FRIDAY SCORES
@Austin Peay 3, Eastern Kentucky 0
Belmont 1, @Jacksonville State 0
@UT Martin 3, Murray State 1
@Tennessee Tech 0, Southeast Missouri 0 (2OT)
AUSTIN PEAY 3, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -Austin Peay State University women's soccer team earned a crucial win over Eastern Kentucky, 3-0, Friday, at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
The Govs (8-4-1, 3-2-1 OVC) are in a prime position to rise in the Ohio Valley Conference standings, while the Colonels (5-6-2, 1-2-2 OVC) will have some work to in the coming weeks.
Despite the scoreline, it was EKU who got off to a better start, as they had the majority of the ball and a few shots, but none troubled APSU goalkeeper Mary Parker Powell. Recognizing the sluggish start, the Govs kicked into high gear immediately. A ball won by the Govs in midfield released Claire Larose, who combined with Caroline Wistrom to fire a half-volley that looked it was going to go in, but EKU keeper Zoe Aguirre made an amazing save. However, off the ensuing corner taken by Katie Costantino, the EKU defense could not clear and McKenzie Dixon, who started in defense once again, headed home to give the Govs a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute.
The Govs nearly doubled their lead just two minutes later with Katie Kenward receiving a pass at the top of the box, but her shot went over the bar. From that point, there were no real scoring chances until late in the half, with Claire Larose and Brice Bement each having half-chances, but halftime came without any more scoring.
The Govs set the tone early one in the second, with a Morgan Drawdy corner finding Dixon's head again, but it went wide. In the 49th minute, Renee Semaan stepped into midfield and played a slicing pass to Rachel Bradberry that cut open the heart of the EKU defense. Bradberry controlled the ball perfectly and swept the ball home to double the Govs lead.
The Govs were not done yet though. Ashley Whittaker ran about 40 yards with the ball down the right side of the field, holding off her defender the entire time, and crossed the ball on the ground to Shelby Stewart, who got away from her mark and blasted the ball into the net to essentially wrap up the game for the Govs in the 56th minute.
The game once again settled down, but EKU nearly pulled one back in the 80th minute, with Idalys Rea hitting the crossbar. However, the Govs clamped down on the Colonels the rest of the game to preserve the win and the clean sheet.
With the win, the Govs extend their program-record unbeaten streaks at home to 16 straight in the conference and 23 straight overall.
UT MARTIN 3, MURRAY STATE 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team pulled together for an all-out blitz against the defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Murray State Racers this evening by a 3-1 margin. Tonight's victory puts the Skyhawks in first place in the OVC and marks the first time UT Martin has defeated Murray State since Sept. 29, 2013 when the Skyhawks went on the road to claim a 2-1 win.
UT Martin (9-2-1, 4-0-1 OVC) put together one of its best outings of the season as both sides of the ball excelled tonight. Leading the way for the Skyhawk offense was the trio of Skylor Keane, Danae Kaldaridou and Amy McGivern as all three notched a goal apiece. Tallying assists in the bout were Sara Ketis, Samantha Kelly and McGivern. Also finding the shot column were Katelyn Colvin, Alice Adams, Kelly and Ketis.
The UT Martin defense was superb yet again as Kaci Mitchell thwarted the Murray State front line. Mitchell was also joined by fellow defender Jacalyn Schubring and midfielder Kaldaridou in logging a full day's work on the pitch.
Goalkeeper Erica Myers stood tall tonight as she compiled another 90 minutes between the posts and tallied four saves. The only blemish on her record came on a penalty kick by the Racers' Kayla Travis.
The Skyhawks would get on the board first as Keane found the back of the net at the 20:56 mark on a pass from McGivern for an uncontested shot. Kaldaridou would give UT Martin a cushion going into the intermission as she netted the second Skyhawk goal in the 44th minute on a quick touch from Kelly. Shortly out of the halftime break, Kayla Travis was able to muster Murray State's lone goal that came on a penalty swing. UT Martin would issue the final blow in the contest with 82:07 on the clock as McGivern received a pass from Ketis to connect for a close goal.
BELMONT 1, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Julie Garst scored her fifth goal of the season and goal keeper Lily Herman made six saves as the Belmont women's soccer team knocked off Jacksonville State, 1-0, on Friday in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The shutout is Herman's third of the season, which helped the Bruins (5-5-2, 3-2-1 OVC) snap a two-game skid.
Jacksonville State Junior Emma Meadows finished with a team-high four shots, including two on goal chances. Junior Rachel Blanding added three shots, while Cheyenne Carden tallied two shots.
TENNESSEE TECH 0, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri played to a scoreless draw in Cookeville, Tenn. on Friday night.Southeast Missouri (3-7-2, 1-3-2) and Tennessee Tech (6-6-1, 2-3-1) battled to a scoreless draw Friday night.
Goalkeepers Kari Naerdemann and Bailey Redden were outstanding, combining for 12 saves. Naerdemann saved seven shots and Redden finished with five. Two of Redden's saves were in dramatic fashion during the overtime period.
The first of those two late saves by Redden came off a shot that was tipped to just miss the net and keep the score at 0-0. The second was a diving save by Redden in the opposite direction. Offensively, the Redhawks put pressure on TTU, but came up empty.
During regulation, SEMO out-shot the Golden Eagles 17-7. Redden had three saves in the game's first 90 minutes.
In overtime, Katie Lever had two big chances for the Redhawks. Her first shot was tipped slightly above the crossbar. Lever's other opportunity came off a pass from Esmie Gonzales. The ball was corralled on the end line as both plays resulted in corner kicks.
SEMO matched a season-high 20 shots, including seven on goal. Gonzales had a game-high seven shots.