MARYVILLE, Mo. - The Missouri Western Griffons picked up a 3-0 victory Wednesday over the Northwest Missouri State University women's soccer team to close out the MIAA regular season.
Northwest finished with an 11-10 edge in shots and a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks but put three shots on goal. The Bearcats are 5-9-3 overall in the 5-5-2 in the MIAA. The Griffons are 8-3-7 overall and 5-3-4 in the MIAA.
The Bearcats went into halftime trailing 1-0 despite taking seven shots and seven corner kicks in the first half. Earlier, the Bearcats built pressure with a
Lillie Shaw shot in the eighth minute and four corners before the 19-minute mark, but Missouri Western broke through at 19:59 on Kendall Knisley's goal after
Taryn Lewis had made a save moments earlier. Northwest answered with more chances, including a
Ximena Arnau shot saved by Morgan Byrd, a
Lydia McVey attempt off the woodwork and two more Arnau shots before the 30-minute mark. Shaw put another shot on frame in the 38th minute, but Byrd saved it, and the Bearcats finished the half down 1-0.
Northwest kept the match at 0-1 deep into the second half, but Missouri Western added goals at 79:38 and 86:14 to close out a 3-0 result. Earlier,
Mallory Arehart put a shot wide left at 48:29, and the Bearcats earned corner kicks at 53:15 and 57:27 during a stretch that also included five combined fouls.
Rachel Davis and
Norah Oyler added second-half attempts before Missouri Western's Kinsey Dufour scored off a Kiara Carr assist to make it 2-0.
Mackenzie Jordan forced a save from Morgan Byrd at 83:36, but Emily Sewell scored off a Darien Cox assist less than three minutes later, and Lewis added a late save in the closing minute.
Arnau recorded three shots and put one on goal. Shaw matched the team high with three shots, including one on frame. Lewis played all 90 minutes in goal and finished with two saves.
The Bearcats have qualified for the MIAA Tournament and will play Sunday at a time and site to be determined later tonight when the league unveils the 2026 MIAA Tournament bracket.
