TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – The Northeastern State women's soccer team is set to host an opening-round match in the 2015 MIAA Championship. The RiverHawks will welcome Missouri Western State to DeLoache Field for a 7 p.m. match Nov. 4.

There will be admission charged for the event. Tickets are $5 for all ages (exception: 6 and under are admitted free) and can be purchased at the entrance to DeLoache Field starting at 6 p.m. The first 100 NSU students will be admitted free of charge with a valid ID.

ABOUT NSU  
The RiverHawks (13-4-1, 7-3-1 MIAA) finished with 22 points to land in third place in the final MIAA regular-season standings a year after placing eighth in the league. NSU was just one point behind second-place Central Oklahoma and five points behind regular-season champion Central Missouri. No. 4 seed Fort Hays State finished one point behind Northeastern State. The Griffons are the No. 6 seed in the tournament. The winner of the match will face the winner of No. 2 Central Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney. The semifinal match will take place Nov. 6 at the home site of the top remaining seed after Wednesday's action.

NSU went 6-3-1 in the month of October, outscoring its opponents 25-13 over that span. The biggest win of the season came when the RiverHawks defeated the then-No. 8 ranked Jennies 1-0 on the road (Oct. 18).

Junior forward Anastasia Robinson has led the charge for NSU offensively. She leads the entire MIAA in both points (33) and assists (9), and she is second with 12 goals. Junior midfielder Jennifer Cudjoe has also been very dangerous with the ball as she's scored eight goals while dolling out seven assists for a total of 23 points. Sophomore forward Julia Mathis is right behind Cudjoe with 21 points (6g-9a). Goals have been coming from up and down the RiverHawks roster as 17 different players have found the back of the net this season. This is the highest amount of different goal scorers of any team in the MIAA, and also a school record for NSU. Northeastern State finished the regular season with 54 goals, which is the highest goal total for the program since the 2003 season (55 goals). Junior goalkeeper Jordan Woodruff (13-4-1) has started all 18 matches between the posts racking up 1,494 minutes in goal. Woodruff has accumulated a 0.84 goals-against average and a .791 saves percentage. Woodruff has also held strong for six clean sheets. She has a school record 36 career victories and 20 shutouts.
 
ABOUT THE GRIFFONS
Name: Missouri Western State University  
Location: St. Joseph, Missouri
Conference: MIAA
Record: 9-7-1 (5-5-1 MIAA)
Series History: NSU leads 4-0 since 2012
Top scorer: Bridgett Blessie (5g-0a=10p)
Assist leader: Layne Shepherd (1g-3a=5p)  
Top goalkeeper: Sarah Lyle (9-7-1) / 0.75 GAA / .852 saves percentage
Other information: NSU defeated MWSU 1-0 earlier this season in Tahlequah. Three of NSU's four wins over MWSU have come by a 1-0 margin. MWSU is 3-5-1 on the road this year. The only team in the conference to score more than once on MWSU this year is Central Missouri. MWSU suffered a tough loss in the 108th minute of play in the first round of the MIAA Championship last year against the No. 3-seeded Fort Hays State Tigers.

2015 MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Wednesday, November 4 (Quarterfinals) (at higher seed)
Match 1: #8 Washburn at #1 Central Missouri	7 pm
Match 2: #5 Southwest Baptist at #4 Fort Hays State	6 pm
Match 3: #7 Nebraska-Kearney at #2 Central Oklahoma	3 pm
Match 4: #6 Missouri Western State at #3 Northeastern State	7 pm
Friday, November 6 (Semifinals) (at highest remaining seed)
Match 5: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner	4 or 7 pm
Match 6: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner	4 or 7 pm
Sunday, November 8 (Championship) (at highest remaining seed after 11/4)
Match 7: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner	1 pm

NSU IN THE CONFERENCE TOURNEY
Northeastern State has qualified for the tournament all four years since joining the MIAA. The No. 3 seed assigned to NSU this season is the second highest the team has earned in that span. In 2012, the RiverHawks defeated Northwest Missouri State in the opening round, but then fell to Central Missouri in the semifinals as the No. 4 seed. In 2013, the team was awarded the No. 2 seed but was then upset by the No. 7 seed Emporia State in the first round. Last year, as the No. 8 seed, NSU was bounced by No. 1 seed Central Missouri 3-0 in the opening round. Senior forward Lindsey Latta is the only RiverHawk on the current roster to have netted an MIAA Championship goal.

INDIVIDUAL RANKS IN THE MIAAA
Anastasia Robinson: 1st in points (33), T-1 in assists (9), T-2 in goals (12), T-3 in game winning goals (3), 6th in shots (57)
Jennifer Cudjoe: 3rd in shots (59), T-4 in assists (7), 5th in points (23), T-6 in goals (8)
Julia Mathis: T-1 in assists (9), T-6 in points (21), 7th in shots (52)
McKenzie Musella: T-4 in assists (7)
Kelsey McIntyre: 6th in assists (6)
Jordan Woodruff: 2nd in shutouts (6), 3rd in goals-against average (.843), 7th in saves percentage (.791), T-8 in saves (53)

INDIVIDUALS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS (top 25)
Julia Mathis: T-11 in assists (9)
Anastasia Robinson: T-11 in assists (9), T-20 in points (33)

HOW NSU STACKS UP NATIONALLY (top 25)
5th in assists (51)
5th in assists per game (2.83)
8th in total points (159)
9th in points per game (8.83) 
11th in total goals (54)
T-12 in goals per game (3.00)

RIVERHAWKS REMAIN 6TH IN NCAA REGION RANKINGS
NSU remained at No. 6 in the second installment of NCAA Central Region rankings, the National Collegiate Athletics Association announced Oct. 28. 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 tied for the second-highest NSU has ever been ranked in the NCAA regional polls (No. 5 on Nov. 6, 2013). Northeastern State is attempting to qualify for the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history. The next set of regional rankings will be released Nov. 4. The NCAA Championship participants will be announced Nov. 9. The other five teams currently projected to qualify for the tournament went unchanged from last week's initial rankings. Those were Minnesota State, Central Missouri, Augustana, Minot State and Winona State. The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Great American Conference and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference comprise the 35-team NCAA Central Region. The top six teams advance to the NCAA Championship. The regional rounds will be contested Nov. 13 & 15 and Nov. 20 & 22. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC postseason tournaments, with the remaining three spots awarded on an at-large basis.

-GoRiverHawksGo.com-