Lady Lions shut out Bearcats, kick for MIAA title
Eric Scott

Staff Writer

 

With an 8-1 (4-0) record under their belts and shut outs of the opposition in the past two games, the Lady Lions look to Saturday s game at home against Rockhurst College.

 Defense has really been a major strength for us lately,  said Geoff VanDeusen, head coach.  We have also continued to show we can put the ball in the back of the net. 

In the game against the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats, junior midfielder Ashley Munnelly scored two goals, which brings her total to 12 for the season. The Lady Lions out shot the Bearcats 23-8, and goalkeeper Shannon Brosnahan contributed five saves to the defensive effort as Southern shut out UNMS, 4-0.

 We played pretty good against Northwest Missouri,  said Terressa Kusick, freshman forward.  We ve been putting our passes together really well, and our running has also been improving. 

 We played very well against Northwest Missouri, but we know any team in the conference can beat us,  VanDeusen said.  We need to keep playing well as a team because team chemistry has been great. 

VanDeusen says every player on the team has been contributing, and not one particular player is carrying the team.

 The most important thing we need to work on in order to keep winning is ball control,  he said.  We must not turn the ball over. 

 We can always improve on our passing and more diagonal runs,  Kusick said.  We just need to work toward continuing what we ve been doing all year. 

Even though the Lady Lions have an overall record of 8-1, and an unblemished record of 4-0 in the MIAA, they still are not nationally ranked. But VanDeusen said that s fine with him.

 We need to continue the way we have been playing,  he said.  We will earn more respect if we keep winning. 

 We aren t nationally ranked now,  Kusick said,  but wait until we play Truman State. That will be our big test. 

VanDeusen said the Lady Lions can t look ahead to games against the top teams in the MIAA such as Truman State and Central Missouri State.

 We have a saying that the most important game of the season is the next game,  he said.  When you re winning, everybody wants to beat you.