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Missouri Western State University

Missouri Western Athletics
 4525 Downs Dr St Joseph, MO 64507
Division 2 Missouri Midwest
Public Medium Developing team
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Coaches

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Jessica Berg

Berg came to MWSU after wrapping up her playing career at Regis University in Denver. She earned First Team All-America, All-Region and All-Conference honors as a senior and was named the 2021 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year. Berg scored 33 goals, had five assists, 62 ground balls, 116 draw controls and 50 caused turnovers as she helped the Rangers to a 14-2 record, an RMAC championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. She was also named the RMAC All-Academic Player of the Year.


Berg, a Colorado Springs native, spent three seasons at Regis and started 34 of the 37 games she played in. She finished with 59 goals, 11 assists, 139 ground balls, 96 caused turnovers and 172 draw controls. Berg helped the Rangers to a 36-5 record over those three seasons that included a shortened 2020 campaign due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Regis won two RMAC titles during her career as they went 17-0 in league games and made two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a national semifinal appearance in 2019.


Prior to playing at Regis, Berg spent three seasons (2016-2018) playing club lacrosse at Colorado State University. She was named a WCLA First Team All-American all three seasons, WCLA Midfielder of the Year in 2017 and made a WCLA national semifinal appearance in 2016.


Berg began her collegiate career playing field hockey at Syracuse University. She played one season for the Orange, appeared in seven games and helped Syracuse to the 2014 national championship game.


The interim tag was taken off of Berg after she led Missouri Western to an 8-9 overall record and a 2-5 mark in the GLVC in 2022.


On March 28 the program had its first-ever Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Offensive Player of the Week Mikaela Ness. The then-freshman midfielder for Griffon Lacrosse was the first player in the team's short history to receive this honor. In a recent game against Davis & Elkins on March 25, Ness scored five goals on her birthday, which is the most in a game by any MWSU player that season. Her outstanding performance helped Griffon Lacrosse win their fifth consecutive game, completing a sweep of their spring break schedule.


In their 3-0 road win swing, she tallied nine points with eight goals and one assist. Her shots-on-goal percentage was posted at .727 (8-of-11). Against regional team Davis & Elkins, she scored five goals and contributed seven draw controls, four ground balls and three caused turnovers.


In 2023, Berg led her team to their first-ever appearance in the postseason conference tournament with a program-best 9-8 overall record and a 3-3 record in the GLVC.


Junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Porter received two Defensive Player of the Week awards during the regular season - a first for the program. For the first award, the team suffered an 11-7 loss to the eighth-ranked Regis team on March 2nd but bounced back with an 11-5 win against Colorado-Colorado Springs on March 5th. Porter's outstanding performances in both games, with 22 saves and a .579 save percentage, earned her the award. Notably, she made a game and season-high 16 saves out of 30 shots against Regis, achieving an outstanding .593 save percentage. The team also set a single-game program record with 12 ground balls against Regis, showcasing their defensive efforts throughout the week.


In the first week of April, the team won a 13-9 victory against Concordia-St. Paul on March 31st and an 11-6 win against Quincy on April 1st. Porter's 17 saves in both games, with a .567 save percentage, helped secure both wins despite facing 38 shots from the opposing teams. The team also excelled in ground ball control, with ten ground balls and a caused turnover in these matches.


As a result of her exceptional skills, Porter was nominated by her team for the Athletic Department's Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Golden Griffons Award Ceremony.

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Ariannah Ritter

In 2023, Ariannah Ritter joined Missouri Western Lacrosse assisting Berg in leading their team to their first-ever postseason conference tournament appearance with a program-best record of 9-8 overall and 3-3 in the GLVC.


During the regular season, junior goalkeeper Mackenzie Porter received two Defensive Player of the Week awards, a first for the program. Despite losing 11-7 to the eighth-ranked Regis team on March 2nd, Porter's outstanding performances with 22 saves and a .579 save percentage earned her the award. In the following game against Colorado-Colorado Springs, Porter made a game and season-high 16 saves out of 30 shots against Regis, achieving an outstanding .593 save percentage. The team set a single-game program record with 12 ground balls against Regis, showcasing their defensive efforts throughout the week.


In the first week of April, the team won a 13-9 victory against Concordia-St. Paul on March 31st and an 11-6 win against Quincy on April 1st. Porter's 17 saves in both games, with a .567 save percentage, helped secure both wins despite facing 38 shots from the opposing teams. As a result of her exceptional skills, Porter was nominated for the Athletic Department's Female Student-Athlete of the Year at the 2023 Golden Griffons Award Ceremony.


From Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. She earned her master's degree in sports management and served as the women's lacrosse team's graduate assistant at Lincoln Memorial College. Ritter also spent time at Hiram College in Northeast Ohio, where she served as an assistant and interim head coach for men's lacrosse from 2019-2020. After graduating with her bachelor's from Division III Carroll University in 2019, Ritter earned four letters in lacrosse during her time with the Pioneers. As a midfielder, she achieved 100 career goals and 100 career points, a first for both the men's and women's lacrosse programs. Ritter was also the team's offensive player of the year in 2017.

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