TAHLEQUAH – Northeastern State cruised to a 3-1 win over Southwest Baptist on Sunday and will host Lindenwood in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament.
The RiverHawks and Lady Lions will do battle on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. in a four vs. five seed matchup. This will be the second year in a row that the NSU women will host the opening round of the league tournament.
In Sunday's match,
Julia Mathis gave the RiverHawks an early lead at the 11-minute mark on a shot in front of the SBU keeper for her 12th goal of the year. NSU wouldn't find the back of the net again until the second half where
Mariah Nicolet kicked one in on a cross pass from Mathis inside the box. The RiverHawks added to their lead four minutes later on
Rachel Gleason's header for her second goal of the season.
SBU's lone goal came in the final seconds of the match on a PK; the RiverHawks cleared the bench with 24 individuals coming into the match.
NSU led in shots with 18 to SBU's five, and on corner kicks the RiverHawks had seven while Southwest Baptist had five.
The win will bring NSU's overall record to 13-4-1 and 6-4-1 in the MIAA; Southwest Baptist falls to 0-17 overall and 0-11 in league play.
Central Missouri and Fort Hays State both earned a share of the MIAA women's regular season championship. The Jennies will also earn the top seed due a tiebreaker and will host Washburn; the Tigers will face Missouri Western. Central Oklahoma was the three seed and hosts Emporia State.
The winners of the four first round games will advance to Nov. 4 games which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Nov. 2 (at Higher Seed)
Game 1: #8 Washburn at #1 Central Missouri 7 p.m.
Game 2: #5 Lindenwood at #4 Northeastern State 7 p.m.
Game 3: #7 Missouri Western at #2 Fort Hays State 6 p.m.
Game 4: #6 Emporia State at #3 Central Oklahoma 4 p.m.
Nov. 4 (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2 TBA
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4 TBA
Nov. 6 (at Highest Remaining Seed)
Championship: Semifinal Winners TBA
