The Omnibus

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Sports

The SBU Lady Bearcats soccer team earned the fourth seed in the MIAA playoffs which will begin Saturday.

Southwest Baptist University came into Friday afternoon's match against Emporia State University in control of their own destiny. A win, coupled with a Missouri Southern loss or tie, would seal a trip to next weekend's inaugural MIAA postseason tournament. The Lady Bearcats came out strong and never let up. In the end they walked off the field with a 5-0 win.
Just thirty seconds into the game junior Krysten Bartshe bulged the back of the ol' onion bag off a beautiful assist from senior Atefah Heivary. In the 17th minute, freshman forward Dominie Emmanuel put home a goal unassisted to put Southwest Baptist ahead 2-0.
In the second half, the Lady Bearcats scored three more goals when Bartse scored in 60th minute for her second goal of the match. Heivary then topped off the scoring with two goals of her own. This win put SBU in position to go to the postseason.
It was Senior Day for the Lady Bearcats as they closed out their regular season at home against Washburn University. The Lady Bearcats came into Saturday with a ticket already in hand for the postseason by defeating Emporia State the day before. It is the first MIAA post-season tournament and will have national tournament implications.
It was a bittersweet day for Lady Bearcat seniors as they stepped on their home field for the final time. Saying goodbye to memories and friends were midfielder Fivi Mihai, midfielder Christina Swartz, defender Darla Zarndt, goalkeeper Aline Lopes, forward Jenny Jaggard and Heivary. All of the seniors were honored in a pre-game ceremony with friends and family.
The game itself was a barnburner featuring two postseason-bound teams that could meet next week in the conference tournament. Southwest Baptist fell behind early when Danielle Ayala found the back of the net in the 16th minute. The Lady Bearcats continued to battle and work hard, and they were rewarded in the 77th minute when Emmanuel shot down the middle of the field and received a beautiful pass from Heivary. Emmanuel then got the best of the Washburn keeper, and she shot the ball past her to pull SBU even at 1-1.
The game went to overtime for the fourth consecutive match between Washburn and Southwest Baptist. In the second overtime period Jessica Mainz put home a goal to give Washburn the 2-1 victory.
The Lady Bearcats now have to focus on the postseason. They still have their eyes on their preseason goals of winning the MIAA conference. Southwest Baptist will open tournament play against Central Missouri.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools