THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 3, illinois Springfield 0
@Northern Illinois 6,
Southern Indiana 1
South Dakota State 3,
@Western Illinois 0
Morehead State 1, @Bellarmine 0
@Evansville 2,
Lindenwood 1
@SMU 2,
Little Rock 0
@Mississippi State 1,
Tennessee Tech 0
@UT Martin 2, Indiana State 1
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, ILLINOIS SPRINGFIELD 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Alex Tetteh came up one goal shy of tying the Eastern Illinois record for goals in a match as she posted a hat trick in the first 20 minutes of the contest lifting EIU (2-2-1) to a 3-0 win over Illinois Springfield.
Tetteh scored her first two goals on headers on crosses from Kate Germano and Colleen Bauer. The first goal came just three minutes into the match. The second tally was in the 12th minute.
Tetteh finished off the hat trick as she drew a foul in the goal box and knocked home the penalty kick in the 19th minute for the final score.
EIU finished with 12 total shots in the match, six of them on target. Carys Grieve, Ashley Petersen and Kylie Mahoney picked up the additional EIU shots on goal.
Ashlyn Hoover, last week's OVC Goalkeeper of the Week, posted her second clean sheet of the season without having to make a save as all six Prairie Stars shots in the match were not on goal.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 6, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
DEKALB, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer suffered a 6-1 setback against Northern Illinois University late Thursday afternoon in DeKalb, Illinois, as the Huskies used a big second half to pull away from the Screaming Eagles.
Not long after the opening kickoff, USI (0-3-1) entered the attacking half in the early minutes to earn a pair of corner-kick opportunities. However, Northern Illinois (2-0-1) scored the game's first tally in the seventh minute to take a 1-0 advantage after winning a ball out of the air and slipping a through-ball across the goal line.
The Screaming Eagles made a run in the back half of the first 45 minutes, starting with a shot from freshman midfielder Josie Pochocki (LaGrange Park, Illinois) that was blocked inside the box and out for a USI corner kick. A few minutes later, junior forward Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky) laced a shot that was blocked away by NIU's goalkeeper for another USI corner. Southern Indiana's first-half efforts paid off in the 43rd minute when junior midfielder Emerson Grafton (Camas, Washington) got a takeaway near midfield, ran down the field, and struck a shot from nearly 25 yards out and over the keeper for her first USI goal to tie the match, 1-1.
Out of halftime, Northern Illinois quickly retook the lead, 2-1, with a goal just over a minute into the second stanza. The Huskies scored again a few minutes later and went on to grab a 4-1 lead by the midway point of the second half. Remaining in control, the Huskies continued their big charge by scoring twice more in the last 15 minutes of the contest.
USI took eight shots with six on goal in the match. All four of USI's shots in the second half were on target. USI also had 10 corner kicks in the game, seven of which came in the first half. Northern Illinois finished with 13 shots and eight on goal.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
MACOMB, Ill. - The 2024 Western Illinois Women's Soccer team played its first regular season game at John MacKenzie Alumni Field on Thursday evening, welcoming former conference foe South Dakota State to Macomb. The Jackrabbits were dominant in the match, jumping out to an early lead and holding on for a three-nil victory.
Western Illinois saw two players make milestone debuts in Thursday's match, as Ariel Bernard got the start in goal after an impressive second half vs. Northern Iowa, and outside back Hilary Halpin made her debut after missing the first two games due to injury.
The Jackrabbits started the scoring in the 13th minute after the ball bounced around in the box between blue and white jerseys, before falling to Jackrabbit forward Katelyn Beulke who put it away for the one-nil lead.
In the 31st minute, South Dakota State drew a penalty on a handball, and Maleah Evans put it away for a two-nothing lead. SDSU outshot Western 14-2 in the first half, a truly dominant showing.
The Jackrabbits added a third in the 58th, as Beulke broke away and calmly put it in. Western Illinois finished the game being outshot 26-8, and the Jackrabbits also led the corner advantage 12-1. Ariel Bernard did well to rack up 12 saves in the match, but Western Illinois did not see many chances as SDSU was able to keep it in Western's third for the majority of the match.
MOREHEAD STATE 1, BELLARMINE 0
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Morehead State's start to the 2024 soccer season keeps improving as the Eagles went on the road to defeat Bellarmine 1-0 on Thursday night in blistering heat at the Owsley B. Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Ky.
It was a momentous victory in many respects.
MSU (3-1-1) raised its winning streak to three, continued the best start to a season since 2014, improved its road record to 5-2-1 in the last eight games, marked the program's first win in Louisville in six tries, extended its run of holding opponent scoreless to 265 minutes and 50 seconds, and defeated Bellarmine for the first time in history.
However, the victory did not come easily. First-year coach Paul Cox was thankful to get out of town with the win.
The night's lone goal came in the 37th minute as sophomore forward Hedda Ornberg converted a pass from freshman BB Bonzheim and scored from the left side just inside the box.
It also was the second straight clean sheet for freshman goalkeeper Claire Cress, who ended the night with three saves.
Despite the MSU win, Bellarmine (0-2-1) had the edge in most statistical categories, including shots (16 to 11) and corner kicks (4 to 3). Eleven of the Knights' scoring attempts came in the second half. BU held possession of the ball for 54 percent of the game and kept it in the Eagles' defensive zone for 52 percent of the night.
Both teams committed eight fouls and were presented with three yellow cards. The Eagles were flagged for being offside three times to just two for the hosts. Morehead State won one category. It took four shots on goal to just three for BU.
Ornberg and freshman forward Carlie Thurmond led the squad in shots with three apiece. Junior midfielder Kennedy Baquero added two.
Rachel Skyberg paced her team with four shots, followed by reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Week Emma Nicholson, who had three. Cambria Kingman went the distance in the Knights' net and finished with three saves.
Bellarmine suffered its sixth home defeat in its last seven outings.
Last year, in their only other meeting, the two teams tied 1-1 in Morehead.
EVANSVILLE 2, LINDENWOOD 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - On Thursday evening, Lindenwood matched up against the Evansville Purple Aces in the Hoosier State. Lindenwood would fall 2-1, after giving up two late goals in second half, moving to 2-3-0 on the 2024 campaign.
In the first half, the match would be tightly contested with both teams being held off the scoresheet. Lindenwood edged Evansville in shots in the half, outshooting the Purple Aces 4-0, with one shot falling on target. Evansville would attain the advantage in corners kicks with two, while the Lions had one corner kick in the frame.
In the second half, the match would remain at a stalemate till the 71st minute. In the 71st minute, Evansville would find a seem in the Lions defense, playing a through pass in the box leading to a shot that would be placed in the left side of the net, to put the Purple Aces up 1-0. Five minutes later in the 76th minute, the Purple Aces would expand their lead to two, scoring off a second chance opportunity. In the 88th minute, Mackenzie Compton would float a shot over the goalkeeper, bending it into the top-left corner, ending Lindenwood's scoreless drought. With two minutes left to play, the Lions would trail the Purple Aces 2-1. Both teams would remain scoreless for the last two minutes of the match. The Purple Aces would outshoot the Lions 9-6 in the second half.
Caroline Ritter would get the start in net, making two stops.
SMU 2, LITTLE ROCK 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock concludes season-opening road stretch with a loss against SMU.
The game got off to an even start with both teams making solid defensive plays to keep the ball in the middle third for most of the beginning of the match. The Mustangs struck first with a goal in the 23rd minute followed by another goal in the 31st minute.
The second half saw a much more aggressive Little Rock side as the Trojans recorded a season high 7 shots in the second half. In the 69th minute, a questionable red card for "denied goal scoring opportunity" was called on Kate Benne. This forced the Trojans to play one down for the remainder of the match. Despite the added obstacle, Little Rock's energy bolstered them to complete the second half shut out. Senior captain Mykena Turrner led the charge providing a voice of leadership.
MISSISSIPPI STATE TENNESSEE TECH
STARKVILLE, Miss. - A narrow clashed curved No. 22 Mississippi State's way as the Tennessee Tech soccer team dropped its battle with the Bulldogs 1-0 Thursday evening at MSU Soccer Field.
Scoreless over 60 minutes into the match, State scored the tilt's only goal behind an Atiana Martinez-Montoya drive in the 63rd minute that broke the nil-nil deadlock. A pair of passes out of Kennedy Husbands and Hannah Johnson set Martinez-Montoya up before the senior forward split the pipes to put the Bulldogs (4-1-0) ahead.
The lone State score marked a season-low in goals allowed by the Golden Eagles.
Tech (0-4-1) attempted two shots in the contest thanks to tries by Lucia Cuadra and Melina Hamm. Cuardra's bid was on-goal.
Martinez-Montoya and Johnson led the MSU charge with three attempts apiece. Mississippi State took 18 total shots with seven on-frame.
Maggie Conrad picked up six stops, while Maddy Anderson gobbled up Cuadra's try for the Seabrook, Texas product's only save in the shutout effort.
Allison Lee, Cheyenne McCloud, Abigail Davis, Delaney Wade and Meredith Nye appeared in all 90 minutes for the purple and gold.
UT MARTIN 2, INDIANA STATE 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team used timely goals and stout defense to bring home its first win of the 2024 season, defeating Indiana State by a 2-1 margin this evening.
The Skyhawks (1-1-2) saw freshman Unni Wolf (37th minute, unassisted) score her first career goal while Makayla Robinson (56th minute, assist from Izzy Patterson and Peyton Cook) drove home the game-winner just a minute after Indiana State (3-1-0) got on the scoreboard. UT Martin won the shot battle by a 26-15 count and placed 13 of its attempts on goal.
The season-high 26 shots were achieved by an aggressive attack from Patterson (team-best eight shots, four on goal), Robinson (five shots, two on goal), Wolf (four shots, two on goal), Cook (four shots, three on goal), Brooke Kala (two shots), Parker Gelinas (one shot on goal), Nyeemah Prescod-Beckles (one shot on goal) and Alberte Amby (one shot).
The UT Martin backline denied chance after chance that the Sycamores threw at them and goalkeeper Mac Titus wound up with eight pivotal saves. Anna Østergaard Ibsen, Shayla Addington, Ella Rucka, Gelinas, Wolf, Patterson and Titus played the full 90 minutes to pace the Skyhawks.
The first half belonged to UT Martin as it outshot Indiana State 15-1 and cashed in with Wolf's long-range snipe to the bottom right corner. After halftime, the Sycamores would put pressure on the Skyhawks and finally broke through with a bullet off the boot of Mackenzie Kent in the 55th minute. Cook and Patterson responded quickly when they each contributed on passes to Robinson, who converted on a one-on-one opportunity for her 11th career goal and fourth game-winner in a UT Martin uniform.
Titus came up with big saves in the 75th, 77th and 80th minutes to keep the Skyhawk advantage at 2-1. The senior out of Chelsea, Ala. also tacked on big stops in the 85th and 87th minutes before the Sycamores had one final chance with 11 seconds left. However, Rucka denied a pass that was lofted into the box and was able to clear the ball as the final seconds ran off.