Kearney, Neb. – The 20th-ranked Missouri Western State Griffons tallied goals in the 15th and 72nd minutes to defeat Nebraska Kearney, 2-0, Friday night in St. Joseph, Mo.

The second highest scoring team in the MIAA, MWSU improves to 10-1 with seven of those victories coming at home.  

Out shooting the Lopers (3-6-2, 0-4) by a 19-4 margin, the Griffs got on the board in the early going when senior Sydney Cluck got free in the box and banged one home for a quick 1-0 lead. It marked her sixth goal of the fall.

UNK took all four of its shots after the break with each ending wide or high. Lincoln freshman Megan Hellem had two of the offensive chances with Omaha junior Ciera Clark and Norfolk sophomore Maddie Love also getting into the shot column.

MWSU was stymied a bit by the Loper defense as this marks only the fourth time all season they've been held under three goals. With 18 minutes to play, Arkansas State transfer Cassidy Menke added an insurance goal as she scored from within the box. It marked her 11th two-pointer of the year, tops in the league.

"A loss is always tough but we have to take the positives out of this game. That is a very good Missouri Western team. They are number 20 in the nation for a reason," said UNK head coach Chloe Roberts. "I felt we kept up with them in the second half. The only difference was we didn't capitalize on our opportunities and they did."

Bellevue freshman Whitney Dockweiler saw her first collegiate action as she played the entire second half in goal. She stopped four shots, as did Omaha junior Ali Hirschman.
Finally for the Lopers, Hastings senior Marika Van Brocklin was the lone player to go all 90 minutes.

"We moved the ball very well tonight and played some great soccer, causing them a lot of problems. We just need to take it to the next level and we'll see how close we are in making these losses become wins," said Roberts. "I'm proud of every single player and I'll continue to say this team is special."

For MWSU, Cluck had two shots on goal with Papillion senior Bridget Blessie having a team-high three. The Griffs have now out scored its competition by a 37-7 margin. 

Kearney heads to NW Missouri State (4-6, 1-3) Sunday afternoon.