FRIDAY'S SCORES
UIC 2,
@Morehead State 1
No. 12 West Virginia 2,
SIUE 0
@Western Carolina 3,
Eastern Kentucky 0
Southeast Missouri 2, @Missouir S&T 0
@Western Kentucky 3,
UT Martin 1
Eastern Illinois 0, @IUPUI 0
Little Rock 2,
@Tennessee Tech 1
Ball State 4,
@Jacksonville State 0
UAB 4,
Austin Peay 3 (OT)
UIC 2, MOREHEAD STATE 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State soccer team was defeated 2-1 by Illinois-Chicago in the 2015 season opener Friday at Jayne Stadium.
A fast-paced first half set the tone, as UIC scored two quick goals. The first score came off a rebounded penalty kick by Jasmin Carrera in the seventh minute after a save by MSU senior goalkeeper Kaitlynn Murphy.
The second goal came shortly after in the 23rd minute by Olivia Everin with Carrera dishing out the assist. The Eagle offense answered in the 34th minute with a header by junior midfielder Tonia Parisi via freshman midfielder Loren Zimmerman's first career assist on a throw-in from the near sideline.
The second half played more to a defensive matchup as both teams kept the other scoreless. MSU finished the evening with eight shots. Five of those were shots on goal.
MSU will have a short time frame to bounce back as it will host Wright State at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
No. 12 WEST VIRGINIA 2, SIUE 0
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - In their season opener, SIUE women's soccer fell to a 2-0 defeat to No. 12 West Virginia in the first game of Indiana's Hoosier Classic.
The Cougars were able to hold the Mountaineers scoreless until the 20th minute, when Nia Gordon recorded her first goal of the season against the SIUE defense.
West Virginia struck again in the 45th minute with a goal from Hannah Abraham.
SIUE closed the half trailing 2-0 with one shot coming from defender Jorie Clawson.
The Cougars were able to shut out West Virginia in the second half, but could only record one shot from Katye Skrivan.
Cougar goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley ended the game with two saves.
The Cougars return to action Sunday in the second game of the Hoosier Classic. They will face host Indiana in a 3:30 p.m. CT match.
WESTERN CARLOLINA 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University soccer team dropped its season opener, 3-0, to host Western Carolina on Friday night at the Catamount Athletic Complex.
WCU, which outscored its opponents 6-0 in two exhibition wins this preseason, got on the board early when Kelly Pannell scored in the fifth minute off an assist from Chandler Arrowood.
EKU, however, settled in after the early score and held the Catamounts scoreless over the final 40 minutes of the first half. Senior Amani Thomas nearly tied it late in the first half when she beat WCU goalkeeper Carly Tintsman, but a Catamount defender caught her from behind and was able to clear the ball. Both teams attempted only three shots in the first 45 minutes of action.
Thomas nearly played a role in another equalizer early in the second half when she lofted a beautiful cross to junior Cassie Smith; however, a Western Carolina defender was again there to deflect Smith’s shot.
WCU was more aggressive in the attack in the second half, attempting 12 shots to EKU’s four. The aggression finally paid off in the 69th minute when Amanda Schwartz was fouled in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick to give the Catamounts some breathing room, 2-0.
Kasey Cooke added an insurance goal less than a minute later off an assist from Leland Haven.
Freshman Monica Rios paced the Colonels with two shots, one of which was on goal. Smith, senior Katie Bright, sophomore Jordan Foster and freshmen Bailly Bounds and Kacy Eckley also attempted shots in the loss.
Freshman Emily Beaver logged the most minutes of any Colonel, playing 88 minutes on the backline in her collegiate debut.
Senior Samm Melton went the distance in goal for the Colonels, making one save.
EKU returns to action on Sunday when the Colonels travel to UNC Asheville for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 0, IUPUI 0
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Eastern Illinois women’s soccer started their 2015 season on a positive note Friday night, playing to a 0-0 double-overtime draw at IUPUI. The Panthers saw favorable signs on both ends of the field as freshman goalkeeper; Maddie Lyon earned the first clean sheet of her career.
IUPUI tested the freshman keeper and the rest of the Panther defense early taking an 8-2 shot advantage in the first 15 minutes of the game. The game seemed to continue with IUPUI applying pressure on the Panthers back line until the 18th minute, when Hannah Miller laced a shot that had to be saved by the Jaguars goalie Catherine Schmidt.
EIU began to take control of the match in the final ten minutes of the first half. The Panthers saw shots from Carrie Caplin, Elisabeth Held, and Emily Wolf but were unable to put one past the IUPUI keeper.
Defense was the tale of the 2nd half as both offenses were held to eight shots combined.
The Panthers continued with their shut-down defense during the two overtime periods. Molly Hawkins gave EIU their best scoring chance in the first overtime by taking a shot within the first minute high of the crossbar. Moments later, a shot by the Jaguars Torri Minnich bounced off the post ending the game at a 0-0 draw.
Miller and Hawkins led the Panthers offense with five and three shots respectively. Lyon ended the game with nine saves.
The Eastern Illinois women’s soccer team is back in action this Sunday, at 1 p.m. when they host Northern Kentucky at Lakeside Field.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, MISSOURI S&T
ROLLA, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri women's soccer team opened the 2015 season Friday evening with a 2-0 victory on the road over Missouri S&T.
The Redhawks and Miners played to a scoreless draw in the first half. The Redhawks put up 10 shots in the half while the defense held the Miners to none. Four of Southeast's shots were on goal. Paige Blankenheim led Southeast with three shots in the opening half while Kaitlin Kuznacic and Natasha Minor each had two. Each team had a corner kick in the half.
Jennifer Antonacci put Southeast on the board and scored the first goal of the 2015 season in the 53rd minute of the match. Antonacci scored on a breakaway 2-1 from freshman Lauren Kaempfe and beat the keeper in the middle of the box to net the first goal. It was Antonacci's second career goal.
Minor widened the Redhawk lead to 2-0 in the 75th minute on a through ball from Kuznacic.
Southeast finished with 24 shots in the match, 13 of which were on goal. Minor put up seven shots, tying a career-high, and six shots on goal, a new career-high. Kuznacic and Blankenheim finished with four shots.
The Redhawks had five corner kicks in the match and nine fouls.
Southeast's defense held the Miners to only a single shot in the match. The Miners' lone shot belonged to Rachel O'Neal.
Southeast Missouri will open the home schedule Sunday at noon when they host Northern Iowa. Sunday's game will be the Annual Youth Soccer Day at Houck Stadium. All kids 14 and under wearing a youth soccer jersey will receive free admission to the game.
BALL STATE 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Ball State spoiled the 2015 season debut for the Jacksonville State soccer team with 4-0 win over the Gamecocks on Friday evening at the JSU Soccer Field.
It was the lid-lifter for both squads as the Cardinals were energized their first goal in the 34th minute and limited Jax State offensively in the contest. The Gamecocks turned in just three scoring chances, with two of the three coming in the second half. BSU posted 10 of its 18 shots in the first half and connected on the eventual game-winner just before the halftime break.
Kelcy Fiser netted a cross from Jenna Finke to the left back post for the goal and propelled the Cardinals to add three more goals in the final 45 minutes.
It didn't take BSU long to extend the lead as Gabby Veldman delivered after a cross from Chay McNitt from the top of the box. BSU took advantage of 15 corner kicks in the contest, including nine in the final period. The Cardinals tallied two more goals within a four-minute span near the 75th minute. Lorina White and Kelsey Wendlandt turned in the two goals over that span.
Offensively, the Gamecocks' scoring chances were spread out among Nicola Dominikovich, Katt Dowd and Chelsi Bender. A pair of freshmen made their official Gamecock debut as Madison Carruthers and Claire Petersen were among the starting 11 on the pitch. Newcomer Danelle Lindo saw action in the second half.
JSU closes out the opening weekend of the season on Sunday, hosting Gardner-Webb. Match time is set for 1 p.m. Admission is free to all JSU Soccer matches. GWU dropped a 2-0 decision to Troy on Friday.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 3, UT MARTIN 1
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - With 11 players playing in their first collegiate women’s soccer game, the University of Tennessee at Martin dropped its 2015 season opener 3-1 on the road to Western Kentucky.
The three Lady Topper goals came in a 14 minute span in the first half, proving to be much too to overcome for the nation’s youngest team in Division-I women’s soccer. The Skyhawks battled hard in the second half, earning a goal late from junior Saphyra Coombs-James to prevent the shutout.
UT Martin (0-1) was outshot in the opening half 4-0, but played a more aggressive style in the final half, tying Western Kentucky (1-0) with seven shots. The Skyhawks were led by Coombs-James and freshmen Sara Ketis and Sierra Franz, who each attempted two shots. In goal freshman MaKenzie Crawford registered four saves.
Western Kentucky was paced by goal scorers Hannah Chua, Iris Dunn and Hannah Cady. Cailin Hesse joined the trio by firing two shots during the season opener. Lauren Moats, Chandler Clark, Nahyo Jalajel, Dunn and Cady all recorded assists on the night.
The opening half saw the Skyhawks adjust to collegiate soccer, with 10 freshmen starting the match. Both teams would go without a shot for the first 13 minutes before Western Kentucky nearly snuck in a deflected shot on goal but a quick save was made by Crawford.
Eight minutes later, the Skyhawks found themselves on the wrong side of the scoreboard on a set piece goal. With UT Martin attempting to clear the box, the Lady Toppers’ Chua fired a shot that bounced off a player and deflected into the left side of the Skyhawks net.
In the 34th minute the Lady Toppers doubled their lead, using a counter attack as the Skyhawks looked for an equalizer. Attacking from the left side of the field, Moats delivered a low cross into the middle of the 18-yard box finding Dunn who placed her attempt into the bottom left corner.
Less than 90 seconds later, Dunn delivered a long volley over the defensive line to find a streaking Cady. With Crawford racing out of the net, Cady took a touch past the O’Fallon, Mo., native, to put the Lady Toppers on top 3-0.
The Skyhawks came out strong in the second half earning a corner kick just minutes into the half. After the Lady Toppers defense held strong, the Skyhawks earned a pair of counter attack chances but shots by Ketis and Franz were off target.
With time winding down, UT Martin got on the board with a goal by Coombs-James. After her initial shot was blocked inside the box, the Brampton, Ontario native collected the rebound and fired it into the net for her 16th career goal.
UT Martin will return to action on Sunday when the face off against Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville. The game will be the sixth matchup all-time between the Skyhawks and Purple Aces with UT Martin winning the previous match 1-0 on a goal by Coombs-James just last season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
LITTLE ROCK 2, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech fell to Little Rock, 2-1, in front of a record crowd of 931 on Friday night to open up the 2015 campaign.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the first half. Little Rock would get on the board first. Tennessee Tech's Taylor Blazei tied the game in the 80th minute before Little Rock would net the game-winning score with just over a minute left to play.
The Golden Eagles' return to action Sunday as they host Middle Tennessee.
UAB 4, AUSTIN PEAY 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University women's soccer team opened the regular season, Friday, losing 3-4 to UAB in a double overtime thriller at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
For the first time since Oct. 19, 2014, Austin Peay went into two sudden death overtime periods. The Blazers (1-0-0) stormed back to score three goals in the second half to knot the score before Kasey Johnson netted the game-winner in the 104th minute.
The Lady Govs (0-1-0) went with a different look in their starting lineup, moving senior Shelby Olszewski from a defensive position to the lead attacker. On her left side, junior Nicole Wojcik was positioned, and the duo found a rhythm beginning in the first half.
In the 13th minute, corner kick specialist, Wojcik, sent a looping cross into the box, where Olszewski connected with a header in traffic for the first goal of the evening. One minute later, the pair charged forward once more, this time with Olszewski slipping a low cross to the feet of Wojcik for an easy finish.
UAB came back strong as the second half whistle blew, with Marin Carter scoring a goal within the first 58 seconds after finding an opening on a solo run. In the 54th minute, Jessica Do took a deflected ball in the box, and maintained control before sending it through to make it 2-2.
After the Lady Govs pressed forward, Wojcik received another corner opportunity in the 69th minute. The junior sent in a low cross towards the far post, and with a wall of APSU players shielding the opposition, the ball maneuvered its way through traffic for a rare unassisted goal off a corner kick.
As Austin Peay tried to maintain possession with a 3-2 advantage, the Blazers were aggressive in trying to create turnovers. UAB finished with 22 fouls in the contest, along with three yellow cards, while the Lady Govs received two cards.
In the 80th minute, Johnson dribbled down the right side of the pitch, and found a crease for the game-tying goal to send it into overtime.
Johnson attempted a game-high five shots, while Olszewski led APSU in shots with four on the night.
Sophomore Lindsey Todd played the full 105 minutes for Austin Peay, and was given the loss despite making seven saves on 17 UAB shots. Kelsey Daugherty earned the win for the Blazers after making three saves.
Austin Peay continues its opening weekend slate as they travel to Chattanooga, Sunday, to face the Mocs at 1 p.m.