Ohio Valley Conference

MOREHEAD, Ky. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer claimed its first road win of the season Sunday afternoon when the Screaming Eagles used a late second-half goal toward a 1-0 victory at Morehead State University.
 
Southern Indiana (3-8-4, 2-2-2 OVC) was looking to get back on track Sunday following a two-game skid in Ohio Valley Conference play. The match started with offensive opportunities coming at a premium. Junior midfielder Emerson Grafton had both of Southern Indiana's first-half shots on goal within five minutes before the 20-minute mark.
 
Morehead State (6-6-3, 3-3-0 OVC) generated more shots down the stretch of the first half, but USI's defensive unit was solid, holding Morehead State to only one shot on goal out of six attempts in the opening 45 minutes. The defensive battle led to a 0-0 score at halftime.
 
After halftime, Grafton took two more shots on goal as USI threatened to score early in the second half. However, defense continued to be the theme of the match, as neither side recorded a shot for 20 minutes in the middle of the second half.
 
In the 77th minute, USI won possession on a 50-50 ball out of the air. Going into the box, redshirt freshman forward Eva Boer turned and played a square ball to the middle where sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres found space and buried a shot into the low corner of the goal to give USI a 1-0 lead at the 76:23 mark.
 
Southern Indiana recorded four more shots in the final 13 minutes while the Screaming Eagles' defense stayed strong. Morehead State took a last-second shot at the goal, but USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland snagged the save to close out the win.
 
USI put six of eight shot attempts on goal Sunday. Grafton placed all four of her shots on target, marking the first time a Screaming Eagles put at least four shots on goal since August 2022 when Jill DiTusa put four shots on frame against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Meanwhile, Southern Indiana's defense held Morehead State, one of the top shooting teams in the OVC going into Sunday, to only nine shots and two shots on goal.
 
Through Sunday's early slate of matches in the OVC, Southern Indiana remained tied for fifth in the conference standings with eight points but closed the gap on Morehead State in fourth place.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0, LITTLE ROCK 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.  - With a draw against SEMO, Little Rock clinches the fastest playoff berth in program history. The Trojans now sit tied with Lindenwood at the top of the OVC with 14 points.

Little Rock faced a tough defensive battle against Southeast Missouri in a hard-fought 0-0 draw at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex. The Trojans controlled possession early on, firing off five shots in the first half, but despite their dominance, they couldn't find the breakthrough. Southeast Missouri's defense stood strong, keeping the game scoreless as both teams headed into halftime.

The second half saw Little Rock ramp up the pressure, registering another six shots, but continued to be denied. The Trojans created several opportunities, including four corner kicks, yet the opposing goalkeeper managed to keep everything out of the net. Little Rock's defense was equally up to the task, with Peyton Urban making five saves to record her seventh shutout of the season.

Both teams traded physical play throughout the game, with a total of six yellow cards handed out. Despite their efforts, neither side could break the deadlock, and the Trojans had to settle for a point. However, their defensive resilience remains a key factor as they continue their unbeaten run in conference play.

With four games remaining in the season, Little Rock stays strong at the top of the standings and will look to return to winning form in their next match.

SIUE 1, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech soccer team and SIUE exchanged second-half goals on the way to a 1-1 draw to wrap up another weekend of OVC action Sunday afternoon at Tech Soccer Field.

The Golden Eagles struck first behind a Katie Toney goal in the 63rd minute, but the Cougars (2-6-5, 1-2-3 OVC) pulled even in the tilt's late stages thanks to an Emma Czech equalizer in the 85th minute. SIUE's score came courtesy of a Sidney Christopher free kick that connected with Czech inside the box for the freshman's first career score. Christopher earned an assist on the play.

Toney's goal that unwrapped the scoring saw the McMinnville, Tenn. native find the back of the net off a Golden Eagle set piece. Lucia Cuadra started the chance with a corner that wound up in front of Allison Lee. After Lee's initial attempt was blocked, the redirection ended up with Toney, who buried the try for her sixth goal of the season and 15th of her careeer.

Toney has now picked up at least two points in five straight matches, splitting the pipes in four of the five contests over the scoring surge.

With the draw, Tech (4-7-5, 4-1-1 OVC) runs its unbeaten streak to five straight thanks to four wins and a tie. The streak marks the fourth year in a row in which the Golden Eagles have rolled out at least a five-match unbeaten stretch.

Lee led all players in the contest with a season-high four shots. The Powell, Tenn. product pace Tech with two shots on-goal. Christopher, MaryClaire Imig and Kasey Neidhardt led the Cougars with two shots apiece. SIUE outshot the Golden Eagles, 13-10. The two clubs each registered four attempts on-frame.

Maggie Conrad claimed three saves during her day in between the pipes, while Abby Haskell picked up a pair of stops in the stalemate.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's soccer honored the four members of its senior class on Sunday afternoon but it was two members of the Panthers sophomore class that provided the offensive fireworks in EIU's 4-0 win over Western Illinois.
 
The Panthers improved to 4-6-5 overall, 2-2-2 in the OVC securing three points in the OVC standings with three matches left in the regular season.  WIU fell to 1-11-1 overall, 1-4-1 in the OVC.
 
Abby Reinl scored for the fourth consecutive match finding the net on an early offensive attack as Morgan Rinker pushed the ball up the left side of the field to find Carys Grieve who quickly touched the ball to Reinl for the one-time shot in the opening 1:21 of the match.  (original assist and story mentioned Ella Onstott with assist, was changed after watching video replay for correct assist credit).
 
EIU led 1-0 at the half and continued to pour on the offensive attack in the second half with 12 of their 15 shots and three additional goals.
 
Alex Tetteh found the back of the net on a free kick with a left footed rocket to the upper corner in the 50th minute.
 
Reinl tacked on her second goal of the match, seventh of the season, five minutes later stealing a pass in the WIU zone and racing towards goal to finish.
 
Tetteh had her second goal of the match in the 84th minute as she headed home a ball finishing off a flurry in front of the net that included a Katiebeth May shot that hit the crossbar and an Avery Richardson attempt that was blocked in front of the goal.  It was Tetteh's sixth goal of the season.
 
Ella Kratochvil made two saves for the shutout win with Alanna Pennington and Hana Daoudi picking up shots on goal for the Leathernecks.
 
EIU honored seniors Carys Grieve, Avery Richardson, Morgan Rinker and Elisa Solis prior to the match.

LINDENWOOD 2, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - On Sunday, women's soccer (7-4-2, 3-0-2 OVC) took on UT Martin (2-8-3, 1-4-0 OVC). The Lions would defeat the Skyhawks 2-1, clinching a spot in the OVC tournament.

In the first half, the Lions would find the first goal of the match. 6:32 into the half, Anna Johnson would curl a right-footed shot outside the box into the top-left corner, to put the Lions up 1-0. Johnson's goal would be assisted by Mackenzie Compton. Six and half minutes later Lily Sutter would extend the Lions lead to two, burying the ball into the back of the net off a rebound. Sutter's goal would be assisted by Compton and Ava Blum. For the remainder of the half, both teams were held scoreless. After a half of play the Lions led the Skyhawks 2-0. In the half, Lindenwood outshot UT Martin 10-9. Caroline Ritter would make two saves in the frame.
 
In the second half, the first 28 minutes were quiet, brought out by strong defensive play. In the 74th minute, UT Martin would break their scoreless drought, cutting the Lions lead in half. For the remainder of the game both teams were held off the scoring column. The Lions outshot the Skyhawks 10-6 in the second half. Caroline Ritter made three saves in the half, for a total of five in the match.
 
After the final whistle, Lindenwood improves to 8-4-2 on the year, and 4-0-2 in conference play.