SUNDAY’S SCORES
@Morehead State 1, Southeast Missouri 0
SIUE 1, @Little Rock 1
@Tennessee Tech 1, Western Illinois 0
@UT Martin 1, Eastern Illinois 0
@Southern Indiana 3, Lindenwood 0
MOREHEAD STATE 1, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
MOREHEAD, Ky. - It had been a decade since the Morehead State soccer team last defeated Southeast Missouri. But, thanks to an early first-half goal and another shutout by the defense, that fact was erased Sunday as the Eagles topped the Redhawks 1-0 at the MSU Soccer Field.
MSU (4-5-5, 3-1-2 OVC) soared to 11 points in the Ohio Valley Conference table, staying in second place behind only Tennessee Tech (13 points). The Eagles had been 0-6-4 against SEMO since 2013.
The Eagles dotted the scoreboard in the eighth minute when fifth-year forward Nicole Fiantaco finished off her second goal of the season and eighth of her career, following assists from Erin Fite and Kate Larbes. Fite's first pass found Larbes, who crossed it to Fiantaco for a nifty score beating SEMO (6-4-3, 2-2-2OVC) goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink. Fite's helper was her team-high fourth of the year and fifth of her career, while Larbes was credited with her first career assist.
Despite being outshot in the end, 13-11 (MSU outshot SEMO 4-3 in the first half), goalkeeper Erin Gibbs and the defense held strong. Gibbs made three saves on all three SEMO shots on goal and earned her 10th career shutout. That ranks third in program history on the career list.
Of the Eagles' 11 total attempts, five players recorded multiple shots. Justine Nelson, daughter of SEMO's head coach Heather Nelson, led the Redhawks with four shots.
SIUE 1, LITTLE ROCK 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock Soccer notches a tie against Southern Illinois Edwardsville to earn a point and keep conference tournament hopes alive.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle as neither side could pull away early. The Cougars outshot the Trojans 6-3 as the majority of play was in the SIUe attacking third. The Trojans defense stayed strong and held the Cougars scoreless through one
In the second half, the Cougars jumped out in front as Sidney Christopher notched her second goal of the year in the 50th minute. Christopher's goal came off a free kick awarded to the Cougars after a Trojans foul. Similarly, Amaya Arias scored her second goal of the year off a nearly identical set piece play in the 54th minute.
The remainder of the game saw chippy playing from both sides as the teams eagerly fought for the game winning goal. The competitive play resulted in two yellow cards being given (one for Serenity Thake and one for Maddy Clark).
TENNESSEE TECH 1, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech soccer team remained unbeaten in OVC play, as the Golden Eagles put one on the board in the first half on the way to a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in Tech's first-ever meeting with the Leathernecks.
Sunday's afternoon's triumph pushes Tech to a seven-match unbeaten streak dating back to Sept. 10 and keeps the purple and gold in first place in the OVC as still the league's only unblemished club. TTU's victory now makes it 19 straight OVC regular-season matches without a loss, dating back to the beginning of October 2021.
The Golden Eagles (5-4-4, 4-0-1 OVC) found the back of the net late in the first half for the tilt's lone score, using a Katie Toney goal in the 36th minute to jump out in front. Yao Giada Zhou started the go-ahead score with a through ball that found the shoe tops of the sophomore before Toney took care of the rest with her fourth goal of the season. The McMinnville, Tenn. native's goal ties her with Giada Zhou, Neve Renwick, Bailey Taylor, Morehead State's Colleen Swift, Little Rock's Karina De Paoli, and SEMO's Cayla Koerner for the most in the OVC.
Giada Zhou's assist was her fifth of the season to knot her with Toney for the most in the league.
Tech put together a season-high 28 shots in the victory and held WIU (2-6-4, 0-2-3 OVC) to just four tries for the second-lowest the Golden Eagles have allowed in a match this year. TTU's shot differential of 24 is the biggest margin this season.
Renwick and Taylor paced the purple and gold with six bids apiece, while Toney notched five shots, including the game-winning goal. Four different Leathernecks took an attempt, with Emmy Ellington, Alanna Pennington, Hana Daoudi, and Kayla Turner all having a chance.
Maggie Conrad stopped three tries en route to her second-consecutive clean sheet and Tech's fourth blanking in five OVC matches. Isabel Navas Rodriguez was busy across the way with 10 denials over the course of 90 minutes.
UT MARTIN 1, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team broke through in the final moments to secure a 1-0 Ohio Valley Conference triumph over Eastern Illinois.
Catey Hunt scored her third game-winning goal of the season behind her 13
th 90-minute performance. Allie Buchmann, Joelle Stinson, Gwen Walters, Izzy Patterson, Shayla Addington and Poppy Bastock joined Hunt in playing the full match.
Peyton Cook had a game-high seven shots and was followed by Patterson (three), Buchmann (three), Walters (two), Hunt (two), Makayla Robisnon (two), Stinson (two) and Abbie McHenry (one).
For the second straight match the Skyhawks held their opponent scoreless, only allowing four Panther shots on goal. Bastock was responsible for turning away those four attempts while she received stifling defense in front of her.
The first half saw early offensive pressure from UT Martin but as play continued, the game picked up a theme of physical defense as both teams disrupted any offensive flow that was being developed.
Then in the 86th minute, Eastern Illinois was called for a crucial handball in the box which awarded the Skyhawks a chance to bag another three points. Hunt stepped up and netted the chance on the right side of the net to give UT Martin the victory.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, LINDENWOOD 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer notched its third straight win on Sunday with a 3-0 shutout victory against Lindenwood University on Senior Day and Alumni Day at Strassweg Field.
In front of senior families, USI Women's Soccer alumni, and Screaming Eagle fans, Southern Indiana recorded its largest win of the season. Sunday was USI's seventh result in the last eight matches. Plus, USI is now 3-0-1 in its last four home matches after Sunday's victory.
Southern Indiana came out of the gates fast, pushing the Lions back. Making early headway into the attacking half, USI launched four shots in the first 25 minutes. Senior midfielder Paige Vanek placed one shot on goal, and freshman midfielder Pilar Torres put one on target as well.
Later in the first half, Lindenwood applied some pressure toward USI's defensive end line. The Lions pulled the trigger for a couple of shots on goal following a series of set pieces in the attacking third. However, the Eagles' defensive unit stayed strong to limit Lindenwood's push and switch the field position back toward USI's offensive half. In the 39
th minute, freshman defender Kamryn Bea played a long pass down the left flank toward sophomore forward Payton Seymour, who crossed the ball in front of the goal where freshman midfielder Grace Bamber battled through contact to put the ball into the net for her second goal of the season. The Screaming Eagles carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The late, first-half momentum stayed with USI out of the break. Southern Indiana doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 48
th minute when an over-the-top pass by senior defender Alexis Schone led sophomore midfielder Peyton Murphy into the box, slotting the ball past Lindenwood's goalkeeper Erika Anstine. The goal-scoring play started out of the back by sophomore defender Charli Grafton, who tallied her first helper of the season while Schone earned her second assist of 2023. The score gave Murphy a goal in the second consecutive game after scoring in USI's win at Western Illinois University on Thursday.
The Eagles kept the pressure on despite the efforts from Lindenwood to claw back into the match. Looking for an insurance goal late in the second half, USI extended its lead to 3-0 in the 83rd minute. The ball made its way to Torres in the midfield, who passed it to Murphy making a run left of the center circle. Murphy quickly relayed the ball up ahead through the middle to Vanek making a long, overlapping run. The senior captain dribbled into the box and finished the play with her first career goal on Senior Day to close out the 3-0 clean sheet for Southern Indiana.
In the contest, USI registered six total assists on the three goals. The Eagles outshot the Lions 11-9, including 7-5 in shots on goal. Individually, Torres led USI by placing all three shot attempts on frame, while Vanek also was perfect putting both of her shots on target. Murphy totaled three shots with one on goal in the game. Between the posts, redshirt freshman Anna Markland made five saves, including a diving catch in the air in the final minutes to seal the deal. Sunday was Markland's second consecutive shutout and the fourth this season for her and USI.
Overall, the Eagles improved to 4-6-4 this season and to 3-1-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Following Sunday's slate of games in the OVC, USI climbed to third place in the standings with 10 points. For Lindenwood, Sunday's defeat moved the Lions to 3-10-1 overall and 1-5-0 in conference action, sitting at the bottom of the league table with Western Illinois.