TAHLEQUAH – Fresh off a convincing win in the MIAA quarterfinals, Northeastern State will face Emporia State on Friday in the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament in Warrensburg, Mo.
First Touches
1. The RiverHawks enter the weekend as the No. 2 seed in the tournament, with a record of 14-4-1, and a conference record of 8-3. They opened the tournament with a 4-0 blowout of No. 7 Newman on Friday at DeLoache Field.
Sarah Rector,
Paulina Chavez and
Paige Lorenzo all had goals for NSU, with their fourth being an own goal by Newman. Lorenzo's goal in the 56th minute came off a penalty kick, where she beat the keeper in the lower-left corner of the net.
2. Northeastern State is ranked fifth in the Central Region rankings. This is the third straight week that NSU has occupied the five-spot. If the regional tournament started this weekend, the RiverHawks would face Augustana (SD) at Central Missouri, with the winner advancing to face the Jennies, who were ranked No. 1.
3. This will be the first time the RiverHawks have been in the conference semifinals since 2015, when they reached the conference championship. Coincidentally, that year the semifinals and conference championship were also played in Warrensburg.
4. This will be the second matchup between the RiverHawks and Lady Hornets this season. In their other meeting on Oct. 13, the RiverHawks scored a 4-1 upset win thanks to goals from Rector, Nicolet, Chavez and
Callie Rucker. NSU dominated every aspect of the match, outshooting the Lady Hornets 17-8, having eight corner kicks compared to just two for Emporia and possessing the ball for 55 percent of the match. The Lady Hornets were No. 14 in the nation at the time.
5. The RiverHawks are familiar with facing Emporia State in the conference tournament, having faced the Lady Hornets last year in the MIAA Quarterfinals, a match that Emporia State won 2-1. They also faced off in the 2013 quarterfinals, which the Lady Hornets won 3-0.
6. The Lady Hornets opened the MIAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed, and nearly suffered an upset in the first round, as they needed a second-half rally and overtime goal to beat No. 6 Northwest Missouri. The Bearcats led 2-0 at halftime before Emporia State scored both of their goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half. It was Hannah Woolery who scored the match-winning goal off a free kick from Joanie Westcoat.
7. Emporia State has a record of 13-4-2 this season, with a conference record of 7-2-2. After the loss to NSU, they finished the regular season winning four of their final six matches, with their lone loss coming on Oct. 27 in overtime against Central Missouri. They also played Newman to a 1-1 tie on Oct. 20. The Lady Hornets dropped one spot to seventh in the regional rankings.
Up Next: If the RiverHawks win, they will play Sunday afternoon in the MIAA Championship against the winner of Central Okla. and Central Missouri, who will play at 7 p.m. The winner of the championship will clinch the MIAA's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
