Friday, Oct. 31 | 3:00 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State vs. No. 19 Washburn
Maryville, Mo. | Bearcat Pitch*
WATCH | LIVE STATS
* - Free admission with a donation (needs: laundry detergent, gloves, cleaning supplies (pet safe), hand sanitizer, stainless steel bowls, kong toy, tennis balls, grain free dog food).

Sunday, Nov. 2 | 1:00 p.m.
Northwest Missouri State vs. Emporia State  
Emporia, Kan. | ESU Soccer Pitch 
WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS

The Northwest Missouri State University women's soccer team is taking on No. 19-ranked Washburn on their home turf at the Bearcat Pitch on Friday at 3 p.m., with the Cats' then heading off to Emporia, Kan. for a match against Emporia State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Friday's game will be the team's Pups at the Pitch event with all dogs welcome at the game.
 
Last week the Bearcats secured a win on the road against Missouri Southern, 3-1, thanks to dual goals from Makenna West in the first half and a late second half goal from Berkleigh Salmond. The Bearcats then took on Pittsburg State and were defeated in a tough match, 1-0. Northwest now has an overall record of 10-4 and 7-2 in the MIAA, earning them a spot as one of 10 teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region listing for consideration to the NCAA Tournament and ties them for No. 2 in the MIAA with Central Missouri. 
 
Match Notes: No. 19 Washburn 
The Icabods will enter Friday's contest with an overall record of 10-2-3 and 7-0-2 in the MIAA and are currently ranked No. 1 in the MIAA standings and No. 19 in the national rankings. Last week, Washburn won both its matches, beating No. 18 Central Missouri, 1-0, and securing a win against Fort Hays State, 2-1.
 
Head-to-Head
Washburn holds the all-time series lead, 16-10-5, but Northwest has won or tied four out of the five last matchups. In their last match up the Icabods beat the Bearcats 2-0 in Topeka, Kan. Leah Henke has dominated offensively for Washburn, having gotten team-high 9 goals, team-high 19 points, and 30 shots. Following close behind are Sam Searcey with 5 goals and Kate Hinck with 4. Hinck further standout with team-high 44 shots with 23 of them on target. Freshman goalkeeper Lili Everly has racked up 27 saves, earned ten shutouts, while facing 102 shots this season. Everly has played in all 15 games this season. The Ichabod's have also relied on senior goalkeeper Alli Harrington who has made 3 saves while facing 11 shots. Harrington has played in six out of 15 games this season.
 
Match Notes: Emporia State  
So far this season, the Hornets have an overall record of 8-5-2 and a 5-2-2 mark in MIAA play. Emporia State is currently tied with Missouri Western for No. 5 in the MIAA. Last week, Emporia State split its matches, beating Nebraska-Kearney 5-1, before falling to Central Missouri, 1-0. Before facing the Bearcats, the Hornets will take on Missouri Western on Friday in St. Joseph, Mo.
 
Head-to-Head
Emporia State leads the all-time series 20-16-3, with the Bearcats only tying one out of five of the last matchups. Last season the Hornets edged out a win over the Bearcats, 1-0.  Standouts from Emporia State's offense include Ella Favot with team-high six goals, and Magan Kephart with 5, and both having 16 points. Kephart also has 38 shots with 22 of them on target, earning the team-high in both categories. Another standout for the offense is Hailey Gancarz who has racked up four goals, 16 points, and 16 shots. For the defense the Hornets have mainly relied on senior goalkeeper Mackenzi Goen who has had 49 saves while facing 119 shots. Goen has played in 13 out of 15 games this season.
 
MIAA Women's Soccer Standings (As of Oct. 28)
1. Washburn (10-2-3, 7-0-2 MIAA)
2. Northwest Missouri (10-4, 7-2 MIAA)
     Central Missouri (9-3-4, 6-1-3 MIAA)
3. Pittsburg State (11-2-2, 6-1-2 MIAA)
4. Central Oklahoma (7-4-5, 5-2-3 MIAA)
5. Missouri Western (9-2-4, 5-2-2 MIAA)
     Emporia State (8-5-2, 5-2-2 MIAA)
6. Northeastern State (8-6-1, 3-5-1 MIAA)
7. Rogers State (2-6-6, 2-4-3 MIAA)
10. Nebraska Kearney (2-8-4, 0-5-4 MIAA)
       Fort Hays State (3-10-1, 1-7-1 MIAA)
11. Missouri Southern (2-10-3, 0-7-2 MIAA)
12. Newman (1-13-2, 0-9-1 MIAA)
 
Additional Notes:
The Northwest Missouri State University women's soccer team is one of 10 teams in the NCAA Division II Central Region listed for consideration to the NCAA Tournament. For the first release of region rankings, the NCAA is listing its top 10 teams by region alphabetically.
 
NCAA Central Region Alphabetical Ranking (As of Oct. 26)
Augustana (South Dakota) (10-2-3)  
Bemidji State (10-2-3)  
Central Missouri (9-3-4)  
Concordia-St. Paul (9-3-3)  
Minnesota State Mankato (13-0-2)  
Missouri Western (9-2-4)  
Northwest Missouri State (10-4-0)  
Pittsburg State (11-2-2)  
St. Cloud State (10-1-4)  
Washburn (10-2-3)
 
Northwest is currently ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Central Region Rankings.
 
United Soccer Coaches Central Region Rankings (Oct. 21)
1. Minnesota State University-Mankato (13-0-2)
2. Washburn University (10-2-3)
3. University of Central Missouri (9-3-4)
4. Bemidji State University (10-2-3)
5. Missouri Western State University (9-2-4)
6. Pittsburg State University (11-2-2)
7. Northwest Missouri State University (10-4-0)
8. Concordia University-St. Paul (9-3-3)
9. St. Cloud State University (10-1-4)
10. Augustana University (10-2-3)
 
The Bearcats have had eleven different goal scorers in 2025. Junior Makenna West currently leads the Bearcats with seven goals, 40 shots with 18 of them on goal, and has scored five game winning goals, earning the team-high in every category. Following close behind is senior Margaret Madden with four goals, 19 shots, with 12 of them on target. 
 
Senior goalkeeper Lily Ellis has earned 35 career shutouts at Northwest where she still holds the school record for most shutouts in an individual's career. Ellis ranks No. 2 on the NCAA Division II active career leaders list for shutouts.
 
NCAA Div. II Active Career Leaders - Shutouts
1. 36, Julia Pinnell (Point Loma)
2. 35, Lily Ellis (Northwest Missouri State)
3. 31, Keely Wieczorek (Colorado Mesa)
4. 29, Riley Urquiza (CUI)  
5. 27, Sarah Loewen (Simon Fraser)
    
Northwest Career Leaders - Shutouts
1. 35, Lily Ellis (2022-pres.)
2. 16, Kira Lazenby (2008-09)
3. 11, Kelsey Adams (2010-13)
4. 9, Kathlie Leach (1999-2001)
5. 7, Ashley Malloy (2014-17)
 
Ellis also has reached 346 saves and is now fourth on the NCAA Div. II active career list. She also has the second most saves of goalkeepers who have played for Northwest.
 
NCAA Div. II Active Career Leaders - Saves
1. 406, Becca Schultz (Daemen)
2. 370, Samantha Merklin (Bloomsburg)
3. 358, Gianna Bonnett (Southern Nazarene)
4. 346, Lily Ellis (Northwest Missouri State)
5. 335, Megan Miller (Lock. Haven)
 
Northwest Career Leaders - Saves
1. 394, Kelsey Adams (2010-13)
2. 346, Lily Ellis (2022-pres.)
3. 339, Kathie Leach (1999-2001)
4. 306, Alison Sheridan (2003-06)
5. 204, Ashley Malloy (2014-17)
 
Ellis is Northwest leaders in goalkeeper victories as well with a record of 32-19-14.
 
Northwest Career Leaders – Goalkeeper Wins
1. 32-19-14, Lily Ellis (2022-pres.)
2. 21-29-8, Kelsey Adams (2010-13)
    21-33-5, Alison Sheridan (2003-06)
4. 20-16-3, Kira Lazenby (2008-09)
5. 15-25-1, Kathie Leach (1999-2001)
 
Head Coach Marc Gordon is in his eighth season leading the Bearcat soccer program. Last season, Northwest posted a record of 7-6-6 overall, ending its season in the MIAA quarterfinal round to University of Central Missouri. Northwest has produced four straight winning seasons under Gordon and has gone 41-23-16 in MIAA play over the previous four campaigns.
 
Northwest captains for the 2025 season are senior Lily Ellis (Kearney, Mo), Senior Moira Franck (Monument, Colo.), and Margaret Madden (Papillion, Neb.).