'Roos Set to Begin WAC Play
9/19/2013 1:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer
NEW MEXICO STATE AGGIES (3-4-1) at KANSAS CITY 'ROOS (3-4-1)
Date / Time: Sept. 20, 2013 - 7:00p.m.
Site: Kansas City, Mo. / Durwood Stadium
Webcast: UMKCKangaroos.com
Live Stats: UMKCKangaroos.com
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos
Series: First meeting.
Cissell vs. Opponent: 0-0
Buck Night: Friday is Buck Night at Durwood Stadium. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase water, chips, candy, hot dogs, cookies, salted nuts, trail mix and Vick's Bagged Popcorn for $1. Gatorade, soft drinks and nachos will be available for $2.
The Games
The 'Roos will play host to New Mexico State on Friday in what will serve as the first Western Athletic Conference game in program history.
Two days later, the Aggies (3-4-1) will host Kansas City (3-4-1) in Las Cruces, N.M., in the back end of a unique home-and-home series.
The Coaches
In his third year at helm, head coach Chris Cissell is looking to bounce back from a 6-9-4 campaign in 2012. In two seasons, Cissell compiled a record of 14-17-8; marked success for a program that managed just two victories in its first two seasons.
Cissell, who spent a combined 20 seasons at William Jewell as the head coach for the men's and women's soccer programs, compiled a successful record of 282-106-22.
Blair Quinn began his third season as the New Mexico State soccer head coach in 2013. He compiled an overall record of 12-22-6 in his first two seasons with the Aggies.
Quinn became the second head coach in Aggie school history when he was hired April 13, 2011. He spent the previous four seasons as an assistant coach at Arizona State. He helped guide the Sun Devils to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010 for only the second time in school history.
The Series
The 'Roos and Aggies will face off for the first time on Friday.
Scouting the Competition
In 2012, the Aggies posted a 2-14-3 record after a challenging offensive campaign. The Aggies played in seven overtime matches in the 2012 season and recorded four shutouts.
New Mexico State rebounded off of an early three game losing streak to begin 2013 by earning points in its last two matches -- a 0-0 tie vs. Northern Colorado and a 1-0 victory over Wyoming.
The Aggies are paced by forwards Mary Kate Koziol and Layla Todd, each of whom have accounted for a pair of goals through the team's first eight games.
New Mexico State tied the 'Roos with the WAC's best non-conference record, winning three of its first eight matches and earning one tie.
Bidding for 300
UMKC head coach Chris Cissell will once again bid for career win No. 300 when his 'Roos take the field at Durwood Stadium on Friday.
The William Jewell product is 17-21-9 at Kansas City, transfusing life into a program that struggled tremendously in its first two seasons.
In only his first season, Cissell led UMKC to its best finish at 8-8-4 (6-2-1 SL), including a six-game winning streak, Summit League Tournament berth and a league coach of the year honor.
Meanwhile, in his second season, Cissell led the Kangaroos to a 6-9-4 overall record in 2012, including a 3-4-1 finish in Summit League play. At season's end, defender Sarah Todd garnered Second Team All-Summit League honors, while midfielder Hunter Wagoner received All-Summit League Freshmen Team recognition. In the classroom, 13 student-athletes were named to The Summit League's Commissioners List of Academic Excellence.
Before coming to UMKC, Cissell spent a combined 20 seasons at William Jewell as the head coach for the men's and women 's soccer programs, he also served as the director of the soccer programs for the past 11 seasons.
While at William Jewell, Cissell compiled a 282-106-22 overall record in his 20 seasons as head coach. In that time, he has achieved top-10 national rankings with both the men's and women's soccer programs and compiled three Final Four appearances, two with the men and one with the women. Cissell has had eight squads make NAIA National Tournament appearances.
Cissell was named the NSCAA/adidas NAIA Men's National Coach of the Year in 2006 and was a 2010 National Coach of the Year finalist. He has coached 37 all-Americans and mentored 45 Academic all-Americans.
Up Next
In a unique scheduling quirk, Kansas City will head to Las Cruces, N.M. on Sunday for a quick rematch with the Aggies, before diving into the remainder of the WAC slate.
The Aggies (3-4-1) are led by senior goalkeeper Jessica Schutter. Schutter pitched a pair of shutouts over the final non-conference weekend of the season, refusing to relinquish a goal over the course of 200 minutes of action.
Schutter has three shutouts this season and six in her career, which ties her for first on NM State's career shutout list.
The visit to New Mexico is the first of a sustained western road swing that will see the 'Roos play six of its next seven contests away from Kansas City, before returning to Durwood Stadium for the final four games of the regular season.
Following the series versus the Aggies, the first order of business for Cissell's bunch will be uncharted territory, with trips to Seattle and Idaho on tap.
The Redhawks (2-2-2) were selected by WAC coaches to win the league in 2013.
