THURSDAY'S SCORE
Murray State 2, @Morehead State 0
@Tennessee Tech 2, Austin Peay 1 (OT)
MURRAY STATE 2, MOREHEAD STATE 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - In a battle for first place in the OVC, the Eagles fell 2-0 to the Racers at Jayne Stadium on Thursday night.
An early goal from Racers' sophomore forward Harriet Withers in the ninth minute was the difference in the match. Withers broke free on a lead pass from senior midfielder Taylor Stevens, swinging by the Eagles' senior goalkeeper Kaitlynn Murphy, playing high in the box for the go-ahead score, making it 1-0.
The Racers added their second goal in the closing minutes of the match. After forcing a turnover at midfield, they worked the ball into the box where senior midfielder Marissa Burroughs found a cutting Stevens, who knocked it in to make the score 2-0.
The Eagles controlled the tempo throughout the evening, as they played a fast paced offense and worked to get the Racers off balance. The Eagles outshot the Racers, 12-9, and led the way in corner kicks, 5-2.
Freshman forward Dani Wilson worked for chances, accumulating two shots on goal, and three shots overall. Six other Eagles added shots, forcing the Racers' defense to make plays as freshman goalkeeper Alex Steigerwald had five saves.
TENNESSEE TECH 2, AUSTIN PEAY 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second consecutive match, a long-range free kick in double overtime downed Austin Peay State University women’s soccer team, losing 2-1 to Tennessee Tech, Thursday.
In the 101st minute, the Golden Eagles (7-5-3, 5-1-0 OVC) drew a foul on the far left wing. Karigan Owens stepped up to take it, and instead of sending in a cross, she powered a shot from 35 yards out which found a home just below the crossbar.
The Lady Govs (6-8-0, 2-4-0 OVC) outshot the home team in each of the two regulation periods, but TTU controlled the pace in overtime to eventually hold a 16-14 advantage.
Similar to previous contests, the opposing team came out aggressively against the Lady Govs, who lead the conference in goals. After Tennessee Tech forced sophomore Lindsey Todd to make a save in the opening two minutes, the Golden Eagles scored after earning a corner kick. In the third minute, Abi Gearing capitalized on a rebounded shot to pull ahead 1-0.
But Austin Peay had an answer. Less than a minute later, sophomore Brooke Nigrin made a run down the left side, and delivered a ball to junior Gina Fabbro inside the box. A quick move forced the keeper to open up, and Fabbro tapped a shot between the legs for her career-high eighth goal this season.
With the scored tied 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, the Lady Govs entered overtime for the fourth time in 2015. Despite not attempting a shot in the first stanza, APSU nearly scored the game-winner in the 98th minute.
Junior Nicole Wojcik made a solo run towards the box, and snuck a low through ball to freshman McKenzie Dixon. However, the flag on the far side went up for offsides just as Dixon’s shot entered the net.
Dixon finished with a team-high four shots, while Fabbro and senior Shelby Olszewski each had two. Todd took the loss in net for APSU, while TTU’s Kari Naerdemann earned the win.