Kearney, Neb. – The 2013 regular season finale for the Nebraska-Kearney women's soccer team this Friday night may be the biggest contest in the program's short tenure.

UNK (7-8-2, 4-4-2) hosts rival Fort Hays State (7-7-3, 3-4-3) at 7:00 p.m. from Ron & Carol Cope Stadium at Foster Field. Live stats and an America One broadcast are available for those who cannot attend.   

A win over the Tigers would give the Lopers 17 conference points, punching the team's ticket into the eight-team MIAA Tournament. That event starts next Tuesday, November 5th, with games at the top four seeds.

A tie or loss puts Kearney squarely on the tournament bubble. Besides the Tigers (12 points), Central Oklahoma (10) and Missouri Southern State (nine) have a mathematical chance at making the MIAA's, as does Emporia State (14).

Already into the tournament are Central Missouri, Washburn, Northeastern State, Southwest Baptist and Lindenwood.

Note the majority of the MIAA plays regular season games Friday and Sunday. So, if UNK loses or ties, it may have to wait until Sunday afternoon to learn its fate.

Last year in Kansas, the Tigers beat the Lopers, 5-1, and then went on to win the MIAA Tournament. This FHSU squad is 2-0-1 in its last three games, outscoring the competition 8-2.

A balanced attack is led by senior Amanda Talbott (36 shots) and sophomore Dani Harris (19 shots), who've each scored four goals to be at 10 points.

Hays has recorded four shut outs, two by junior Nicole Barnaba, a native of Australia. She has a 1.12 GAA with 55 saves. Backup Kelsey Grey, a redshirt sophomore, also has two shut outs and a 0.95 GAA.

Prior to the start of the contest, UNK will honor five seniors in Missy Everson, Kirsti Rehler, Becka Talcott, Sarah Talcott and Nikki Thompson.

Each has earned either all-conference or academic all-conference honors in their careers and have been a part of the growth of the five-year old UNK program.

Currently, Becka is second on the Lopers in shots (32), points (eight) and goals (four) while Sarah is second in minutes played (1,519).

Team wise, UNK is fourth in the MIAA in corners (4.29 per game) and shut outs (seven). Finally, the Lopers are 4-4 at home this fall.