October 8, 2023 - Emporia State rallied from an early deficit to take home a 4-3 win over Missouri Western on Sunday afternoon.
In the first half, Missouri Western jumped out to an early advantage over Emporia State as they scored in the third minute to take a 1-0 lead.
Mackenzi Goen saved the first shot attempt from the Griffons just 90 seconds into the match but was unable to keep out the second as a shot into the top right corner gave Missouri Western the early lead.
The Griffons were able to double their advantage with a second goal that came in the 12th minute following a Missouri Western corner kick.
Emporia State found their first goal in the 24
th minute on a goal from
Anna Burnett. Following an offsides on the Griffons, the Hornets took the free kick quickly and found Burnett down the left wing. Burnett raced down the left and after cutting back to beat the defender, slid a shot past the Missouri Western goalkeeper on the near post to cut the Griffons lead in half.
The Hornets were able to maintain their pressure on the Griffons but were held without another goal for the remainder of the half as Emporia State trailed 2-1 at the halftime break despite outshooting Missouri Western 10-7.
Early in the second half, Emporia State withstood two shots from Missouri Western before finding the equalizer in the 51
st minute.
The Hornets earned a throw in near midfield and after putting the ball back in play, sent a long ball forward to
Mackenzie Dimarco who found herself surrounded by a pair of Griffon defenders. Dimarco found her way through the double team and then laid off a pass to Burnett who came streaking in from the left wing and placed a first time shot to the low and to the right of the goalkeeper as Emporia State tied the match 2-2.
Emporia State wasted little time following the equalizing goal and were able to win back possession quickly in the midfield before a long ball was played forward and found the feet of
Mackenzie Dimarco. Dimarco gained control before beating the defender towards the center of the field. Just before reaching the penalty spot, Dimarco uncorked a left-footed shot that glanced off the inside of the left post and into the back of the net as Emporia State took a 3-2 lead over Missouri Western.
With the goal, which came in the 52
nd minute,
Mackenzie Dimarco broke the MIAA career goals record with the 68
th goal of her career.
Ten minutes later, in the 62
nd minute, Dimarco would strike for the second time, this time with her right foot. Following a cross into the box that was initially taken by a Griffon defender, Dimarco won possession in the box and took a right-footed shot into the top left corner to expand the Emporia State lead to 4-2 with what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Missouri Western would score a third goal with 90 seconds remaining, but Emporia State held off the Griffons as they clinched a 4-3 win on Sunday afternoon from Spratt Stadium in St. Joseph, Mo.
Anna Burnett scored her first two goals of the season and
Mackenzie Dimarco scored her seventh and eighth goals of the season while also assisting the second Burnett goal.
Emporia State advances to 4-4-4 on the season and 3-1-1 in the MIAA and will return to action on Friday, October 13 as they return home to take on #8 Central Missouri.
NOTES:
Mackenzie Dimarco scored her 68th and 69th career goals against Missouri Western and with the 68th goal, Dimarco passed Jada Scott (UCM 2014-18) for the MIAA career goals record.
