THURSDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 3, @VMI 1
Tennessee Tech 1, @Chattanooga 1
Eastern Illinois 3, @Illinois State 1
Southeast Missouri 2, @Colorado College 1
@SIUE 0, Evansville 0
Southern Indiana 0, @North Alabama 0
@Little Rock 0, Oral Roberts 0
MOREHEAD STATE 3, VMI 1
RICHMOND, Va. - The Morehead State soccer team used a second half offensive outburst to a 3-1 win over VMI on Thursday. The Eagles had three goals waived off due to offside, but were able to score three anyway and finish off the first road trip of the season with a victory, marking the first time MSU has scored three goals in a game since a 3-2 win over Austin Peay on April 2,, 2021. Head Coach Chris Fox was very proud of his team following the win.
In the 57th minute, VMI chose to take a corner kick short, which quickly turned disastrous for the Keydets, as an Eagle takeaway turned into a counterattack that resulted in a goal. Nicole Fiantaco carried the ball down the right side, and fired in a ball that went off the crossbar, but Hadley Cytron was right there to tap it in for the lead and her first goal as an Eagle.
Morehead State ramped up the pressure after that goal, as Erin Fite carried the ball into VMI's defensive third in the 75th minute and took a shot but had it blocked. Eli Söderberg found herself in the right place at the right time, heading the deflection into the back of the net for her first collegiate goal.
VMI got a goal back on a beautiful strike from Bella Bruzonic that was just out of the reach of a diving Michelle Jerantowski to make the score 2-1 in the 81st minute, but the Eagles weren't done scoring.
On another counterattack, Sejla Podzic made a run down the left side before delivering a beautiful cross to the far post that Nicole Fiantaco put in the net, sealing the victory.
Michelle Jerantowski finished with two saves. Erin Fite, Sejla Podzic, and Nicole Fiantaco all had assists in the contest. The Eagles set a new season high in shots with 18, including eight on goal, and held possession for nearly 70% of the match. With the win, Morehead State moved to 4-0 all-time vs. VMI.
Next up for the soccer team is a match with Queens (N.C.) on Sunday at 1 pm.
TENNESSEE TECH 1, CHATTANOOGA 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -Déjà vu struck the pitch for the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as the Golden Eagles once again showcased late-match dramatics on the way to a 1-1 draw Thursday night at UTC Sports Complex.
Fresh off a 1-1 knot with WKU on Sunday that saw Tech (1-2-2) erase a 1-0 deficit with a Katie Toney goal in the 81st minute, the Golden Eagles used a similar script en route to running the club's unbeaten streak to three consecutive. Down 1-0 with under five minutes to play, Meredith Nye found a way to provide the purple and gold with the equalizer for her first goal of the season and fifth of her career.
Chloe Smith set the stage for Nye's heroics with a well-timed corner that saw Smith loft one into the box, connecting with an ascending Nye, who climbed the ladder and headed in the deadlocking score in the 86th minute. Smith picked up her second assist of the season on the crucial goal.
After a scoreless first 45 minutes of action, the Mocs (1-2-2) wasted no time in getting on the board early in the second, using a Carolina Richvalsky goal just over two minutes into the period to break the 0-0 knot. The 5-foot-7 freshman connected on her first-career score thanks to a drive in the upper right corner of the net.
Sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Conrad set a career-high with seven saves, which included five stops in the first half. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native helped tie a ribbon on a clean first period with a stop on a Mackenzie Smith shot among heavy traffic in the box with less than 15 seconds left in the stanza.
The Golden Eagles nearly put one through with less than 10 minutes remaining until intermission, but Taylor Rhodes' drive clipped the left post to keep the match preserved at nil-nil. The 5-foot-6 sophomore would go on to put one on-point in the 42nd minute, but UTC's Caroline Ekern gobbled it up. Rhodes tied Yao Giada Zhou for the most first-half shots by a Golden Eagle with two apiece. Allison Lee was responsible for TTU's other shot on-goal in the opening frame with an attempt in the 7th minute.
Giada Zhou would go on to tie Mackenzie Smith and Birna Johannsdottir for the most shots in the match with three tries each. Ekern ended with contest with two saves.
The Golden Eagles will continue a season-long three-match road swing with a Sunday affair at the University of Tennessee. Kickoff in Knoxville is slated for 6 p.m. CT.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, ILLINOIS STATE 1
NORMAL, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women’s soccer picked up its second win of the season as the Panthers won 3-1 on Thursday night at Illinois State.
EIU improved to 2-0-3 on the season while ISU fell to 0-5 on the season.
EIU opened the match on the attack as Zoe Paxton scored in the 10th minute to put EIU up 1-0. The Panthers lead would extend to 2-0 following an own goal in the 41st minute.
EIU took a commanding 3-0 lead in the 51st minute as Jenna Little scored her second goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Nicoletta Anuci.
After posting a program record four straight shutouts and pitching a shutout in the first half, EIU allowed its first goal of the season in the 74th minute as Haley Glover scored for the Redbirds.
Daniela Bermeo picked up her second win of the season making two saves in net.
EIU was credited with four shots on goal in the match with Little leading way with two. Paxton and Nyah Biegler each getting a shot on goal.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, COLORADO COLLEGE 1
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Southeast Missouri women's soccer (3-2) opened its road trip to Colorado with a 2-1 victory over Colorado College (3-2) Thursday at Stewart Field.
Faith Liljegren put the Redhawks on the board early in the second minute before Megan Heisserer netted the game winner at 55:50.
SEMO wasted no time and took an early 1-0 advantage 1:21 into the contest. Alayna Jakul sent a cross to Liljegren who deftly popped the ball over goalkeeper Ally Wakeman's outstretched hand.
For Liljegren, it was her second career goal and first in 2022.
For Jakul, a freshman from St. Charles, Missouri, the assist was the first in her career as a Redhawk. She competed in 73 minutes, adding a shot in the second half.
The Tigers would then answer and knot the contest right before halftime. Shalom Prince evened the match at 1-1 off a pass from Kylie Smith in the 40th minute.
Colorado College outshot the Redhawks, 11-1 (3-1 SOG), in the opening half and finished with a shots advantage of 24-3 (7-2 SOG).
Heisserer then registered her second-straight goal (sixth in her career) and second-straight game winner in the 56th minute Thursday.
Heisserer received a pass from Zoe Houston in the box before finishing with a strike to the right side of the net.
The assist was the first for Houston in a Redhawks kit.
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink made six saves including four in the second half for her second-straight win (3-2 in 2022).
Emma Brune and Natalie Jackson both competed in the full 90 minutes Thursday.
For Jackson, it was her fifth-straight full regulation game of the season.
For Brune, it was her third consecutive 90-minute game.
Colorado College held an 8-1 edge in corner kicks.
Lily Byrne notched a game high four shots (1 SOG) while Erin Ewers (2 SOG), Kaelin Enga (1 SOG), and Prince (1 SOG), all added three shots apiece.
The Redhawks next wrap up their Colorado tour with a Sunday afternoon match at Colorado State (2-1-0, 0-0-0 MWC) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Initial kick is scheduled for 3 p.m., CT from the CSU Soccer Field.
SIUE 0, EVANSVILLE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's soccer outshot Evansville 16-1 Thursday but neither team found the back of the net in a 0-0 tie at Korte Stadium.
Matea Diekema led the Cougars with three shots. Lily Schnieders and Emma Dutko each had two shots.
Eleven different players took at least one shot for the Cougars.
Burton also highlighted a few more players' efforts.
The Cougars are now idle until next Thursday when it travels to SIU Carbondale for a 6 p.m. contest.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 0, NORTH ALABAMA 0
FLORENCE, Ala. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer competed hard on the road Thursday night to a 0-0 tie against the University of North Alabama Lions, as senior goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan) surpassed 250 career saves and earned her 32nd career shutout in the match.
The first half of Thursday night's match was defined by physicality and battle for possession. The defensive midfield proved pivotal in keeping the game scoreless at the break.
Graduate student defender Mia Rose Daly (Haiku, Hawaii) took the lone shot in the first half for the Screaming Eagles, stepping up to shoot in the early minutes. She also made a key tackle 12 minutes in to prevent the start of a breakaway attack by the Lions.
In the middle portion of the first half, USI's defense stood tall when the possession was controlled by North Alabama in the attacking half. The Lions' sophomore forward and Evansville, Indiana native Hope Lensing took the first shot on frame for North Alabama but was saved by the Screaming Eagles' Etienne.
The start of the second 45 minutes began like much of the first half, battling for possession. Then in the 62nd minute, North Alabama strung together some chances and applied some pressure on Southern Indiana's defense. The Screaming Eagles were up for the challenge, blocking one shot and Etienne thwarting another opportunity with a save.
In the 73rd minute, Etienne collected her fourth save of the match on a shot lofted in by the Lions' graduate student midfielder Kate Wiseman. The save marked a milestone 250th career save for Etienne, placing her in the top five all-time for saves in Southern Indiana's record books. Etienne was tested a couple more times by North Alabama's attacking front before the match ended, but she came through with two more saves to take sole possession of fifth place all time.
Team totals for the match were five shots – one on goal – for Southern Indiana compared to 10 shots – six on goal – for North Alabama. All five of USI's shots were taken by five different players. Freshman midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) had the only shot on goal for the Screaming Eagles, extending her streak of games with a shot on goal to four.
Following a physical match against the Lions, the Screaming Eagles will head back home and rest up before returning to Strassweg Field Monday for a Labor Day meeting against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis at 1 p.m. Admission to Monday's match is free thanks to The Women's Hospital Deaconess.
USI fans can stay up-to-date with the latest at usiscreamingeagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
LITTLE ROCK 0, ORAL ROBERTS 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Peyton Urban recorded her second career shutout in as many games as Little Rock finished in a scoreless draw with Oral Roberts Thursday evening at the Coleman Sports Complex.
Urban made five saves Thursday as both teams registered five shots on goal. For Little Rock (1-2-1), those five shots came from five different outlets as Mari Young, Karina De Paoli, Abbie Smith, Camryn Jacobs and Allison Morrison each tallied one shot on goal. ORU was not as balanced in their attack, but Urban was still able to thwart their efforts.
Employing a very physical style of play, Oral Roberts was called for 13 fouls on the night – including Jordan Blackburn's yellow card in the 70th minute - compared to Little Rock's nine fouls. ORU was also caught offsides nine times while the Trojans, ever mindful of location, were not whistled offsides in the game's 90 minutes.
Little Rock seemed to find their footing in the second half of the game, they had the advantage over the Golden Eagles in shots on goal in the second half with three compared to two and controlled the pace of the game for a majority of the latter half.
Facing a team that had two more wins and extra game under their belts, Little Rock relied on its 12th man to aid in Thursday's draw.
That crowd has helped Little Rock remain undefeated at home while also not allowing a goal at the Coleman Sports Complex through two games so far.
The Trojans are back in action this Sunday as they make the trip up to Jonesboro to take on Arkansas State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. with a live broadcast on ESPN+.