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'Roos head to Arkansas to meet UALR, UCA
9/5/2013 3:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer
KANSAS CITY 'ROOS (2-2) AT UALR (2-2)
Date / Time: Sept. 6, 2013 - 7:00p.m.
Site: Little Rock, Ark. / Coleman Sports & Rec.
Webcast: UALRTrojans.com (Subscription)
Live Stats: UALRTrojans.com (Free)
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos
Series: First meeting
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UCA BEARS (2-2) at KANSAS CITY 'ROOS (2-2)
Date / Time: Sept. 8, 2013 - 2:00 p.m.
Site: Conway, Ark. / Bill Stephens Soccer Complex
Webcast: n/a
Live Stats: UCAsports.com (Free)
Twitter: @TheUMKCRoos
Series: First meeting
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The GamesThe 'Roos will travel to Little Rock for a Friday night matchup with Sun Belt Conference foe UALR in what will be UMKC's first women's soccer appearance in the state of Arkansas. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. This will be the first meeting between the two teams.
Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., Kansas City will face-off with Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark., capping the weekend road trip to the Natural State. UCA, a Southland Conference member, will be playing host in the last of a three-game homestand.
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 has compiled a record of 14-17-5; 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 279-92-21.
In 2011, Cissell's first year at UMKC, he led the 'Roos to an 8-8-4 mark and appearance in the Summit League Championships. He was named the Summit League Coach of the Year.
UALR Director of Athletics Chris Peterson announced in December that Adrian Blewitt was the school's new head soccer coach.
In 15 years as a head coach, Blewitt has led his teams to appearances in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, six conference championships and has won four conference or region Coach of the Year honors. On three separate occasions, Blewitt's teams have finished the year ranked in the top ten nationally.
Blewitt has compiled a 167-66-12 overall record as a head men's and women's soccer coach at NCAA Division II schools Lees-McRae College and Lenoir-Rhyne University, including a 36-5-3 mark in his final two seasons as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne.
Jeremy Bishop returns for his third stint at Central Arkansas – this time as a head coach. After previous stays at UCA as graduate assistant and later an assistant coach, Bishop is back to lead the Bears for the first time – being named head coach of the women's program in 2012.
Bishop most recently served as the men's head coach for one season at Harding University, having taken that spot following a two-year stint as the women's assistant coach at UCA in 2009 and 2010.
Scouting the Competition
The Trojans limped to a 3-16 campaign in 2012, but have rebounded nicely to start 2013.
UALR opened with back-to-back victories versus Southern and UAPB, but have been unable to equal last season's win total since, dropping matches to Murray State and Austin Peay last weekend.
The Trojans are led by Kayla Turner and Paige Mason, who have combined for four goals in the team's first four games.
Central Arkansas won 10 games in 2012, but only a pair of them came in Southland Conference play, and the Bears failed to qualify for the postseason.
Former assistant Jeremy Bishop has since returned to assume control of the program, and the Bears are off to a 2-1 start in 2013, with victories over Mississippi Valley State and Lousiana Tech.
UCA lost a 3-2 decision to Arkansas State last week, and will play host to Missouri State on Friday.
Senior forward Adriana Lucar has led the way for the Bears thus far, scoring three goals and assisting on another.
Bump in the Road
After earning back-to-back wins to open the season, the 'Roos hit a little turbulence last weekend, losing a heart-breaker to Oral Roberts, and dropping a home matchup with Missouri.
Still, the quality of play remained high in both matches, as UMKC led ORU 2-1 late in Friday's game, and controlled the pace for much of Sunday's tilt with Mizzou before surrending a pair of late goals.
Up Next
Kansas City will return to the friendly confines of Durwood Stadium on Wednesday for a home match with Creighton scheduled for 7 p.m.
After facing the Jays, the 'Roos will have a week off before heading to Springfield, Mo., to meet Missouri State in what will be the team's final non-conference game of the season.
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Sunday, November 02