Junior guard Chris Sights dribbles down the court during the game against Northwest Missouri State at White Auditorium. The Hornets fell to the Bearcats 45-71 on Sunday. Audrey Millard/The Bulletin

The Emporia State Hornets squared off against the Northwest Bearcats for their 57th time at William L. White Auditorium on Sunday. In a disappointing performance, the Hornets lost to the visiting Bearcats, 71-45.

“Shots did not fall,” said Head Coach Shaun Vandiver. “We need to put this back in the rear view, and get ready for Missouri Western. We need to get in the gym, get some shots up and get our confidence back.”

The Hornets failed to make a field goal for the first four minutes of the game until a two pointer from senior guard Tola Lawal, who ended the game scoring 12 points, the only Hornet to score in double figures. Junior guard Chris Sights followed with two of his own, tying the game.

Emporia fell short early as they could not get defensive stops against the Bearcat offense, giving up many offensive rebounds and second chance points. There was miscommunication on the offensive side for the Hornets as they struggled to capitalize on their offensive possessions.

“We could not hit our shots. Everything counts in the first half,” Lawal said. “We just have to bounce back and work hard.”

Lawal and Sights continued to put points on the board for the Hornets. With a low scoring first half, the Hornets trailed going into the locker room, 27-14.

Junior guard Taylor Euler swished a three pointer to start off the second half. The Hornets struggled to stop Bearcat penetration in the lane. Euler drained another three to pull Emporia within 10 points, 22-32, with 15:15 left in the game.

“We did not come ready to play,” Euler said. “They beat us in every aspect of the game tonight.”

Emporia called a timeout at 7:18, being down to Northwest Missouri 30-53. Lawal drove to the lane multiple times, getting many repetitions at the free throw line. Emporia struggled offensively on getting shots to fall as they fell short to the Bearcats and finished the game with 26.1 percent from the field, the worst of the season.

“We just have to go back to working hard,” Euler said. “We need to be locked in and focused every time we take the floor.”

Chelsie Slaughter

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Freshman forward Jordan Foutch uses her head during Saturday’s game against Missouri Western. The Hornets lost to the Griffons, 2-1. Chris Franklin/The Bulletin

The Hornet soccer team was pitted against the Griffons of Missouri Western this Sunday in what was the first MIAA Conference game of the year for both teams.

It was the Griffons who scored the first two goals of the game. Emporia State was unable to fully come back and fell 2-1.

“It hurts going down… two (goals) early, but we fought and got one back at the end of the first half,” said sophomore midfielder Hannah Carlson. “Unfortunately it came down to the last minute, and we were still trying to get another one. So it does get kind of crazy in there, but that’s the kind of urgency and effort we need to see throughout the whole game really.”

The first half saw all of the scoring action as Griffon midfielder Katie Kempf scored the first goal in the 28th minute. Mallory Walden had an opportunity to tie the game up, but her chip shot was high off the mark. The Griffon’s added to their lead when forward Ashley Juravich scored on a pass across the center by Kempf.

“The first was really unfortunate,” said head coach Bryan Sailer. “It was an unfortunate lucky goal. The second one was really our center back stepping back and they split in behind, and they had a good finish on that one. We had better chances than them, we just didn’t score.”

Much like their last home game, ESU responded well to an early deficit. Two minutes after the Griffons scored their second goal, midfielder Hannah Carlson answered with a goal of her own. The shot came off a foul restart that occurred just outside the goal box in the 45th minute.

“I’ve been hitting the wall usually on those situations, so I just focused and tried to find the net,” Carlson said.

The Hornets kept the pressure on in the second half, outshooting the Griffons 9-4. Despite the effort, they were unable to find the equalizer. The best opportunity of the game came in the final six minutes of play when Ashley Hill broke away from her defender but was unable to get it the shot by the outstretched arms of Griffon goalkeeper Kelly Voigts.

Carlson had an opportunity to repeat her first half feat in the final minute of play. On another foul restart just outside the box, Carlson was given the go-ahead for the tying goal but missed wide right. Despite the losing effort, Carlson still sees improvement.

“We’ve improved tremendously, and the effort is at such a higher level this year,” Carlson said.  “We’ve been consistent throughout the season with the effort, and I truly believe that we’re going to start putting them in and winning some games because it’s right there and we have our opportunities. We just have to capitalize on them.”

The Hornets will look to gear up this week for the first Turnpike Tussle of the season against Washburn. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the ESU Pitch.

Brandon Schneeberger

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Hornet football team hosts Missouri Western for Homecoming

The Emporia State football team will play host to the Missouri Western Griffons for the Homecoming game at 1 p.m. Oct. 31 at Welch Stadium in Emporia. The Hornets look to capitalize on their overtime win over Truman State a week ago, 30-24, against the Griffons, who are currently #3 in the MIAA. The football team is currently 2-7, 1-6 in MIAA play.

The Bulletin

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