Emporia State soccer traveled to Stryker Sports Complex in Wichita, KS on Nov. 11 for the MIAA conference championship matchup against number two ranked Central Missouri.
Previous to the championship game, the number four ranked Hornets knocked off top seeded Washburn in the MIAA semifinals game with a 3-2 win over the Ichabods at Stryker Field. ESU began with a quick lead going into the half with a score of 2-0. Junior forward Hadlie Lowe scored first for the Hornets just shy of the 11 minute mark of the first half with an assist by graduate student forward Mackenzie Dimarco.
The rest of the first half was rather even with no goals by either teams until just 20 seconds before the half ended. The Hornets hurried the ball downfield with a goal by freshman midfielder Paige Putter that was assisted by sophomore defender Abby Bachman.
ESU came out of halftime on fire. Nearly 45 seconds into the second half, graduate student midfielder Hannah Woolery scored another goal for the Hornets.
Washburn started to rally back with two goals nearing the end of the game, but it wasn’t enough to catch back up to ESU. The Hornets finished the semifinals game with a 3-2 victory over Washburn.
Prior to the faceoff between the Hornets and Ichabods, another semi finals matchup between Fort Hays and Central Missouri concluded. The number two seeded Jennies claimed victory over the number three seeded Tigers with a final score of 1-0.
At the conclusion of both games, the championship match was set for the Hornets to face off against the Jennies of Central Missouri. Earlier in the season, the Jennies came out victorious with a 1-0 win over the Hornets on Oct. 13 at the ESU Pitch.
Two days after the win against the Ichabods, the Hornets returned to Stryker Field for the MIAA championship game. The game started out slow with neither team scoring in the first half.
At the start of the second half, the Jennies scored first during the 46th minute of play. However, the Hornets responded quickly with a goal by Lowe and an assist by Bachman in the 47th minute.
After gaining momentum, the Hornets scored again just two minutes later with a goal by Dimarco. However, the Jennies didn’t back down and scored their second goal in the 81st minute of play, tying the game 2-2. This goal by the Jennies evened out the score with less than 10 minutes of regulation remaining.
In the 87th minute of play with just two and a half minutes remaining in the game, Dimarco scored with an assist by Woolery. The Jennies offense was unable to score past the Hornets’ defense, ending in a 3-2 win for ESU.
As the Hornets won the MIAA conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the 2023 Division II Women’s Soccer Championship. During the selection show on Nov. 13, the Hornets received their regional assignments.
ESU received the number two seed of the central region. Joining the Hornets from the MIAA conference are number one seeded Washburn, number five seeded Central Missouri, and number seven seeded Fort Hays State.
ESU will first face off against MIAA foe Fort Hays in the championship. During the regular season the Hornets and the Tigers competed against each other twice, with the first game ending in a 1-1 tie and the second game ending in a 3-1 Tigers victory. Fort Hays currently holds a 13-4-3 record.
Since the Hornets were ranked in the top two of the region, ESU will be the host institution for the bottom half of the central region bracket. The first game of the NCAA Division II Central Region Tournament at the ESU Pitch will be between number three ranked St. Cloud State and number six ranked Bemidji St. at 10 a.m. on Nov. 17. ESU will go up against Fort Hays at 1 p.m. following the game.
