TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team is set to host a pair of matches this weekend. NSU will first welcome Southwest Baptist in non-conference action at 7 p.m. Oct. 23. The RiverHawks will then jump back into league play when they play host to Missouri Southern State at 1 p.m. Oct. 25. Both contests are scheduled to be held at DeLoache Field.

ABOUT NSU
NSU (11-3, 6-2 MIAA) is coming off a week where the team split a pair of road matches. The green and white fell at Lindenwood (2-1) before picking up one of the biggest victories in school history, a 1-0 triumph over then-No. 8 Central Missouri. The victory was the first time NSU had beaten UCM since 1998 and the first time UCM had been shutout all season. The team has won four of its previous five matches and has outscored its opponents 11-4 over that stretch. The RiverHawks have outscored their opponents 41-9 overall this season. Junior forward Anastasia Robinson leads the team in scoring with 24 points (9g-6a). Right behind her is junior midfielder Jennifer Cudjoe with 18 points (7g-4a). Sophomore midfielder Julia Mathis and senior midfielder McKenzie Musella are tied for the team lead in assists with seven each. Junior goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (11-3) has started between the posts all 14 matches. She owns a 0.62 goals-against average, a .837 saves percentage and five shutouts.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARCATS
Name: Southwest Baptist University
Location: Bolivar, Missouri
Conference: MIAA
Record: 8-6, 5-3 MIAA
Series History: Tied 2-2 since NSU joined the MIAA in 2012
Top scorer: Karla Jamison (12g-2a=26p)
Assist leader: Caroline Karlsson (4g-5a=13p)  
Top goalkeeper: Cheyenne Forshey (7-2) / 1.58 GAA / .717 saves percentage
Fun fact: Karla Jamison is tied for the most goals scored in the MIAA (12)
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Name: Missouri Southern State University
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Conference: MIAA
Record: 2-11-1, 0-7-1 MIAA
Series History: NSU leads 8-2-1 since 2000
Top scorer: Hannah Bomar (4g-2a=10p)
Assist leader: Karly Thomas (1g-3a=5p)
Top goalkeeper: Shawnee Phillips (2-10) / 2.09 GAA / .738 save percentage
Fun fact: MSSU's last win came against Newman on Sept. 12 of this year

NSU LISTED SIXTH IN FIRST NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS
NSU landed at No. 6 in the first installment of NCAA Central Region rankings, the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced on Oct. 21. The top six programs from the Central Region at seasons' end will qualify for the 2015 NCAA Championship. The top two teams from the region will host opening-round matches. The No. 6 position is the second-highest NSU has ever been ranked in the NCAA regional polls (No. 5 on Nov. 6, 2013). The RiverHawks have never qualified for the national postseason tournament. The next set of regional rankings will be released Oct. 28, followed by a third release on Nov. 4. The NCAA Championship participants will be announced Nov. 9. The other five teams currently projected to qualify for the tournament are Minnesota State, Central Missouri, Augustana, Minot State and Winona State. All three conferences from the Central Region (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Great American Conference, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) will receive one automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
 
INDIVIDUAL RANKS IN THE MIAA
Anastasia Robinson: 5th in shots (44), 3rd in points (24), 4th in goals (9), 3rd in assists (6), T-3 in game-winning goals (2)
Jennifer Cudjoe: T-6 in shots (43), 5th in points (18), T-6 in goals (7)
Julia Mathis: 8th in shots (40), T-8 in points (15), T-1 in assists (7)
McKenzie Musella: T-1 in assists (7)
Kelsey McIntyre: T-3 in assists (5)
Jordan Woodruff: 3rd in goals-against average (.624), 8th in total in saves (41), 2nd in shutouts (5), 3rd in saves percentage (.837)
 
INDIVIDUALS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS (top 30)
Julia Mathis: T-18 in total assists (7), T-20 in assists per game (0.5)
McKenzie Musella: T-18 in total assists (7), T-20 in assists per game (0.5)
Jordan Woodruff: 26th in goals-against average (.624)
 
HOW NSU RANKS NATIONALLY (top 25)
15th in scoring offense (2.93)
6th in assists per game (2.6)
12th in points per game (8.5)
6th in total assists (37)
15th in total goals (41)
11th in total points (119)
 
GLEASON WINS MIAA'S WEEKLY ACCOLADE AGAIN
Rachel Gleason was named MIAA Women's Soccer Defensive Athlete of the Week on Oct. 20. The junior defender from Lucas, Texas, played primarily at outside back and pushed up in the 81st minute to score the game-winning goal in NSU's 1-0 road upset victory over No. 8 Central Missouri. Her defensive effort helped preserve the first shutout of the season for the Jennies. This marked the first win in school history over a top-10 opponent and the first win against a ranked team since Oct. 19, 2004. This was also the first win over Central Missouri since 1998 and the second in school history. The Jennies had their 17-match home win streak snapped, which dated back to the 2013 season. The accolade is the second of the season for Gleason and the third of her career. She was also named defensive athlete of the week on Sept. 8, and she is the only player in the MIAA to win the award twice this year. NSU has now collected six athlete of the week honors from the MIAA this season. Jordan Woodruff was once named the goalkeeper of the week (Sept. 15), Anastasia Robinson has twice been named the offensive athlete of the week (Sept. 29, Oct. 13), and Emily Burch picked up defensive honors last week.

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-