ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- Missouri Western controlled most of the possession through the opening 60 minutes on Friday night and survived a frantic push over the final 30 from Newman to pick up a 2-1 win over the Jets and climb into a tie for third-place in the MIAA standings.
Eszter Toth opened the scoring for the Griffons in the 23rd minute, combining with Kaili Campbell for a nifty give-and-go that left the senior wide open in the middle of the park for an easy goal.
Lauren Street doubled Missouri Western's lead in the 58th, as Tina Palmieri sent a cross in from the left wing that Street buried in the back of the net.
One of the oldest cliches in soccer is that 2-0 is the most dangerous lead that a team can have, and Newman fulfilled the cliche with a bit of good fortune in the 67th minute. Madison Shay rocketed a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that was blocked by the Griffon's backline, but Makenzie Shay was in the perfect place and she one-timed a shot into the left side netting.
Inspired by the goal, Newman stepped up the pressure and came dangerously close to equalizing in the 81st minute, again off the foot of Madison Shay. The Newman midfielder rocketed a shot that was headed to the upper corner of the net, but Anna Mayer was able to turn the shot away, leaping across the goalmouth and soaring to push the ball wide.
The save seemed to reset Missouri Western's momentum as the Griffons were able to close out the match and move to 9-4-2 (6-2-0 MIAA) on the year, sitting level with Central Oklahoma on 18 points.
The Griffons return to Spratt Stadium on Sunday, hosting the Bronchos in a 1 p.m. kickoff with looming seeding implications.