SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 1, Southern Indiana 1
@SIUE 1, Little Rock 1
@Eastern Illinois 1, UT Martin 1
@Southeast Missouri 1, Morehead State 1
LINDENWOOD 1, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer traveled to Lindenwood University Sunday afternoon, coming away with a 1-1 draw and a point in the Ohio Valley Conference standings against the familiar Lions.
The Screaming Eagles (4-5-4, 0-3-2 OVC) came out of the gates with a flying start. Freshman defender Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon) scored for USI in the third minute, striking one into the top half of the goal. For Grafton, the score was her first career goal in a Screaming Eagles uniform. Senior midfielder Jill DiTusa (St. Charles, Illinois) and sophomore midfielder Adriana Berruti (Berwyn, Illinois) were credited with the assists. Grafton's goal was the earliest one scored in a match this season for USI.
Lindenwood (5-6-4, 2-1-3 OVC) quickly tried to respond, taking two shots before the 10-minute mark. USI's senior goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan) saved both attempts, including one by Lindenwood's graduate student Jacqueline Baetz. Baetz entered the match as the Lions' leading shot-taker and scored the game-winner in their last match against the University of Tennessee at Martin on Thursday.
Junior midfielder Morgan Beyer (Rossford, Ohio) took a chance and struck the post in the 23rd minute. She has now recorded a shot in each of the last six contests. USI had two other shots that were saved by Lindenwood's senior goalkeeper Sam Blazek in the first half.
At the beginning of the second half and before the 55th minute, the Lions tested USI's defense with two low shot attempts on goal, but Etienne came through two more saves to preserve the Screaming Eagles' 1-0 lead. USI went back down the other direction of the field for two shots of their own that missed wide.
The middle portion of the second half was a back-and-forth battle. In the 66th minute, freshman forward Shy Iles (Demossville, Kentucky) tallied the first shot and attempt on goal of her USI career, but it was saved by Blazek. After four early-season appearances for Iles, she made her second straight appearance in a match.
Lindenwood found the 1-1 equalizer in the 73rd minute, as junior forward and former Screaming Eagle Peyton Ganz scored her first goal of the season. Neither side could pick up a go-ahead goal before the final whistle.
Besides the 1-1 score, both teams had two assists and eight shots on the day. Lindenwood placed six shots on goal and USI had four. The Lions also earned six corner kicks to USI's two.
DiTusa and freshman midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) led USI with two shots in the match, including one on goal for each. Grafton was 1 for 1 with her early goal. Between the posts, Etienne finished the match with five saves, bringing the senior within six saves of third all-time in USI history.
SIUE 1, LITTLE ROCK 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE seniors Maria Haro and Emma Dutko provided the offense on Senior Day as the Cougars and Little Rock finished with a 1-1 tie Sunday at Korte Stadium.
Haro scored eight yards out from the right side of the net on an inside pass from Dutko at the 35:13.
SIUE outshot Little Rock 14-9. The Trojans evened the game just 1:13 into the second half as Bronte Peel scored from 10 yards out with an assist from Colleen Gilliland.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, UT MARTIN 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team opened the second half of the Ohio Valley Conference schedule on Sunday and battled toe-to-toe with Eastern Illinois on the road before settling for a 1-1 tie.
The Skyhawks (2-7-4, 0-3-2 OVC) picked up their second point of the conference schedule behind a strong defensive presence and a first half goal by Izzy Patterson. In a match with seemed pretty even as each team tallied 13 shots each, both UT Martin and Eastern Illinois were able to get on the scoreboard in the opening 25 minutes of the contest before anchoring down to play scoreless over the final 65 ticks.
Eastern Illinois (2-5-6, 0-3-2 OVC) was able to get in the scoring column first with an early goal just over three minutes into the contest. Cam Korkhorn set up the scoring play as she found Jenna Little who punctuated the opportunity with a strike into the net to take an early 1-0 advantage.
UT Martin looked to strike back and did so effectively in the 25th minute. EIU attempted to tap the ball back to the goalkeeper but Patterson won the foot race and made the Panthers pay for their misplay with her first goal of the season to serve as the equalizer.
With both teams knotted up at 1-1 going into halftime, the defense took over. UT Martin limited
Eastern Illinois to just four shot attempts in the second half – including only one attempt coming on goal – which goalkeeper Pappy Bastock saved. The defensive trio of Ryann Mushkin, Catey Hunt and Shayla Addington played a big role in the effort by recording all 90 minutes on the pitch for the Skyhawks.
Meanwhile, Patterson paced UT Martin with four shots on the afternoon while Makayla Robinson was close behind with three of her own. Unfortunately, Daniela Bermeo held the Skyhawks off the board with three saves in the second half.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1, MOREHEAD STATE 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Houck Field hosted a battle between the visiting Morehead State soccer team and host SEMO, as the Eagles and Redhawks both received a point after a 1-1 draw Sunday.
The first 45 minutes were scoreless but saw a combined 10 shots from the two sides, with SEMO holding a 7-3 advantage going into halftime. Erin Gibbs saved five shots on target from the Redhawks in the first half.
Just five minutes into the second half, Morehead State took the lead on a goal from Nicole Fiantaco, assisted by Madison Feldhaus. Fiantaco's goal tied her for the team lead with four on the season, while Feldhaus' assist marked her first of the year.
SEMO managed to tie the game in the 74th minute, as Cayla Koerner found the back of the MSU net for the equalizing goal. Erin Gibbs kept the Redhawks out of the goal for the rest of the match, finishing with a career-high nine saves.
Three teams now sit tied atop the conference after Sunday's action, as SIUE, Tennessee Tech, and Morehead State all have 11 points. Tennessee Tech and Morehead State are the only remaining unbeaten teams in conference play.