SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 5, Chicago State 1
Morehead State 2, @Chattanooga 0
@Valparaiso 1,
Belmont 0
@UIC 1,
SIUE 0
Murray State 3, @Northern Kentucky 2
@South Alabama 3,
Jacksonville State 1
@Tennessee Tech 1, Georgia State 0
UT Martin 1, @Lipscomb 1
@LSU 3,
Austin Peay 1
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, CHICAGO STATE 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women’s soccer previously had a player with three assists in a game on five occasions in the program’s history. On Sunday afternoon Kayla Stolfa surpassed those efforts as she set the school record with four assists during Eastern Illinois 5-1 win over Chicago State at Lakeside Field.
The win pushed EIU’s record to 3-2-1 on the season while Chicago State fell to 1-5 on the year.
Stolfa helped the Panthers set the tone in the opening minutes as she quickly played a ball up the left side that Kate Olson passed on to Pilar Barrio for an EIU goal with 3:35 off the clock in the opening half. It was Barrio’s second goal of the season.
Stolfa then assisted on the first of two goals by Hannah Heinz as EIU took a 2-0 lead in the 28th minute. Heinz finished off a cross from the right side into the goal box. Heinz would add her second goal in the 35th minute again finishing off a break with the assist from Stolfa and Olson.
EIU’s third goal came in the 29th minute off the foot of Henar Urteaga as she beat the goalkeeper one on one off an assist from Angela Corcoran.
The record setting assist came from Stolfa in the 48th minute as the Panthers quickly extended the lead to 5-0 in the second half. Niondina Nystrom beat both a defender and the goalkeeper from the top right of the goal box after the pass from Stolfa.
EIU had previously had a player finish a match with three assists on five occasions, the last was in 2003 by Trisha Walter against Western Illinois. Stolfa did tie the Ohio Valley Conference record as she became the fourth player in conference history with four assists in a match. The last OVC player to do it was Barbara Tomaszek of Tennessee Tech in 2003 against Murray State.
Chicago State was able to get on the scoreboard in the 64th minute as Samantha Noonan redirected a deflected shot into the goal. Noonan’s goal was assisted by Makayla Pearl.
EIU finished the match with 16 shots on goal compared to just four shots on goal for Chicago State. Maddie Lyon finished the match with three saves for EIU. Gabby Klemp played the first half for CSU making four saves. Bailey McFarland had six saves in the second half.
The Panthers return to action at home next weekend as they will host Fort Wayne on Friday at 3 p.m. and Western Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m
VALPARAISO 1, BELMONT 0
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Belmont women's soccer suffered its second consecutive loss after falling to Valparaiso, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at Brown Field.
The Bruins (3-2-0) got to work early in their first road test of the year, registering six shots in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Senior forward Belicia Mendiola (McKinney, Texas) was the primary offensive creator, firing off four and landing a pair on frame to get things going. The veteran's two shots on goal came from more than 25 yards out, putting the Valpo keeper, Kezia Gesell, to work.
Continuing to control the pace of the game for much of the first stanza, Belmont out-shot Valparaiso (4-2-0), 14-8, getting double-digit looks in the opening 45 minutes for the fourth time this season. Despite orchestrating more scoring opportunities, the Bruins struggled to convert, while the Crusaders took advantage of the few chances they saw. Valpo carried a 1-0 advantage into the half after Syndey Griffin connected on a header in the 41st minute, the goal that would be the difference maker.
Still in search of the equalizer, Mendiola and sophomore Niki Clements (Perkasie, Pa.) displayed their talent in the start of the second stanza. Mendiola launched the squad's first shot on frame in the 52nd minute after maneuvering herself through some Crusader traffic and sending a line drive at Gesell who made her eighth save of the afternoon. Shortly after that, Clements beat the Valpo defense and released a shot that soared just right of the goal to keep Belmont scoreless. The Bruins would only tally two more shots the rest of the afternoon.
Valparaiso found a way to slow down Belmont's offense considerably in the second frame, holding the Bruins to just four shots. While the Bruins continued to shut down the Crusaders attack, their lone goal in the 41st minute proved to be all they needed.
Aside from Mendiola's four shots on goal, five separate Bruins found the frame once. Rookie Abby Hunt (Surrey, British Columbia, Canada) protected BU's goal for the duration of the match, recording a save and allowing the sole goal to move her record to 2-1 on the season.
Belmont returns home to take on UIC on Friday, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. inside E.S. Rose Park.
MOREHEAD STATE 2, CHATTANOOGA 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Morehead State soccer ended its non-conference losing skid with a 2-0 win at Chattanooga on Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium.
The Eagles move to 1-4 on the season, dropping Chattanooga to 1-3-2.
Morehead State jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 144 seconds after the opening whistle, thanks to the first goal of the season by 2016 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year Ashley Ritchie. The score came off an assist from Samantha Damante, who logged her second of the year. Ritchie led the Eagles with eight goals last season.
Junior Cara Maher sealed the victory with a goal of her own in the 84th minute. The unassisted score hit the back post and bounced out of the reach of UTC goalkeeper Bailey Coppedge, giving Maher her first goal of the season.
Ritchie led Morehead State with four shot attempts, all on goal. Maher recorded three shots, while Tayler Stivers added two more. Damante and Makenna Lavatori tallied one attempt each.
Eagles goalkeeper Michelle Washburn made 13 saves in the win, notching her first shutout of 2017. The 5-foot-9 junior faced 16 total shots from the Mocs.
Morehead State will take the week off before rounding out the final installment of a three-game road stretch. The Eagles battle Evansville on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. ET.
UIC 1, SIUE 0
CHICAGO, Ill. - SIUE falls to UIC 1-0, with the lone goal being scored in the 87th by Naomi Rush to put the game away for the Flames.
SIUE drops to 2-3 overall while UIC improves to 2-4.
The Cougars ended the game with 14 shots, five being on target.
Caroline Hoefert led SIUE with four shots, closely followed by Lindsey Fencel with three shots on the day.
Juli Rossi finished with six total saves for the Cougars.
SIUE will head back home to play Colorado State at Korte Stadium on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
MURRAY STATE 3, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 2
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Off to their best start in program history, the Murray State Racers (4-0) waited until the 86th minute to defeat Northern Kentucky (3-2) by a score of 3-2 to secure their fourth win of the year at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
It took less than six minutes for the Racers to get on the board, as Rebecca Kubin punched her first goal of the year from inside the box to put Murray State up 1-0. The first half scoring wasn't over for the blue and gold, as Harriet Withers received a punched out ball from the keeper, striking into the top right corner to give the Racers a 2-0 lead heading to the second half.
Not wanting to let the match get away from them, the Norse struck back quickly in the second half, taking advantage of a rebound at the 47th minute to cut the lead to one. A free kick into the box from Northern Kentucky helped produce the tying goal at the 70th minute to make it a 2-2 game. "They were beating us to the ball on those goals. They were the quickest and first to react, we were responding to them."Groves said when asked about the two goals let up.
The game turned into a back and forth match for the next 16 minutes, where at the 86th minute Kayla Travis took a shot from the top of the box, beating the keeper to the left side to clinch a 3-2 victory.
Overall, the Racers combined for 24 shot shots with eight getting to the goalkeeper. Along with the impressive shot total, there were seven corner kicks for Murray.
Alex Steigerwald was tested by the NKU offense, as she made a season high six saves for her fourth win of the year.
The Racers return to home field for their next match, which pits them against the Trojans of Little rock on September 8 at 3 P.M. at Cutchin Field.
SOUTH ALABAMA 3, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
MOBILE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State soccer team suffered its first loss since the season opener with a 3-1 setback to in-state foe South Alabama on Sunday at The Cage on the USA campus.
The Gamecocks, who played to a scoreless draw on Friday against Troy in the opening contest of the Jaguar Invitational, dropped to 2-2-2 overall and will return to action next weekend with the second leg of a five-match road trip in the state of Louisiana facing Louisiana-Monroe on Friday and Louisiana Tech on Sunday. The Jaguars picked up their first win of the season and moved to 1-4 overall.
Until USA added a late insurance goal in the 86th minute, it looked like a pair of penalty kicks by the Jaguars would be the difference in the contest. USA registered the first goal of the game in the sixth minute with the first penalty kick that ricocheted off the left post and in to the corner of the net. JSU weathered USA's eight other shots in the opening half, while being limited to just two shots in the opening 45 minutes.
Jax State equalized in the 53rd minute with sophomore Danielle Monroe's fourth goal of the season. Monroe took a long ball over the top from redshirt sophomore Danelle Lindo and finished in the left corner. Monroe, along with freshman Kelly Snook, led the JSU attack with two shot attempts.
Shortly after the equalizer, USA was awarded its second penalty kick of the game and converted by Rio Hardy in the 55th minute. Hardy also added the insurance goal late in the contest. USA finished with a 15-6 shot advantage over the Gamecocks.
Senior goalkeeper Caroline Robinson turned in four saves in the loss, while USA's Justice Stanford tallied a pair of stops in the win.
JSU's match with the Warhawks on Friday will get underway at 4 p.m. on the ULM campus. Sunday's contest with Tech is slated for a 1 p.m. start time.
TENNESSEE TECH 1, GEORGIA STATE 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech soccer team made the most of its lone match of the week. After heavy rainfall and soggy field conditions postponed Friday night's match against MTSU, the Golden Eagles smacked an exclamation point on the weekend with a 1-0 win over Georgia State Sunday evening at Tech Soccer Field.
TTU has now won eight straight in Cookeville dating back to last September, while Sunday's victory over the Panthers (1-3-1) marked the third-straight shutout win for the purple and gold, all by 1-0 margins. The Golden Eagles (3-1-0) still have not allowed a goal in regulation, with only an overtime score at Vanderbilt in the season-opener serving as the squad's only blemish in an otherwise lights out defensive start to 2017.
Fresh off her first career assist in last Sunday's 1-0 win over Western Carolina, freshman Kendall Powell found the back of the net for the first time in her career, scoring in the 27th minute to give Tech an early 1-0 edge. Following a pair of passes from juniors Mayra Tarraga Manzanal and Tina Marolt, Powell made sure that she would not be denied with a relentless effort that saw two-straight attempts in the box carom off GSU goalkeeper Brie Haynes, before a third try by the Cookeville native finally soared between the pipes.
Both Tarraga Manzanal and Marolt earned assists on the goal, TTU's first score in a first half of a match this season.
Leading 1-0 at intermission, junior goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann and the rest of the Tech defense made the lead stand, holding the Panthers to just three shots on-goal over the course of the match. Naerdemann's 21st career shutout, and third in as many matches, featured three saves for the Herne, Germany native. Across the way, red-shirt senior Brie Haynes was kept busy with seven saves as the Golden Eagles paced the shots on-goal battle with an 8-3 discrepancy.
Overall TTU tallied 10 shots, led by Kendall Powell's four, all of which were on-goal. Georgia State's Siobhan Wilson notched five of the club's eight attempts.
With three-straight victories in their back pocket, the Golden Eagles will embark on a four-match road trip, the club's longest of the year. Tech will begin its quartet of tilts away from Cookeville with a Friday night matchup at UAB. First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
UT MARTIN 1, LIPSCOMB 1
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team picked up a 1-1 tie against in-state rival Lipscomb this evening.
UT Martin (1-3-2) was led by Ashley Levingston (one goal, three shots) on the evening. The Skyhawk supporting cast of Alice Adams, Maggie Burkett, Katelyn Colvin, Sara Ketis and Amy McGivern also recorded shots in the defensive matchup against the Bison (1-3-2).
For the third straight contest, the Skyhawks were forced into overtime. One match removed from setting a new program high in shots (44), UT Martin tallied 15 total shots with four on goal (Levingston, Burkett, Ketis and Adams).
Skyhawk goalkeeper Erica Myers put together another solid match between the posts as she recorded three saves while allowing only one goal in the entire match.
Levingston’s goal came in the 73rd minute of a defensive matchup with the Bison. The Indianapolis, Ind. native took a pass from Katelyn Colvin to find the upper left corner of the back of the goal to give the Skyhawks life.
UT Martin saw six players log all 110 minutes tonight as Kamryn Chappell, Danae Kaldaridou, Kaci Mitchell, Burkett, Ketis and Myers all gritted out a complete match.
In a similar series of events as Friday night, the Skyhawks relinquished an early goal but were able to make ends meet with an equalizing goal late in the match. Lipscomb’s Selah Gilmore found the net early with a goal coming right at the 16:00 minute mark.
The Skyhawks will travel to Jackson, Miss. for a mid-week matchup against Jackson State on Wednesday, Sept. 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.
LSU 3, AUSTIN PEAY 1
BATON ROUGE, La. - Recap coming soon.