FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 2, Eastern Illinois 1 (OT)
Southeast Missouri 2, @Tennessee Tech 0
UT Martin 4, @Belmont 2
SIUE 2, @Jacksonville State 1
Murray State 3, @Austin Peay 2
EASTERN KENTUCKY 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
RICHMOND, Ky. -– Logan Harvey picked a dramatic moment to score her first-career goal, as the freshman buried a shot into the back of the net seven minutes into sudden-death overtime to lift the Eastern Kentucky University soccer team over Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Illinois, 2-1, on Friday afternoon.
With the win, EKU improves to 4-13-1 (2-6-1 OVC) on the year.
Sophomore Cassie Smith put the Colonels up early with her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the ninth minute. Smith’s seven goals are tied for the most ever by a Colonel in a single season.
EKU had more opportunities to score in the first half, including a shot by Harvey that hit the post, but could not convert them and went into halftime with a tenuous 1-0 lead.
The Colonels held that lead for the first 36 minutes of the second half, until Megean Radloff – EIU’s top offensive threat – finally broke through with an equalizer in the 81st minute.
Seven minutes into the first overtime, however, Harvey bent her team-leading fifth shot of the day past EIU reserve goalkeeper Emily Wolf to secure the Homecoming Weekend win for the Colonels.
It was only EKU’s second overtime game of the season.
EKU outshot EIU, 17-13, on the day and 3-1 in the overtime period. Harvey, Smith, juniors Katie Bright and Mikala Ferguson and freshman Makenna Sullivan all put shots on frame during the win.
Junior Erika Wolfer started the game in goal for the Colonels and blanked the Panthers in the first half. Freshman Anna Hall took over in the second half and overtime to seal the win.
Ferguson and senior Paige Larkin played all 97 minutes of the win for EKU.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, TENNESSEE TECH 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (9-5-0, 6-2-0) won its fourth straight Ohio Valley Conference match on Friday with a 2-0 victory at Tennessee Tech (2-13-2, 0-6-2). The Redhawks took a season-high 26 shots on the afternoon while GK Kindra Lierz and the Southeast defense posted its seventh shutout of the season, not even allowing a single shot on goal.
Sophomore F Natasha Minor opened up the scoring with a goal in the 17th minute from the right side of the box. It was her fifth goal of the season, which ranks second on the team. Junior D Christina Rohde assisted on the score to earn her first point in a Redhawks uniform.
Senior F Breana Beine added her team-leading eighth goal of the season off of a corner kick in the 78th minute to clinch the win. Sophomore MF Jennifer Antonacci recorded her second assist in as many games on the final goal.
Southeast outshot the Golden Eagles 26-5, including a 9-0 advantage in shots on goal. Minor tied a career-high with six shots and four shots on goal. Beine added four shots while freshman F Sunni Kesenich contributed a career-best three shots. Antonacci, Jaramillo, sophomore MF Jenna Collingridge and senior F Kasey Crowden all registered two shots.
Five different Tech players recorded shots but the Redhawks defense prevented any legitimate scoring chances. Senior GK Rebecca Toler made seven saves in the contest.
MURRAY STATE 3, AUSTIN PEAY 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A furious late rally came up short Friday in Austin Peay State University's matchup with rival Murray State. The Lady Govs battled to the last second but came out on the wrong side of a 3-2 decision.
Austin Peay (4-11-1, 3-4-1 OVC) now needs results and a little help the rest of the way; with two matches remaining for each, the Lady Govs trail Morehead State by a point for the final spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Murray State moves to 10-7-0 (6-2-0 OVC).
The Lady Govs got going quick, with sophomore Gina Fabbro netting a fourth-minute tally. After making a solid defensive play on the ball to win possession, then carried it to just outside the 18-yard box, launching a low, bouncing shot that got under Shelby Haworth's hands for the opening salvo.
Murray State would answer later in the half. Winning a ball to the corner, Pavlina Nepokojova sent a short cross to Julie Mooney in the top left corner of the 18-yard box. Mooney, the OVC's leading scorer, aimed for the lower right corner and just slid the shot by junior Nikki Filippone to even the contest.
Filippone preserved the tie by clearing off a point-blank attempt from Harriet Withers in the 33rd minute, but Murray State would find the back of the net one more time in the first half. On a scramble following a corner kick and attempted clear, Destiny White bounced a pass off Taylor Richerson and past a diving Filippone to put the Racers ahead by one entering the break.
The Racers tacked on an insurance goal in the 63rd minute, with Nepokojova hitting a rocket that Filippone was able to get a hand on but couldn't keep out of the net. Filippone made two incredible saves from point-blank range later in the half off back-to-back attempts from Rebecca Bjorkvall and Mooney to keep the Lady Govs close.
Austin Peay wasn't done, however. With less than five minutes remaining, junior Courtney Sheppard slammed home a goal with an assist from freshman Sophia Fabbro to keep the Lady Govs alive. Unfortunately, time ran out as the comeback bid came up wanting.
Filippone made five saves before being giving way to freshman Lindsey Todd in the 68th minute; Todd made three saves in relief. Haworth made four saves for the Racers.
UT MARTIN 4, BELMONT 2
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A great second half rally fell just short for the Belmont women's soccer team (5-7-4, 2-4-2 OVC) on Friday night for its home finale. The Bruins were held off by visiting UT Martin (11-5-1, 5-2-1 OVC), 4-2.
After a tentative start for both teams to open the 13th matchup between the programs, Belmont seemed to settle into a strong grip on the pace of the contest. UT Martin began to surge midway through the half and saw its efforts pay off to the tune of a 2-0 advantage. An unfortunate bounce off a Bruin defender tallied the first goal for the Skyhawks and Rianna Jarrett drilled the first goal of her hat trick in the 24th minute. Even with the two goal deficit, the Bruins battled hard until the teams were sent into the locker rooms.
After the break, UT Martin pushed ahead and saw Jarrett net another goal in the 55th minute. However, instead of falling back, BU dug in its collective heels and put in serious work to wage a comeback. Around the 77th minute, the Bruin intensity rose to fever pitch, resulting a high bouncing goal by senior Allie Hicks (Carmel, Ind.). Energized by the goal, Belmont struck again in the 82nd minute with a header by senior Taylor Smith (Atlanta, Ga.) with help from freshman Belicia Mendiola (McKinney, Texas) and Hicks. With time ticking down quickly, the Bruins looked to find an equalizer goal and had several great chances down the stretch.
Unfortunately, the Skyhawks added one more goal, courtesy of Jarrett to put the match out of reach for BU in the waning minutes, going on to take the contest, 4-2.
Belmont held the advantage in shots, 19-10, and in corner kicks, 5-2.
Smith led the Bruins with six shots, three of which were on goal, followed by Hicks with a total of four, with three of them being on goal as well.
Between the posts, senior Megan Byrd (Gurnee, Ill.) and junior Lindsey Espe (LaCañada, Calif.) split time, combining for two saves.
SIUE 2, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - - Jacksonville State's four-match winning streak came to a halt on Friday as SIU Edwardsville edged out JSU, 2-1, in a battle for the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference soccer standings.
SIUE off to its best start since joining the league maintained the top spot in the OVC and improved to 7-1 against the league and notched its tenth win overall. Jax State dropped its first OVC home match of the season in the setback, falling to 5-3 in the OVC and 9-8 on the season. The Gamecocks will look to bounce back on Sunday as they host Southeast Missouri to close out the 2014 home schedule. JSU will honor its five seniors prior to the 1 p.m. match.
Both teams had an offensive mindset entering the contest as the two sides combined for 35 total shots. JSU out-shot the visiting Cougars 19-16 with the difference coming in the opening half. The Red and White were plus-three in shot attempts in the first 45 minutes. The Gamecocks could not catch a break throughout the contest with ample chances in front of the net, but SIUE's goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley, proved why she is one of the top keepers in the league with save after save. She finished with five in the contest.
SIUE registered the first goal of the match in the first ten minutes of the duel. Michelle Auer took a rebound off a blocked shot to send it in to the back of the net. The Cougars would nurse that one-goal advantage the rest of the first half.
After the first of two yellow cards issued to SIUE, the Cougars tallied the eventual game-winning goal from nearly 40 outs out and from the left side. Auer boomed a ball that sailed over JSU's Caroline Robinson's head for her second goal of the night.
Down 2-0, the Gamecocks continued to be on the attack and took advantage of a SIUE penalty inside the box for a penalty kick. Redshirt junior Courtney Hurt was credited with her tenth goal of the season. The Huntsville, Ala.-native became the first Gamecock since 1999 to reach double figures in goals in a single season. Former Gamecock Andrea Poole finished with ten goals that season.
The Gamecocks had one final run in them as senior Jackie Rush attempted her match-high fifth shot in the 82nd minute with a one-on-one attempt, but the kick sailed high. Senior Lindsey Jackson had four great looks throughout the night as well.