Jessica Berg | Head Coach

Jessica Berg heads into her second season as the head coach for the Griffons after leading Missouri Western to an 8-9 overall record and 2-5 GLVC mark as the interim coach in 2022.

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 birth 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.

Ariannah Ritter | Assistant Coach

Ritter comes by way of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and is fresh off of a two-year stint with Lincoln Memorial College where she served as the women's lacrosse team's graduate assistant. This is also where Ritter earned her master's degree in sports management.  

Graduating with her bachelor's from Division III Carroll University in 2019, Ritter earned four letters in lacrosse during her time with the Pioneers. One of Ritter's standout achievements as a midfielder includes her 100 career goals and 100 career points – a first for both the men's and women's lacrosse programs. Ritter also started in 67 games in her four years with the Pioneers and was the team's offensive player of the year in 2017.

Ritter also served as an assistant and interim head coach for men's lacrosse at Hiram College in Northeast Ohio from 2019-2020, crafting her coaching competence into a mold that Head Coach Jessica Berg sees as the right fit at Missouri Western.

"We are very excited to have Ariannah join the coaching staff," Coach Berg said. "She has experience both playing and coaching at competitive levels. She will be able to help give our offense more depth with her strong skill set and extensive lacrosse knowledge. I know Ariannah will be a great addition to the team and a great mentor for the players to learn from." 

Coach Ritter joins a defensive-oriented squad who the led the entire Division II nation in caused turnovers per game with 13.94. With the Griffons making strides in just their second season, Coach Ritter looks forward to helping the team seek more success in year three.

"I am very thankful and excited to join the Griffon Family and I look forward to helping Coach Berg continue to develop this program," Coach Ritter said. "This young team has seen a lot of success in its first two seasons and I look forward to continuing to build upon its foundation of extremely talented student-athletes and competing for a championship title."

THE RITTER RESUME

Women's Lacrosse Graduate Assistant Coach at Lincoln Memorial College (DII): 2020-2022

• Helped guide the Railsplitters to a 12-7 campaign in 2022
• Coached three All-SAC players

• 67 games started, 67 games played
• 116 career goals, 128 points scored (12 assists)
  • First player in either men's or women's program to break 100 in each category
• 2017 Team Offensive Player of the Year
• Shot a career 74.6% in shots on goal