Emporia State claimed a bid to the MIAA conference tournament this weekend after going 1-1 against the Nebraska-Kearney Lopers and Central Missouri Jennies.
In the first game of the weekend against the Lopers on Friday, Oct. 24, the Hornets took a commanding lead 2-0 at the half. First to score for the Hornets was sophomore midfielder Hailey Gancarz with an assist by sophomore forward Megan Kephart 23 minutes into play.
Kephart went on to score herself in the 31st minute with an assist by freshman midfielder Ella Favot, extending the Hornets to a 2-0 lead going into the half.
ESU went on to score three more points in the second half with goals by graduate student defender Peyton Pipes, Favot and freshman forward Amy Paver. Paver rounded out the scoring for the Hornets to make the score 5-0 in her first career point as a Hornet.
Neb.- Kearney tried for a late comeback with a goal in the 89th minute, but the Hornets’ defense held UNK scoreless the rest of the game, with a final score of 5-1.
ESU returned to the pitch on Sunday, Oct. 26 to face off against the No. 12 ranked Jennies.
The game started slow with neither team scoring during the first half. ESU accumulated three shots during play compared to UCM’s two.
In the second half, UCM outshot the Hornets 8-1 and the Jennies would end up scoring off of a penalty kick to bring them up 1-0. Neither team would score any further, ending the game with a 1-0 loss for ESU.
ESU now sits at an overall record of 8-5-2 and 5-2-2 in conference play.
The regular season for the Hornets will wrap up this coming week with three more games until postseason play, two of which are leading the MIAA.
ESU will travel to St. Joseph, Missouri on Halloween to face off against the No. 6 MIAA-ranked Missouri Western, who currently sit at 5-5-2 on the season.
Following their Oct. 31 game, the Hornets will return to Emporia for their final home game of the season against No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri. The Homecoming Weekend matchup against the Bearcats is set for 1:00 pm on Nov. 2 at the ESU soccer pitch.
To close out the season ESU will travel to Tokepa for the Turnpike Tussle against Washburn, who currently lead the MIAA and are 7-0-2 on the season. The Ichabods are ranked No. 19 in the country and No. 2 in the central region according to the national coaches poll.
The weekend win against the Lopers has earned ESU a spot in the MIAA conference championship tournament, where the top eight teams will battle for the MIAA trophy and automatic spot in the national tournament.
The first round of the conference tournament will be held at the campuses of the top four highest seeds on Nov. 9. The semifinals and finals will be held at Styker Sports Complex in Wichita Nov. 13-14.
