ADA – The East Central University soccer team will open the 2015 season at the MIAA/GAC Challenge for the second-straight season. The Tigers and Harding from the Great American Conference will battle with Missouri Western State and Emporia State from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.
ECU will first face host, Missouri Western State, Friday, Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. and then Emporia State, Sunday, Sept. 6 at noon. The Griffons were picked sixth in the MIAA preseason poll, while the Hornets were picked eighth in the 12-member conference.
Missouri Western had a strong 2014 season, recording the most wins in school history (9-9-1, 6-7-1 MIAA) and will return eight starters and 14 letterwinners from the 2014 team. That group includes four All-MIAA selections and five seniors.
Sydney Cluck and Sydney Andrews are two of the top returners for the Griffons. Cluck tallied four points (1-2), while Andrews scored two goals. MWSU also returners their goalkeeper, Sarah Lyle, who had a 0.85 goals against average and a .830 saves percentage.
Emporia State finished the 2014 season with a 7-7-5 overall mark and a 4-5-5 record in the MIAA. The Hornets will return 10 players from last year, including three of their top four scorers and the MIAA Goalkeeper of the Year.
Grace Linton led ESU in 2014 with seven goals and 42 shots. Amelie Heun added four goals and Kelsey Wakefield tallied seven points (2-3). Yadira Rivera was the only goalkeeper for the Hornets in 2014, finishing the season with a 1.09 goals against average, a .837 saves percentage and seven shutouts.
The Tigers head into the season ranked sixth in the GAC preseason poll after finishing fourth in 2014. ECU returns 17 players and five starters from last year's squad.
Senior
Kaitie Herrin leads the returners with two goals and two assists in 2014, while seniors
Megan Lantrip and
Krista Kahl and sophomore
Peyton Vanlandingham each garnered one goal. Senior
Taylor Lowe was the top goalkeeper for the Tigers in 2014, earning a 1.52 goals against average and a .741 saves percentage.
The match against Missouri Western will be the eighth in the all-time series, with the Griffons holding a 5-2 advantage, including a 5-1 mark when playing in St. Joseph, Mo., and a streak of two wins.
The all-time series against the Hornets is closer, with ESU holding a slight 4-3-1 advantage. Like Sunday's match, most of the matches have been played on a neutral field, with the Tigers trailing 0-3-1 in those matchups.
