Women's Soccer 11/16/2019 1:00:00 PM Chris Brannick

Central To Meet Northeastern In MIAA Championship

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The University of Central Oklahoma soccer team is set to play for the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Postseason Championship Sunday with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Northeastern State.

The Bronchos are the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. NSU is the two-seed. Central got to the finals by beating Fort Hays State in Edmond last Friday and then knocked off top-seeded Central Missouri in the semifinals on Friday night. Northeastern beat Newman in the quarterfinals before advancing to Sunday's championship with a penalty shootout victory over Emporia State.

UCO has played Northeastern State twice this season, beating the Riverhawks 2-1 in Tahlequah back on Sept. 20. That game was a non-conference matchup. UCO then hosted NSU nine days later in Edmond and won 3-1 in what counted toward the MIAA standings.

Central Oklahoma has one of the best offenses in the country, scoring three goals per game this season. It's the best offense in the MIAA and the Bronchos's goals, assists, and total points all rank among the top-10 in the nation.

Kelsie Eason's 17 goals leads the way, and the junior All-American adds eight assists. Asha Haile has scored 12 goals and has a team-high 11 assists. Haley Post also has eight goals and six assists, while Taryn Kedzior has five goals and four assists.

Kedzior's fourth assist of the season lifted the Bronchos over Central Missouri in the semifinals Friday night.

As good as Central's offense is, the Broncho defense is rising to the same level. UCO has posted seven shutouts this season, including each of the last four games and five of the last six games. The Bronchos have only allowed one goal during its current six-game win streak.

Kaitlyn Asher has played all 90 minutes in goal for each of the past four consecutive shutouts. She has all seven shutouts to her credit this season. Asher has made 49 saves in over 1,500 minutes of play. She has a 0.71 goals against average too after the All-MIAA selection's recent dominating stretch.

UCO has played Northeastern State more times than any other opponent. The Bronchos own a 22-6-2 advantage in the all-time series.

Central Oklahoma won the 2018 MIAA Championship after beating Central Missouri 6-1 in Edmond last fall. The winner of Sunday's final between UCO and Northeastern will receive an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament, scheduled to begin next weekend.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Kaitlyn Asher: GK; 5' 7"; Junior

#10 Kelsie Eason: MF; 5' 6"; Junior

#19 Asha Haile: F; 5' 4"; Senior

#14 Taryn Kedzior: D; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#13 Haley Post: F; 5' 5"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#1 Kaitlyn Asher
: 5' 7"; Junior
: GK

#10 Kelsie Eason
: 5' 6"; Junior
: MF

#19 Asha Haile
: 5' 4"; Senior
: F

#14 Taryn Kedzior
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: D

#13 Haley Post
: 5' 5"; Senior
: F