EMPORIA STATE PLAYS CENTRAL MISSOURI IN SECOND ROUND RUBBER MATCH

Women's Soccer | 11/12/2022 8:23:00 PM

Game 23
NCAA Tournament Second Round
Emporia State Hornets (12-6-4, 7-1-3 MIAA)
at Central Missouri Jennies (19-1-2, 9-1-1 MIAA)
Sunday, Nov. 13 • 1:00 p.m. • South Rec Complex • Warrensburg, Mo.
Series Record: UCM leads 26-7-2 • Last Meeting: UCM 4, ESU 3 (11/6/22)
Up Next: Winner advances to Central Region Final
Friday, Nov. 18 • TBA

SECOND ROUND RUBBER MATCH
Emporia State will take on Central Missouri for the third time this season with the two teams splitting the two previous matchups.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hornets took on Fort Hays State from Warrensburg in the first round of the NCAA Central Regional. Emporia State defeated the Tigers 5-1 in the match behind four goals and an assist from Mackenzie Dimarco to break the NCAA Tournament record with nine points in a single match. Haley Sparks scored from the Dimarco assist with Joanie Westcoat adding two assists of her own.

THE COACHES
Bryan Sailer is 106-81-29 in his tenth year at Emporia State and is the winningest coach in program history and fifth winningest coach in MIAA history. He has a career record of 165-104-31 that includes coaching four years at the community college level. He has led the Hornets to eight straight .500 or better regular seasons, four straight MIAA Tournaments and their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. He is 2-2 in the NCAA Tournament and 4-10-1 against UCM.
Lewis Theobald is 274-40-23 in his 15th season at Central Missouri. He is 20-4-1 against ESU with the Hornets winning three of the last four matches.

SCOUTING THE HORNETS
Emporia State is 12-6-4 on the season and finished 7-1-3 in the MIAA for second place in the regular season. The Hornet attack is led Mackenzie Dimarco who has 22 goals on the season plus two assists for a team-high 46 points. Dimarco also leads the Hornets in six career offensive categories. Hannah Woolery is second on the Hornets with 29 points as she has added 11 goals and 7 assists. Aislinn Hughes leads five other Hornets that have scored multiple goals on the season as she has five of her own including a pair of game-winning goals. In defense, the Hornets are led by MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year Joanie Westcoat who leads the Hornets with 10 assists to rank third in the MIAA. Westcoat has also led the Hornets to six shutouts in the last ten matches.

ABOUT CENTRAL MISSOURI
The Jennies are 19-1-2 on the season after completing the regular season 9-1-1 in the MIAA. Central Missouri enters the NCAA second round ranked fourth in the nation with their lone loss coming against the Hornets. The Jennies are led by three First Team All-MIAA players, including the Offensive Player of the Year Julia Kristensen. Kristensen has 15 goals on the season and 10 over 11 MIAA matches. In addition to Kristensen, Madilyn Hamline and Caroline Cole have scored 13 and eight goals respectively as they both rank inside the top five in the MIAA in goals scored. As a team, the Jennies first in goals scored with the Hornets in second. The Jennies rank second in total shots while the Hornets rank first. 

SERIES HISTORY
Central Missouri leads the series 26-7-2 with this being the first meeting between the two teams in the NCAA Tournament.

LAST TIME VS. THE JENNIES
The Hornets and Jennies met last weekend in the MIAA Championship match in Warrensburg. Central Missouri took an early  lead following a Julia Kristensen goal inside the first ten minutes. The Jennies then scored with just under three minutes remaining in the first half to double their advantage. Just under two minutes into the second half, the Jennies scored their third to seemingly take control of the match before the Hornets came racing back. Mackenzie Dimarco scored to get the Hornets on the board before Asta Kristindottir scored twice within five minutes to tie the score at 3-3 with just ten minutes remaining. Central Missouri was able to score off of a free kick in the final minutes of the match to take the 4-3 win.

UP NEXT
The winner will advance to the NCAA Central Regional Final which will take place on Friday, November 18.

MAKE YOUR MARC
Forward Mackenzie Dimarco (Sr./Pleasant Hill, Mo.) was a unanimous First-Team All-MIAA selection. She has 22 goals and two assists with 86 shots and 52 attempts on goal for the Hornets. She leads the Hornets with 46 points on the season. This season, Dimarco passed Brandie Booth in career goals as she now has 60 for her career which is second in MIAA history. She also passed Booth in career points as she has eclipsed 100 for her career with 127 which is third in MIAA history. She surpassed the 100 point mark in a 6-0 win over Missouri Western in which she became the first MIAA player to record back-to-back hat tricks. She is currently leading the MIAA in shots, shots on goal, goals and points and is tied for second in game-winning goals. In addition to career marks for Hornet soccer, Dimarco ranks inside the top five in four categories for Division II active career leaders. She is first in career goals with 60 while ranking third in total points and goals per game while ranking fourth in points per game.
Last season, she was named Second Team All-American while also earning First-Team All-MIAA and All-Central region honors while also tying the MIAA record of 20 goals in a season which had originally been set by Jada Scott of Central Missouri in 2018. She also ranked third in the nation in total goals, fifth in game winning goals and in shots on goal per game, and seventh in goals per game and total points last season. She earned MIAA Offensive Player of the Week honors three times last season. In her career, Dimarco has set multiple Hornet Soccer records in addition to the career goals and points record. She has the most game-winning goals, shots attempted and shots on goal in program history. 
In the last match against Fort Hays State, Dimarco met a number of milestones with four goal and nine point performance to propel the Hornets to a 5-1 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. With her four goals, Dimarco tied the single match goal record which was previously set in 2000 by Minna Mustonen of Franklin Pierce while also surpassing the NCAA Tournament single match record held by Mustonen with nine points against the Tigers. With her four goals, Dimarco set the MIAA single-season goals record with 22 on the season, surpassing the previous record of 20 that she shared with Jada Scott of UCM.

WOOLY BULLY
Midfielder Hannah Woolery (Sr./Overbrook, Kan.) was a First-Team All-MIAA pick. She has recorded 11 goals and seven assists this season with 29 points to rank second on the Hornets. Woolery recorded a goal and a trio of assists against Minot State earlier this season to put her in first place in Hornet soccer history in career assists. With her latest assist against Northeastern State in the MIAA Quarterfinals, Woolery extended her career record to 21 assists.
In addition to holding the Hornet Soccer record for career assists, Woolery also has posted a top three season in assists, assists per game, shots and shots per game. She also ranks top three in career points and shots on goal. Last season, Woolery earned First-Team All-MIAA as well as First-Team All-Central Region honors after recording nine goals and eight assists. She was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week after a two-goal performance in 2-1 Hornets win over Washburn. As a freshman in 2019, Woolery was named MIAA honorable mention in a season where she tallied five goals and six assists. 

WARM COAT
Defender Joanie Westcoat (Sr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) was named the MIAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year. She is leading the Hornets in minutes as she has been on the pitch for all but 47 minutes this season. She leads the Hornets with 10 assists on the season, in large part due to her distribution from corners and free kicks. She was named MIAA Defender of the Week after the Hornet victories over #3 Central Missouri and Missouri Southern after recording two assists against the Jennies before leading the Hornets to their second shutout of the season.
She was named Third-Team All-MIAA last season as she ranked fifth in both the MIAA and the Emporia State single season assist list with six in 2021. She was twice named Defender of the Week in the MIAA last year. 

DREAM A LITTLE DREAM
Midfielder Aislinn Hughes (Gr./McPherson, Kan.) earned Second-Team All-MIAA honors. She has started 21 of 22 matches this season and has started in every match that she has played in her career. This season, Hughes has recorded a pair of game-winning goals as her career total now sits at 10 which ranks third in Hornet history. On the season she has five goals and two assists with 22 goals for her career which ranks fourth in program history.
She was named third-team All-MIAA in 2021 after earning honorable mention in 2019.  She was second in the MIAA with six game winning goals and was fourth with 11 total goals last season. Last season, Hughes scored the game-winning goal against Central Missouri in both meetings, including in the MIAA Championship match.

BACHMAN BACKLINE
Defender Abby Bachman (Fr./Wichita, Kan.) was named Honorable Mention All-MIAA as a freshman. She has transitioned quickly into the lineup for the Hornets as she has started all 22 matches for Emporia State this season. Bachman has been consistent for the backline as she has played all but 93 minutes this season and is second on the Hornets in minutes played.

HEY ALEXIS
Forward Alexis Cole (Sr./Leavenworth, Kan.) has started in all 22 games this season for the Hornet soccer team and throughout her career has appeared in 64 of 65 matches for Emporia State. In the two previous seasons, Cole was an important substitution on the wings for the Hornets and has transtitioned to a starting role this season. She scored her first goal of the season and second of her career against Minot State with a second half goal on a Hannah Woolery assist. Her first assist of the season came to open the Hornet scoring against Nebraska-Kearney as she returned the favor to set up Woolery with a goal. 
Last season, Cole scored her first career goal in the second half against Northwest Missouri as she scored the Hornets' second goal to cap a 2-0 win over the Bearcats.

SPARKS FLY
Forward Haley Sparks (So./Park City, Kan.) is in her sophomore season with the Hornets. Sparks has played in all 22 matches this season while making 18 starts. In her two seasons with the Hornets, she has played in 43 of 45 matches. She has four goals and four assists on the season. Sparks recorded one assist in each of the final two matches to close out the regular season. Her latest goal came in the first half of the NCAA Tournament first round match against Fort Hays State. Following a pass from Mackenzie Dimarco, Sparks cut the ball across goal into the bottom left corner to give the Hornets a 2-0 lead.

SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE
Midfielder Angela Palmer (Jr./Wichita, Kan.) has played in all 22 matches this season for the Hornets while making 16 starts. In her career at Emporia State, Palmer has played in 44 of 45 matches. She has a pair of assists and four goals on the season which are her first four of her career. Her latest goal came in the MIAA Quarterfinals against Northeastern State as she headed in a Woolery corner kick to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead in the first half agains the Riverhawks.

ICELANDIC INTERNATIONAL
Defender Asta Kristindottir (Fr./Seltjarnarnes, Iceland) has started 21 of 22 matches in her first season and has played over 85% of the total minutes this season. In addition to her importance in the backline, she has also tallied three assists which ranks fourth on the Hornets. Kristindottir has scored three goals this season which are the first three of her career and all three have come against Central Missouri. Kristindottir scored twice in the second half of the MIAA Championship against the Jennies.

SELF MADE
Forward Erica Self (Gr./Topeka, Kan) is in her sixth season as a graduate student for the Hornets. Self has played in all 22 matches this season and in 77 matches for her career. She has two goals and two assists on the season. Both of her assists came earlier this season in a 3-2 win over Northwest Missouri at the ESU Pitch.

ROE THE BOAT
Midfielder Kyleigh Roe (Jr./Pleasant Hill, Mo.) is in her junior season with the Hornets and she has played in all 22 matches for the Hornets while making nine starts. She has recorded three assists on the season which is tied for fourth on the Hornets. Last season, Roe recorded four goals and one assist with one of her four goals being a game-winning overtime goal on the road against Missouri Western.

LAMPE LIGHT
Midfielder Mikayla Lampe (Fr./Lee's Summit, Mo.) has played in 21 of 22 matches in her freshman season for the Hornets and has scored her first three goals of her career within a span of the final seven matches of the regular season. Her latest goal came against Nebraska-Kearney as she capped the 4-0 shutout win for the Hornets.

5000 TO 1
Forward Rhea Bailey (Jr./Leicester, England) has started six of the last seven matches for the Hornets and has played in all 22 matches this season and in 35 for her career. This season she has recorded two assists with one against Fort Hays State and the other coming against Missouri Southern on a cross into the box that was headed in by Mikayla Lampe.

BURNIN' UP
Forward Anna Burnett (Jr./Baldwin, KS) has played in all 22 matches and has made a pair of starts this season. She has tallied six shots with four attempts on goal. She recorded her first assist earlier this season against Washburn. Her first career goal came last season against Colorado Christian as her headed goal capped off a 4-0 win for the Hornets.

MANIFEST DESTINY
Forward Destiny Hoy (Fr./Wichita, Kan.) has started 11 matches and played in all 22 matches this season in her freshman campaign with the Hornets. Hoy has recorded ten shots this season with at least one in nine different matches for the Hornets.

IN GOAL
Keepers Tori Bailey (Sr./Papillion, Neb.) and Mackenzi Goen (Fr./Hurst, Texas) have both played significant minutes in goal this season. They have combined for four shutouts on the season with Bailey grabbing her first three solo shutout in the three matches leading up to the MIAA Championship.
Bailey started the first three matches before leaving the UMary game with an injury. She returned to action against Neb.-Kearney just before MIAA action. She has recorded 43 saves in 1169:06 of action with a 1.15 goals against average.
Goen has played in 13 matches after replacing Bailey in goal during the MIAA Championship and has made six starts. She has 29 saves in 810:34 worth of action with a 1.44 goals against average.d

MIAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Emporia State has earned a pair of MIAA Player of the Week Honors with one coming from
Mackenzie Dimarco and the other from Joanie Westcoat.
Dimarco became the first player in MIAA history to score hat tricks in back-to-back matches as the Hornets defeated both Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
Westcoat received MIAA Defender of the Week honors after recording two assists in the Hornet victory over then #3 Central Missouri and leading a shoutout of Missouri Southern on the road. 

RECORD BOOK
Since 2018 Emporia State has set seven individual single season school records and moved into the top three in a trio of other categories.  Hornets have also set ten individual career records. This season, three Hornet records have been broken as Mackenzie Dimarco surpassed Brandie Booth and career goals and career points as she now has 60 career goals and 127 career points. Hannah Woolery broke the career assists record with a hat trick of assists against Minot State earlier this season and she currently has 21 assists for her career. Mackenzie Dimarco holds the MIAA single-season record with 22 goals in a season after her four-goal performance against Fort Hays State. Her nine points against the Tigers is also an NCAA Tournament record for a single match.

TOUGH TEST
The 2022 schedule has proved to be the most difficult in the history of the ESU Hornet Soccer program. The Hornets have taken on just three teams through the regular season who had a record below .500 during the 2021 season and in addition to a difficult conference slate, Emporia State played West Texas A&M in the first game of the season who earned the fourth seed in the South Central Region. The Hornets also handed Minot State, who advanced to play Bemidji State in the NSIC Championship, one of their three losses on the season with a 5-1 victory.

GOING DANCING
Emporia State was one of five MIAA teams to be selected for the eight spots in the Central Region Tournament as the Hornets claimed the fourth spot. This trip to the NCAA Tournament is the third trip in program history and the third time in the last four seasons. The first NCAA Tournament victory came last season in the first round as the Hornets defeated Northwest Missouri State 2-0 in the first round from the ESU Pitch. After defeating Fort Hays State in the first round in the first postseason matchup between the Hornets and Tigers, Emporia State advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.