THURSDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 2, @Alabama A&M 1
@Morehead State 2, UNC Asheville 2
@Southeast Missouri 1, Columbia College 0
Little Rock 2, @Lousiana Tech 1
Southern Indiana 1, @Kansas City 1
UT MARTIN 2, ALABAMA A&M 1
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - After a chaotic final three minutes, the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team came out on top to defeat Alabama A&M on the road, 2-1.
UT Martin (3-4-1) outshot Alabama A&M (0-6-0) 20-14 with Izzy Patterson and Brooke Kala tying for the team-high in shots with three. Jordan Bailey (one shot on goal), Makayla Robinson, Caroline Moore and Abbie McHenry each tallied three attempts while Catey Hunt, Gwen Walters and Rachel Okoro ripped a shot on goal apiece.
Sophomore Poppy Bastock made a game-high seven saves which matched her season-high from the 2-1 triumph over Austin Peay.
Two Skyhawk newcomers combined to give UT Martin an early lead on the scoreboard. Moore found Okoro for her first goal of her collegiate career in the 40th minute when Okoro greeted a Moore pass with a header to the back of the net.
The Bulldogs would be held scoreless for the majority of the match until they broke through in the 87th minute for the equalizer from Mealing Victoria.
The Skyhawks had one final chance to score the winner, and in their final push Alabama A&M committed a crucial foul in the box on Bailey to give UT Martin a penalty kick in the 90th minute. The graduate Hunt took the kick for the Skyhawks and buried the PK for her second game winner of the season.
The Skyhawks will travel to Memphis to go head-to-head with the Tigers for their final non-conference match on Sunday, Sept 17 at 7 p.m. with ESPN+ and live stats available.
MOREHEAD STATE 2, UNC ASHEVILLE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State Soccer saw sixth-year midfielder Colleen Swift and senior defender Anna Lohrer find the back of the net with goals Thursday, but visiting UNC Asheville sneaked in a late goal to force a 2-2 tie at the MSU Soccer Field.
MSU sits at 1-4-3 now, while th Bulldogs moved to 4-1-3 in the first-ever meeting between the schools on the pitch.
After the teams battled to a scoreless draw at the half, Lohrer's second career goal came at 56:29. Fifth-year Natalie Ledin served in a cross from the far side, which was flicked to Lohrer by fifth-year Sarah Faloon. Lohrer beat the Bulldog keeper Grace Murray to the right corner of the back of the net for her second career goal. Ledin and Faloon were both credited with their second career assists.
UNCA got the equalizer 11 minutes later when Daysha Chaney headed home a long cross to beat Eagle keeper Erin Gibbs.
MSU went back ahead with 11 minutes to play. Freshman midfielder Michelle Hochstadt lofted a nice cross pass into the box from the far left wing. Murray got her hands on it but only a deflection right to Swift. She calmly smacked her 13th career goal on a low shot to the middle. Hochstadt picked up her first career assist.
The Eagles looked to be in position to claim their second victory, but a defensive issue in the 88th minute allowed the Bulldogs to tie the match.
Morehead State, which leads the OVC in shots and shots on goal, kept that average up with a 16-15 shot advantage. Eight of the attempts were on target. Freshman Hedda Ornberg, who leads the OVC in shots individually, had a team-high six tonight.
Morehead State opens league play Sunday at Little Rock. Match time is 1 p.m. ET.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1, COLUMBIA COLLEGE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior midfielder Emma Brune slotted the game-winning goal as Southeast Missouri (4-2-1) defeated Columbia College (4-1-0) on Thursday evening by a final score of 1-0.
SEMO won a corner in the 70th minute of the contest as freshman Justi Nelson served up a beautiful cross into the box. Brune, on her birthday, out jumped the Columbia defense to beat the keeper for the only goal of the match.
Brune finished the match with four shots, including two on goal, and played the full 90-minutes for the Redhawks on Thursday night.
As a team, SEMO finished with 10 shots with four on target to Columbia's nine shots (4 SOGs).
Six Redhawks played the full 90-minutes as defenders Natalie Jackson, Maddie Paulson, Alayna Jakul, and midfielders Brune and Zoe Houston were integral in the Redhawks fourth win on the season.
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink was the sixth Redhawk who played the entire match. The sophomore keeper recorded her fourth clean sheet of the season stopping four shots on target while facing nine total.
Sophomore Cayla Koerner, the leading goal scorer in the OVC, finished with a single shot in 67 minutes of game time. Her best chance came in early in the first half as she got behind the Columbia defense for a one-on-one chance with the keeper. Koerner fired the shot, but a Columbia defender swept it away for a Redhawks corner kick.
The Redhawks generated 10 corner kicks to Columbia's three, which proved to be a huge advantage in the contest with the game-winning goal coming from the set piece.
SEMO soccer will be back in action next Thursday, Sept. 21, as they begin Ohio Valley Conference play against Western Illinois. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m., CT. in Macomb, Ill.
LITTLE ROCK 2, LOUISIANA TECH 1
RUSTON, La. - The Little Rock Trojans leave Ruston with a victory after a nail biting game against Louisiana Tech. The Trojans finish non-conference play with a record of 3-1-4.
The match was very much back-and-forth for the vast majority of the contest. In the first part of the first half, the Trojans dominated the ball, keeping play in the attacking third; however, the Bulldogs drew a foul in the penalty box in the 38th minute which led to a penalty kick. Marie Cimatti blocked the original penalty kick, but it was rebounded by Kuroyanagi who sent it in. The Bulldogs led 1-0 going into half.
Karina De Paoli notched her fourth goal of the season in the 53rd minute off an assist by Abbie Smith and Kaitlin Graeber to tie the game 1-1. The winning goal came from a Bulldog's own goal in the 59th minute to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.
The final 32 minutes of play were as intense as they come. The battle for possession was key as the Trojans looked to close out the game. Ultimately, the Trojans closed out the half with the lead as Peyton Urban racked up 5 saves. This game marks the first game of the season in which the Trojans fought from behind and gained the win.
Little Rock now looks forward to starting conference play against Morehead State at home Sunday at noon.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 1, KANSAS CITY 1
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer extended its current unbeaten streak to three matches on Thursday night, recording a 1-1 tie on the road against the University of Kansas City.
The draw was USI's first result away from home this season and pushed the Screaming Eagles' record to 1-5-3 to conclude the non-conference slate. Thursday's tie was Kansas City's third straight 1-1 match, moving the Roos to 1-3-4 on the year.
The Roos jumped out from kickoff with pressuring offense, taking four shots within the first 10 minutes of the contest. One shot banged off the crossbar and bounced off the back of USI's sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama). Markland found a way to sandwich the ball between her and the goalpost and kept the ball from crossing over the goal line. The reigning Ohio Valley Conference co-Goalkeeper of the Week and the Eagles' defense faced a good amount of shots in the first half and forced many of them off target.
Southern Indiana flipped field position later in the first half, as freshman midfielder Lydia Bordfeld (Evansville, Indiana) fired USI's first shot of the game in the 29th minute. Fellow freshman Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) took two shots just minutes later. As both teams battled to grab hold of the momentum before halftime, USI struck a minute before the break. Following a series of midfield passes, senior defender Alexis Schone (Galena, Ohio) directed an over-the-top service from the center line to the attacking box for running sophomore forward Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky). Seymour beat the defense and punched the ball past the goalkeeper for her first career goal, giving USI a 1-0 advantage at the intermission.
The Eagles came out of halftime with a pair of attempts, but each shot was blocked by Kansas City. The Roos resumed their relentless offensive pressure in the early minutes of the second half, but USI's defense continued to challenge Kansas City's shot attempts. Despite the strong effort from the defensive unit, Kansas City broke through to even the match at 1-1 in the 65th minute.
With both teams in search of the go-ahead goal, the pace ramped up. Kansas City kept Markland busy between the posts, but USI's netminder stood tall by adding to her save total throughout the night. Down the stretch, Southern Indiana saw good opportunities from set pieces and in the field of play. The Eagles' defense blocked three shots in the last five minutes while Markland made another crucial save. USI took the final chance of the match off a turnaround shot by junior midfielder Adriana Berruti (Berwyn, Illinois), but the shot on goal was saved by the Roos' goalkeeper and kept the match level at 1-1.
The Screaming Eagles took 12 shots in the match, putting three on goal. USI's defense faced a season-high 28 shots and 10 on target by Kansas City's attack. Individually, Seymour scored her first career goal on her only shot attempt of the contest. Torres topped USI with three shots, placing one on goal. Senior midfielder Paige Vanek (St. Charles, Missouri) had two shot attempts. In net, Markland corralled a career-high nine saves on Thursday night.
Southern Indiana gets a little break before continuing the current road swing next Thursday with the Ohio Valley Conference opener at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.