Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports

Although the women's soccer season is over, the team accomplished two of its preseason goals - win the MIAA conference and make the playoffs.

Beating the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the first time in the postseason Friday was just icing on the cake.

"The MIAA race was pretty close down the stretch," head coach Mike Cannon said. "[UNO] kind of faltered a bit allowing us to win the conference. This match certified that we were the MIAA champs. Losing to them in the playoffs wouldn't have taken away our title, but it could have brought up doubts about us winning the conference."

The Bulldogs, who finished the season 15-4-3, defeated UNO 1-0 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to No. 13 West Texas A&M 1-0 in the second round Sunday.

UNO had previously dominated the Bulldogs in the playoffs, outscoring them 11-2 in four previous wins.

Truman improved to 6-12 all-time against UNO. The team has four wins in its last seven matches against its biggest rival. UNO is the only MIAA team the Bulldogs have an overall losing record against. Since UNO joined the MIAA in 2008, the Bulldogs are 3-2 against the Mavericks.

Senior forward Riley Mahn scored her sixth goal of the season in the 68th minute to give the Bulldogs the victory. Senior midfielder Kristin Haluszczak had an assist on the play.

"We came out really hard to begin with, and that really helped us," Mahn said. "We played really well and it was a hard-fought game. It felt really good to beat UNO in the postseason. Any time we play UNO, it feels like you're playing for all the alumni that have been part of that rivalry."

The West Texas defense, along with some wind, forced Truman to play out of its comfort zone. The match was even throughout, however. West Texas took four more shots than the Bulldogs in the second half. Cannon said the Bulldogs couldn't put anything together offensively.

"It was another tight game," Cannon said. "The weather conditions were difficult for both teams. Since we are such a possession team, the weather made it more difficult to keep the ball. The ball was flying around everywhere because of the wind and it didn't stay inbounds."

After West Texas scored its goal early in the second half, the Buffs changed up their defensive strategy. They normally play a 4-3-3, but with the lead, the Buffs fell back into a 4-5-1, a defense designed to guard the goal more.

Continued...

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