Women's Soccer | 10/26/2017 2:24:00 PM

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska Kearney women's soccer team closes out the 2017 regular season this weekend with games at Fort Hays State Friday night and Emporia State Sunday afternoon.

The Lopers (4-9-3, 1-7-1) have four conference points to date and two wins would give them six more. At that point, UNK would still need some additional help to make the eight-team MIAA Tournament. That event begins Wednesday, November 1st, on four campus sites. Pairings will be announced Sunday after all regular season games have been completed.

Check the Lopers schedule for kickoff times and media links. The MIAA scoreboard, for other games, can be accessed HERE.

Back on September 13th at Cope Stadium, the Lopers beat the rival Tigers (8-5-3, 5-3-1; 16 points) 1-0 in overtime. The teams combined for just 13 shots and four corners with Bellevue freshman Megan Cook scoring in the 99th minute to stop a six-game losing streak to Hays.

Currently, FHSU is ranked eighth in the latest Central Region Rankings. With just six teams making the NCAA Tournament from the Central, the Tigers will likely have to make a run in the MIAA Tourney to reach that event.

Coming off losses to Central Oklahoma and Northeastern State, Hays is 3-2-1 at home this fall. They are led by Australian senior Eden Stoddard (19 points & 52 shots) and sophomore Darby Hirsch (11 points & 31 shots) with a two-keeper system featuring senior Kristen Thompson (5-3-1 record & 0.90 GAA).

Last year in Hays, UNK and the Tigers fought to 1-1 tie.

The E-State Hornets (6-8-2, 2-6-1) are also looking on the outside of the MIAA Tournament at the moment as they sit in a ninth place tie with Lindenwood (seven points).
Having lost four in a row, Emporia is 0-4-1 at home this season and faces rival Washburn (9-6-1, 5-4-1) Friday afternoon.

UNK out shot ESU by a 10-9 margin back in September at Cope but the game ended in a 1-1 tie. The Hornets scored midway through the first half with UNK knotting things up in the 82nd minute on a goal by Kearney sophomore Molly Willis.

Having been outscored by just a 24-20 margin for the year, E-State features senior Ashlynn Summar (six points & 30 shots) and true freshman Olivia Miller (10 points & 11 shots). True freshman Bethany Reeves has played all 1,507 minutes in goal and maintains a 1.43 GAA.

UNK enters the final weekend averaging 11 shots per game. Having scored four goals in both the first and second halves, the Lopers ranks sixth in the MIAA in goals allowed at 22. Four keepers have combined for a 1.34 GAA and 78 saves (4.8 per game).

Nine different Lopers have a double digit shot total, led by Colorado junior Michaela Hoffman (21), Lincoln junior Tori Weber (19) and Omaha sophomore Megan Merkel (18). This trio also leads in shots and goal, combining for 37.

Finally, UNK is looking for its second road win of 2017 and the 50th win in program history. Since starting soccer in 2009, Kearney is 49-93-22.