The Emporia State women’s soccer team tied for the third straight match Sunday against Truman State University, 1-1. The Hornets scored early in the first half, and TSU was not able to respond until very late in the second half.

“We’re continuing to battle and put ourselves into good positions to win,” said head coach Jim Schneiderhahn. “That’s what we have to take away from every game.”

The Hornets were able to play tough defense lead by freshman goal keeper Natalie Hoernig with four saves and sophomore goal keeper Nikki Schmitz with six saves. The two only allowed one goal of the 30 shots attempted by TSU.

Junior midfielder Jessica Decker scored the Hornets only goal in the 24^th minute, taking the lead relatively early in the game.

“It was my first goal of the season, it felt amazing.” Decker said.

In the second half the Hornets intensity died down between the two teams, and in the 87^th minute TSU scored their first goal, tying the match and sending it into overtime.

“In soccer you can’t go all out (for) 90 minutes,” Schneiderhahn said. “There is a rhythm of play. When the opportunity is on, you need to push the issue, when it’s not you need to hold back.”

In the first overtime both teams were working off responding to the goal by TSU, but neither team scored.

“We tried to hold them at the one goal (lead) but it didn’t work out,” Decker said. “We had a lot of offensive opportunities. We need to work on finishing games.”

Coach Schneiderhahn agreed.

“Sometimes we play too pretty soccer, and sometimes we have to win ugly. Luck favors the bold, and we’re learning to be that way,” Schneiderhahn said.

The second overtime brought about renewed intensity between the Hornets and TSU as they strived for the upper hand. In the overtime neither team was able to put the necessary goal in.

“We got very lucky (with the last shot),” Schmitz said. “A tie is not a win, we’re still not satisfied with that.”

With the Hornets tie match their record is now 1-8-4 for the season and 1-7-3 in the MIAA.

“There is something to be said that we didn’t play very well and Truman is a good team.” Schneiderhahn said. “We just ended their season as far as conference title goes.

The Hornets next home appearance will be Thursday, October 28^th against rival Washburn University at 4 p.m.

Chris Dvorak

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Midfielder/Forward Lauren Cathey looks to pass Sunday afternoon on the ESU Pitch. The Hornets fell to the Mavericks 1-4. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

The Emporia State University Hornets soccer team fell short to the University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks by 4-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Hornets had seven shots on goal for the day, while holding the Mavericks to only 12.

Freshman midfielder/defender Ashley Hill scored the lone goal for the Hornets from a pass from senior forward Tina Commons during the 44^th minute of the match. The goal was Hill’s fourth of the season, while Commons added her first assist.

The Hornets had a total of nine shots on the day, seven on goal. Commons led the way for the Hornets on the day with three shots, followed closely by senior forward/midfielder Amanda Miano with two. Hill, senior goal keeper Katrina Goscha, senior midfielder/forward Raquel White, and sophomore midfielder/forward Sarah Anderson all had one shot.

Freshman goal keeper Nikki Schmitz had a total of eight saves on the day, allowing four goals.

Although the team fell short on the afternoon, they looked much more physical than in previous outings.

“Our defense especially has been working on being more physical, but as a team in general we’re trying to be more physical,” Commons said. “Sometimes we do get pushed around, and we can’t take that. We’re in college soccer and we can’t get bullied around.”

Injuries also seem to plague the Hornets this year, with three starters already out, and a fourth going down right before the game. Head Coach Jim Schneiderhahn doesn’t seem to be worried about playing his reserve players.

“Hard work is not an option,” Schneiderhahn said. “Regardless, if we had two subs on the sideline or 20, you ask any coach, hard work is not an option – it’s a requirement.”

Forward Amanda Penney works to shoot past a defender Sunday afternoon on the ESU Pitch. The Hornets fell to the Mavericks 1-4. Kellen Jenkins/The Bulletin.

The Hornets were playing the ball and playing defensively stronger than they had in past games.

“It’s our own field, so we have our own little mentality of how the ball is going to be played, and where it’s going to be played,” Commons said. “Especially with your own team, you can see and feel where it’s going to be played at.”

The Hornets still are optimistic about the upcoming games.

“We have to keep working hard, keep our heads up,” Hill said.

“They say losing is character building, we’ve got a lot of character over the past two years,” Schneiderhahn said. “I think losing is certainly a harsher critic, where your mistakes are exposed. I think in the euphoria of wins, you have a tendency to overlook your mistakes or discount them a little bit. We continue to look at film, make adjustments and get better. We still need some other players to give us a hand. The biggest thing I take from it; I like the way that we’re battling. As I told the girls after the game, I have no qualms with the effort in the past matches. I have no disappointment and I’m not ticked off with the lack of effort. It’s nice to see, because sometime we haven’t had that.”

The Hornets will be back in action at 2 p.m. Oct. 22 at the ESU pitch against the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats.

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