Ohio Valley Conference

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - You can put a check mark by the first step in the Morehead State women's soccer team's defense of its Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title as the fifth-seeded Eagles upended eighth-seeded UT Martin 1-0 on Thursday afternoon at Strassweg Field in Evansville, Ind.

Sophomore forward Hedda Ornberg scored her eighth goal of the year and in her third consecutive game as she put the Eagles ahead two minutes and 48 seconds into the Halloween afternoon contest at Southern Indiana.

Fuller collected the ball about 30 yards out from the goal on the left side and played a through-ball to Ornberg, who ran onto it and from 15 yards out laced a hard shot past UTM goalkeeper Mac Titus, who dove to her right to make the play. The ball then blasted past Titus and into the right side of the net.

Ornberg became the first Eagle to score in three consecutive contests since Macy Cobb tallied goals in the final four matches of the 2014 campaign.

Morehead State (8-6-5/4-3-2) did have other opportunities to score, most notably when Ornberg had an open look at the net, but her slow roller was cleared off the line by Ella Rucka, who ran from the edge of the 18-yard box and jumped to clear away an otherwise obvious goal 12 minutes and 41 seconds into the game.

The Eagles also staved off some golden chances from the Skyhawks, including a one-handed jumping save by Bailey that pushed an Izzy Patterson shot over the crossbar with 27 minutes remaining and another cleared off the line by freshman forward Ava Peck on a Makayla Robinson shot just feet from the goal after a corner kick with 14:32 to play.

The victory extended a pair of MSU unbeaten streaks to four games. Morehead State is 2-0-2 in its last four contests and 3-0-1 in its past four away contests. The earliest game of the latter category was a 1-0 win at UT Martin.

The Eagles are the defending OVC champs and have now won their last three league tournament contests, all by 1-0 decisions. It also marks the third straight year the Blue and Gold has won its opening conference tournament game.

MSU is now 6-3-3 away from home, which is its most road victories since 2013, when the club went 7-6-1. It also guarantees the Eagles will finish with a winning mark outside of games on their own field. The Blue and Gold's last winning campaign in true road contests came in 2010 (6-4-1).

Morehead State is now 16-12-1 all-time at the OVC Tournament, 4-4 as the No. 5 seed and 4-2-1 with the Skyhawks as the foe. UTM is MSU's most common OVC Tournament opponent.

UT Martin leads the all-time series 16-15-3, but the Eagles are 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings. The victory also gives the Blue and Gold a 3-2 advantage over the Skyhawks in all neutral site competitions.

It was the Blue and Gold's sixth shutout this season as the team inches closer to setting a new school record for the fewest goals allowed in a season at 21, which it achieved in 2022. It currently has surrendered 18.

With her fourth shutout, freshman goalkeeper Lilly Bailey moves into a tie for 10th place in team history for clean sheets in a year.

UT Martin (4-11-3/3-6-0) fell to 3-6-2 away from home this season and saw its two-game road winning streak come to an end.

The Skyhawks finished the afternoon with a 16-14 edge in shots, but the Eagles had more on frame (9 to 8). UTM also had an eight to six advantage in corner kicks and a three to two differential in offside calls. Morehead State had more fouls (5-3). For the second time this season in an MSU game, neither team was awarded a card.

Ornberg, Patteson and UTM's Brooke Kala all took five shots in the game. Senior forward/midfielder Erin Fite added three for the Eagles.

Both goalkeepers made seven saves, while each side was also credited with a defensive team save.

The possession was split 50-50, with each team controlling the ball for half of the afternoon. UTM was on the attack 64 percent of its time with the ball, while the Blue and Gold had the ball in the Skyhawk defensive zone for 57 percent of its possessions.

#7 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, #6 EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - No. 7 Southeast Missouri Soccer (3-10-3, 3-4-3 OVC) advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 2-1 victory over #6 Eastern Illinois (5-8-6, 3-4-3 OVC) on Thursday night at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles. 
 
Senior midfielder Elizabeth Rater recorded the game winning goal in the 84th minute as the Redhawks and Panthers were deadlocked at one goal apiece. 
 
SEMO outshot EIU by a 18-13 margin led by three Redhawks with four shots on the match. Cayla Koerner, Emily Baker, and Zoe Houston paced the Redhawks offensively on Thursday. 
 
Seven Redhawks played the full 90-minutes in the opening round including the entire defensive backline of Kristin Anderson, Alayna Jakul, Sophie Shrum, and Melissa Kubin. Zoe Houston and Elizabeth Rater played in the midfield for the entire duration. 
 
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink spent the entire night between the posts for the Redhawks. Elfrink made four saves on 13 shots faced. 
 
The Redhawks got off to a fast start with six shots-on-goal in the first half led by midfielder Zoe Houston with three including four shots total. 
 
Five different Redhawks recorded a first half shot as Cayla Koerner (3), Emily Baker (3), Elizabeth Rater (2), and Justi Nelson (1) all got on the shot chart in the opening 45. 
 
SEMO opened the scoring in the 23rd minute as Justi Nelson took a ball in the midfield from Emily Baker. Nelson dribbled the ball into the box and fired a left-footed shot that beat EIU's goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil.
 
For Nelson, the goal was the first of the season for the sophomore midfielder. 
 
SEMO's second-best chance came just two minutes later in the 24th minute as the ball bounced around and found the foot of Zoe Houston who fired a shot that was going into the bottom right of the net before an EIU defender kicked it away. 
 
The Redhawks opened the half with a shot in the second minute that forced a save from Kratochvil. 
 
SEMO outshot the Panthers 13-4 in the first 45-minutes, including six shots on goal. The Redhawks also utilized the corner kick, edging the Panthers 3-1 in the corners category. 
 
The Panthers opened the second half with a goal 23 seconds into the second 45 with a goal from Alex Tetteh on a breakaway to tie it at 1-1.
 
SEMO would come right back. Alli Saviano rifled a shot at the 48th minute that forced another save from EIU's goalkeeper. A minute later, Cayla Koerner fired her first shot of the second half forcing another save. 
 
With the score still tied and the time winding down, Elizabeth Rater (who left the match briefly due to an injury) returned from the sideline and received a great pass from Emily Baker on the right side of the pitch. 
 
Rater dribbled past an EIU defender and fired a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the goal in the 84thminute for a 2-1 SEMO lead and the game-winner.