ROLLA, Mo. – For the first time since 2014, the Missouri S&T women's soccer team will take the field in the postseason Sunday when they head to Kirksville for the opening round of the 2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship against third seeded Truman State.
 
The Miners (8-5-3, 7-4-3) locked up the sixth seed for this year's edition of the event by virtue of a pair of 1-0 wins over the weekend over Illinois Springfield and Lewis to close out the regular season. Danielle Hopkins (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) was the hero Friday night in overtime, converting a free kick opportunity for the game winner in the 96th minute while on Sunday, the Miners were the beneficiaries of an own goal by the Flyers thanks to a relentless offensive push in the second half.
 
Sydney Gratz (Geneva, IL/Geneva) leads the Miners in goals and assists with six and four. She is the current league leader in shots with 65 and her 16 points are the sixth-most in the GLVC this season. She also ranks among the top ten in the conference in goals (t-7) and assists (t-7). Danielle Hopkins (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley), Lily Chung (Cottleville, MO/Francis Howell Central) and Paige VanDaele (Cottleville, MO/Francis Howell Central) all have three goals this season, while Melanie Kulig (Belleville, IL/Belleville West) is the only other Miner with multiple goals with two. Four other Miners, Ally Hasken (Freeport, IL/Freeport), Damita Mendoza (San Antonio, TX/Smithson Valley), Paige Jackson (St. Louis, MO/Incarnate Word Academy) and Lauren Bulcroft (Claremore, OK/Verdigris) have one goal each this season. Beth Roberts (Lake St. Louis, MO/Liberty) is second on the team in assists this season behind Gratz as five other players have one assists each.
 
In goal, Kristin Steins (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) is coming off her third GLVC Defensive Player of the Week Award this season following two more shutouts over the weekend to bring her season total to nine. The senior has made 65 saves this season in 1345:30 against 186 shots and has only allowed 13 goals, posting a 0.87 GAA. Viktoria Johnson (Granite City, IL/Granite City) has been the backup this season and logged seven saves against two shots this season. The duo has combined to post 11 shutouts this season, tying the program record for most shutouts in a season set back in 1997.
 
Truman State (10-3-3, 9-2-3) last lost on October 3 to McKendree and closed the month of October on a five-match winning streak that included three shutouts. Faith Branson leads the Bulldogs in scoring with six goals this season and is followed by Hanna Hickey with four goals. Douglass Chance has found the net three times while Olivia Morris and Johanna Wallstab have each scored twice this season. Four other players have one goal each for Truman State on the year. Douglass and Hickey are the top two distributors for the Bulldogs with five and four assists respectively. Branson, Izzy Heintz and Cassidy Gann all have two assists in the year while two other players have one each to make of the balance of 17 assists the Bulldogs' total.
 
Beth Hopwood is the primary keeper the Bulldogs and has been stellar in goal this season, posted 56 saves against 165 shots to record a 0.59 GAA in 1370:59 and seven solo shutouts this season. Tatumn Damron has been the backup this season and has fives saves to her credit.
 
The regular season meeting between the Miners and Bulldogs on September 19 in Rolla resulted in a scoreless draw in double overtime. Truman outshot S&T 19-12 in the game, including 7-4 in shots on goal. Steins tallied seven saves in the game while Gratz had nine shot attempts. On the other side, Hopwood recorded four saves and Sydni Beely led TSU with five shots.
 
The last time S&T made an appearance in the GLVC Tournament was in the 2014 season, when the Miners advanced all the way to the championship game with wins over former league member Bellarmine and Quincy before falling to another former league member Wisconsin-Parkside 4-1.