Ohio Valley Conference

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - After a three-nil loss to start the season against Iowa State, Western Illinois Women's Soccer returned to Iowa on Sunday as they took on Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. The Panthers played a dominant first half, scoring five goals in the first 36 minutes of action, leading them to a win. 

The Leatherneck offense threatened early, drawing a corner not 30 seconds into the match. Kayla Turner whipped a ball into Alanna Pennington, who attempted to head one towards the back post but just missed. Shortly after, the Panthers started their offensive barrage, scoring in the fifth minute to make it one-nil. 

The Panther offense put another in in the 13th, making it two-nil, a near repeat of Thursday evening's game against Iowa State. Hana Daoudi had a good chance to get one back in the 23rd minute, as she launched one from about 22 yards out, but her attempt was calmly saved.

Northern Iowa kept the pressure on, scoring two goals in four minutes to make it four-nil just 29 minutes in. They added a fifth before the break, and threatened to score more before the half-time whistle was called, but they were kept at five. 

In the second half, freshman keeper Ariel Bernard entered for Navas Rodriguez. Bernard did well in the second, saving four attempts without allowing a goal in 45 minutes of work. 

Western Illinois junior transfer Callie McMurtrey put the Leathernecks on the board for the first time in 2024 in the 56th. Attacking from the left side, Rachel Balinao did well to put McMurtrey into open space just outside the box, and she took one touch before firing a rocket into the back of the net to make it five to one, which held until the final whistle.

TENNESSEE TECH 2, MIAMI (OH) 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech soccer team used late theatrics to pick up its first point of 2024 as the Golden Eagles scored late to force a 2-2 deadlock in the club's home opener against Miami (Ohio) Sunday afternoon at Tech Soccer Field.

Trailing 2-1 with just under 10 minutes left in regulation, Golden Eagle newcomer Cheyenne McCloud smoked an equalizing goal from well outside the box, tucking the drive off the right post and in the upper-right corner of the net for her first career goal. The 81st-minute knotting goal saw Katie Toney and Ashley Wood both pick up assists.

McCloud's heroics became necessary after the RedHawks (1-0-1) seized a second-half lead on Taylor Hamlett's second goal of the contest that broke a 1-1 tie in 61st minute. The 5-foot-7 forward, who now has four goals and two assists in Miami's first two affairs, gathered in close with her back turned away from the net before spinning around and sneaking one home to push the RedHawk advantage to 2-1.

Tech (0-1-1) jumped out to an early lead on a Neve Renwick goal in the 14th minute for the sophomore's second score of the season. The go-ahead goal came off a set piece with Golden Eagle keeper Maggie Conrad picking up the assist after taking the free kick from Tech's portion of the pitch. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native belted a blast that skipped into the box before Renwick took control and buried one into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.  

The Golden Eagle edge would be short lived after Miami responded 31 seconds later on Hamlett's first goal of the match in the 15th minute to square the tilt at 1-1.

Renwick would go on to lead the match with four shots, while Toney produced three for the purple and gold. Makenna Morrison and Maris Jennings each led the RedHawks with three tries apiece. Overall, Miami held a narrow 16-15 advantage in total attempts.

Conrad collected six stops in the draw. Dominique Popa picked up a pair of saves in her 2024 season debut.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, AKRON 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Abby Reinl scored the first goal of the season for Eastern Illinois as the Panthers played to a 1-1 draw against Akron in their home opener at Lakeside Field on Sunday afternoon.
 
Reinl provided the Panthers with an early 1-0 lead as she scored in the 10th minute on EIU's first serious offensive push of the contest.
 
Morgan Rinker served a ball into the box from the high left side as Reinl beat Akron goalkeeper Penelope Cuirinier to the loose ball and flicked home a right footed shot for the goal.
 
The Panthers were able to make that goal stand up through the opening 45 minutes leading 1-0 at the half.
 
Akron evened the match twenty minutes into the second half taking advantage of a free kick.  Morgan Pentz sent the free kick piece into the goal box and Ella Hadley touched the ball home for the equalizer in the 65th minute.
 
EIU (0-1-1) finished with four total shots on goal with Reinl picking up two, Avery Richardson one and Ella Onstott one. 
 
Akron (1-0-1) had five total shots on goal with EIU goalkeeper Ashlyn Hoover making four saves.   Sara Bower had two saves for Akron playing the final 45 minutes for the Zips.

ARKANSAS STATE 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
JONESBORO, Ark. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opened its 2024 season by falling 3-0 on the road to Arkansas State University on Sunday afternoon.
 
USI got some offensive momentum out of the gate by putting together three possessions ending in shots on goal in the first twenty minutes. The best scoring chance early came off the leg of senior midfielder Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) from outside the box that forced Arkansas State's goalkeeper to make a save to her left.
 
The Screaming Eagles were solid on defense in the opening minutes, holding the Red Wolves scoreless through the first 20-plus minutes of the game. Then the Red Wolves put one in the back of the net to go up 1-0 in the 25th minute after a free kick led to a secondary chance and a header in.
 
From there, Arkansas State built on its momentum in the attacking half. A strike from outside the box that found the top corner of the goal doubled the Red Wolves' advantage, 2-0, before closing out the rest of the first half.
 
Southern Indiana began the second stanza with good urgency, possessing the ball in the offensive midfield and hindering Arkansas State from transition opportunities in the early minutes of the second half. USI sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) had one of the Eagles' best chances out of the intermission with a shot that deflected off a defender and barely missed the bottom corner of the goal in the 51st minute.
 
Arkansas State went on to add a third goal in the 61st minute from the penalty spot that just snuck past the outstretched glove of USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama).
 
Markland finished with six saves in the match, including a diving save on a close-range shot in the 74th minute.
 
Despite USI generating a similar number of second-half shot chances to Arkansas State, the Screaming Eagles ran out of time. Southern Indiana produced seven shots in the second half compared to four in the first half of play.
 
Southern Indiana totaled 11 shots with four on goal Sunday afternoon. Torres had a team-high three shots for the Eagles. Arkansas State placed nine of 18 shot attempts on target while improving to 2-0 with the win.

OMAHA 2, LINDENWOOD 0
OMAHA, Neb. - On Sunday afternoon, the Lindenwood women's soccer team matched up against the University of Nebraska at Omaha. The Lions would fall 2-0 to the Mavericks, after giving up two first half goals.

In the first half, the Mavericks would find the back of the net in a hurry, scoring in the third minute of the game, taking the early 1-0 lead. The Mavericks would find the back of the net once again in the 15th minute, extending their lead to two. Strong defense by the Mavericks would hold the Lions scoreless in the first half. After one half of play, Lindenwood would trail 2-0. Lindenwood in the half would be outshot 6-1. Jordan Hollingworth would get the start in net, making three saves in the frame.
 
In the second half, both teams would be held scoreless. Lindenwood would find their footing offensively in the second half, quadrupling their shots in the frame, as well as doubling their shots on net. Hollingsworth would make one save in the half, making a total of four saves in the match.

UT MARTIN 0, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team produced a hard-fought battle against Southern Illinois and came away with a 0-0 draw in the home opener today.
 
In extremely windy conditions, the Skyhawk offense fired 17 shots as a team this afternoon while UT Martin's defense limited the visiting Salukis to only four shot attempts in the final 45 minutes.
 
Izzy Patterson led the Skyhawks in shots with five (one on goal) while Unni Wolf (three shots, two on goal), Allie Buchmann (two shots on goal) and Abbie McHenry (one shot on goal) each sent shots on goal. The group of Rachel Valenzuela, Nyeemah Prescod-Beckles, Brooke Kala, Peyton Cook, Makayla Robinson and Alberte Amby also each had a shot attempt during today's contest.
 
In goal, Mac Titus produced a match-high nine saves in a gutsy full 90-minute performance. Anna Østergaard Ibsen, Shayla Addington, Parker Gelinas, Patterson and Buchmann went the full distance with 90 minutes played for UT Martin (0-1-1).
 
It was a shot-heavy first half with both teams combining for 22 attempts at the break. Titus snared six saves in the first half alone and denied three more Southern Illinois scoring opportunities in the final 45 minutes. The trio of Wolf, Buchmann and McHenry each nearly broke the scoreless tie with shots on goal in the opening half but the Salukis recorded saves.
 
The Skyhawks would see Buchmann (48:01) and Wolf (48:05) put together back-to-back quality chances early in the second half but they were ultimately turned away by Southern Illinois. Patterson accounted for UT Martin's final shot on goal of the match as she broke through for a look in the 78th minute but her shot was saved. The Skyhawk defense held the Salukis without a shot attempt over the final 12:36.

MURRAY STATE 2, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri women's soccer (0-1-0) fell in the second match of the season to Murray State (1-1-0) on Sunday evening from Houck Stadium by a final score of 2-1. 
 
The Racers jumped out to a one-goal advantage within the game's first 10-minutes. MSU's Breece Bass dribbled into the SEMO box and scored the first goal of the match at the five-minute mark. 
 
The Redhawks trailed Murray, 1-0, at the halftime interval. SEMO trailed MSU in shots by a 6-1 mark with none on target from the home team.
 
SEMO would respond with a strong second half as they registered five shots against MSU's goalkeeper, Griselda Revolorio. 
 
Still trailing in the 84th minute, senior midfielder Elizabeth Rater fired a shot outside of the Murray State box with her left foot to score the equalizer. The goal was the first of the season for the Redhawks, and the first for Rater in 2024. 
 
The Mequon, Wis.-native played in all 90-minutes of the match as her only shot found the back-of-the-net. 
 
11 seconds of game time later, Bass found the back of SEMO's net to regain the goal advantage for the Racers. Bass' goal proved to be the decider as the Redhawks fell 2-1. 
 
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink, who made her first start of 2024 on Sunday, played all 90-minutes of the match in net. She made two saves on nine MSU shots, allowing the two goals. 
 
Alayna Jakul, Kristin Anderson, and Emma Tucker were the other three Redhawks who played the full 90 on Sunday night. 
 
The Redhawks totaled six shots in the match, led by forward Cayla Koerner who registered two shots, none on target. Rater, Tucker, and junior forward Navi Washington registered the other four shots combined on the night.

KENTUCKY 2, MOREHEAD STATE 0
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Despite a shot differential that favored Kentucky, the Morehead State soccer team held its own on the road against the Wildcats, before succumbing to a 2-0 decision on Sunday night at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington.

The hosts scored once in the first half and then got the benefit of the use of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) which determined a penalty kick should be awarded, which enabled Kentucky (2-0-0) to get its final goal of the night.

It was the second of three road games to start the season for Morehead State (0-1-1). UK has played both of its regular-season contests at home.

Kentucky took 13 shots in the first half and another 12 in the second. MSU only got off two shots, both in the final 45 minutes. UK also took all 10 corner kicks and was flagged five times for being offside. The hosts even had the benefit in foul calls, with MSU being whistled 12 times to the Wildcats' eight.

UK's Abigail Stager put her team on the board at 36:34 with an unassisted goal from the center of the field just inside the 18-yard box. Makala Woods scored on the penalty kick at the 52-minute mark.

Kentucky had possession of the ball for two-thirds of the night. Morehead State was on its defensive side of the field for 78 percent of the contest.

Freshman Claire Cress earned her first collegiate start in goal and recorded five saves. The Eagles also had a defensive save. Marz Josephson played 58 minutes and 10 seconds in the Wildcat net, before yielding to Nikki Coryell, who finished the game. Neither player made any saves.

Ava Peck and Mary Trudeau were credited with MSU's shots. Kentucky was led by Anna Sikorski, who finished with four.

Four yellow cards were awarded, one each to Marinna Campos, Gracen Houck, Woods and coach Cox.

The Wildcats improved their all-time record against the Eagles to 4-0-1. All five games took place in Lexington.