hornets lead the all-time series 4-3-1 and have won the last two meetings between the schools.
 
UP NEXT
Emporia State will make a trip through the Lone Star State next weekend. The Hornets will travel to Plainview, Texas on September 11 to take on Wayland Baptist before playing at Texas A&M-Commerce on September 13.