September 28, 2018- Emporia State soccer fell 4-3 to Missouri Western on Friday in St. Joseph, Mo. This is just the Hornets second loss on the season to bring their record to 6-2-1 overall, 1-1-0 in the MIAA.
The Hornets took the lead early in the 25th minute of the match with a header goal from Maria Walden off of a rebounded shot. After ten minutes of scoreless play, Cassidy Menke scored the equalizer for the Griffons in the 35th minute of play with a shot from 20 yards out. The two teams would remain tied going into the half.
The Griffons started the scoring in the second half when Lillian Davis sent a volley from Cassidy Menke into the left side of the net to take the 2-1 lead in the 60th minute. Nearly four minutes later, Rachel Marshall sent an assist from Aislinn Hughes into the top left corner of the net to equalize the match at 2-2 in the 64th minute. The Hornets took their second lead of the game at 3-2 when Maria Walden sent a shot from 15 yards out into the back of the net in the 80th minute of the match. The Griffons scored a goal in the final minute to force an overtime period when Clair Meyers sent a low driven shot into the left side of the net with 14.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
In the overtime period, the Hornets took the first shot as Tanna Benefiel was blocked before the Griffons would drive the ball down the field. Coming out of the goal to challenge the shot, Jillian Patton received a yellow card inside the box. Cassidy Menke took the penalty kick for the Griffons and sent it into the net for the golden goal in the 97th minute for the 4-3 win.
The Hornets out-shot the Griffons 22-17 in the match but were out-shot 10-8 on goal. The Hornets also took six corner kicks to the Griffons four while being called for nine fouls as the Griffons were called for eight.
Emporia State was led by Maria Walden with two goals while Rachel Marshall added one. Aislinn Hughes had the lone assist for the Hornets in the match.
The Hornets will be back in action on Sunday, September 30 as they take on Northwest Missouri in Maryville, Mo.
