CHAMPIONSHIP SCORE
#2 SIUE 2, #4 Southeast Missouri 1 (OT)
SIUE 2, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1 (OT)
MURRAY, Ky. - SIUE defeated Southeast Missouri, 2-1, in overtime to win the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Soccer Championship. With the win the Cougars earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
SIUE's Kayla Klipsch scored the game-winning goal off a penalty kick in the first overtime. Maria Haro scored the first goal for the Coguars.
Lauren Welker recorded the lone Redhawk goal.
It give the Cougars their first Ohio Valley Conference championship since 2016 and third OVC title in program history.
After surrendering the opening goal to Southeast Missouri in the 52nd minute, it took just 17 minutes for the Cougars to respond, as Maria Haro netted an unassisted goal in the 69th minute to tie the contest at one goal each. That scoreline would hold through the full 90 minutes of regulation, meaning SIUE would play extra time in the OVC Championship for the second consecutive season.
Haro and MacKenzie Litzsinger led the Red & White with six shots each, with Haro putting four of those shots on target. The Cougars as a team recorded 25 total shots, good for the second-most shots of the Spring 2021 season. The SIUE backline held the fourth-seeded Redhawks to just three shots on goal.
The Cougars will not have to wait long to find out their First Round opponent, as the NCAA selection show is scheduled for Monday, April 19. The entirety of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament will be held in various locations in the state of North Carolina.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Rebecca Kubin, Murray State
Symone Cooper, Murray State
Jill Hildreth, UT Martin
Catey Hunt, UT Martin
Lauren Welker, Southeast Missouri
Emma Brune, Southeast Missouri
Morgan McCourt, Southeast Missouri
Lily Schnieders, SIUE
Taylor Spiller, SIUE
Miyah Diekema, SIUE
Maria Haro, SIUE (MVP)