Ohio Valley Conference

MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois University women's soccer team fell at home on Thursday to Green Bay, dropping a nonconference affair 5-0 in Monmouth. The Leathernecks (0-4) are next in action on Sunday, hosting Illinois State at 1 p.m.

After Western Illinois controlled possession early, Green Bay (1-3-1) jumped on the scoreboard, turning a counterattack into the first goal, 3:34 into the contest.

The two squads played even over the next 20 minutes until the Phoenix tacked on a pair of goals in the 23rd minute, forging ahead 3-0. Green Bay added a pair of second-half goals to cap the scoring.

Kayla Turner led the Leatherneck offense with three shots, two on net. Western Illinois finished with eight shots, six on goal. Goalie Ariel Bernard finished with seven saves on 11 shots on goal.

TENNESSEE TECH 1, CHATTANOOGA 1
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Early fireworks and late dramatics helped push the Tennessee Tech soccer team to its second-consecutive draw in a 1-1 deadlock at Chattanooga Thursday evening.

After playing Columbia to a 4-4 stalemate in Tech's last tangle on Sunday, the Golden Eagles (0-4-3) picked up a second-straight point after trading first-half scores with the Mocs. Tech jumped on the board in the 11th minute behind a Katie Toney penalty-kick goal before Chattanooga (1-4-2) squared the score in the 29th minute.

The scene stayed 1-1 until the waning moments of regulation before Maggie Conrad kept the knot tied with a clutch save inside the final 20 seconds of the match. A Chattanooga corner caromed off Clarissa Salinas appearing destined to find the back of the net, but a leaping Conrad punched the try over the crossbar to essentially seal the deal on another Golden Eagle deadlock.

Conrad's denial was one of seven stops for the junior, which included a key save on a Kelly Tuerff free kick from just outside the box that Conrad calmly collected in the 81st minute. Mocs keeper Caroline Ekern notched four saves across the way, but was also involved in the play that propelled the purple and gold to the first goal of the night.

A through ball played out ahead of Neve Renwick was chased down by the sophomore who gained possession beyond the back of the Chattanooga defense. With only Ekern to beat, the Mocs keeper rushed toward Renwick and was called for a foul in her attempt to keep the Golden Eagles off the board.

Tech took advantage of the infraction thanks to a Toney goal that saw the McMinnville, Tenn. native first ping a drive off the left post before smacking the rebound home for her second goal of the season and second in as many matches.

Renwick would go on to lead the match in shots behind a season-high six attempts. Toney took four shots as the pair combined for 10 of TTU's 11 bids and all five tries on-goal. Tuerff, Taylor Morris and Caroline Richvalsky paced the Mocs with three shots apiece.

Richvalsky was responsible for the lone Chattanooga goal thanks to a top-shelf finish in the 29th minute.

PURDUE FORT WAYNE 1, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer found itself in a scoreless deadlock for most of its road match at Purdue University Fort Wayne late Thursday, but a goal in the 72nd minute gave the host Mastodons a 1-0 win over the Screaming Eagles.
 
USI dropped to 0-5-1 on the season after its third setback determined by a one-goal difference. Purdue Fort Wayne moved to 4-2-1 after its second consecutive win and third 1-0 victory against an Ohio Valley Conference school this season.
 
Southern Indiana opened the contest aggressively on the offensive end and was ready to pull the trigger toward the goal. The Screaming Eagles tallied the game's first five shots by the 10-minute mark. Redshirt freshman Eva Boer (St. Charles, Illinois) had two of USI's early shot attempts.
 
Purdue Fort Wayne recorded its first shot in the 15th minute and was saved by USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama). The Mastodons went on to take 11 shots in the first half, but Southern Indiana's defense stayed solid by stepping in front and blocking four shots. Markland also notched another pair of saves, helping keep the match scoreless going into halftime.
 
After a quick shot by the Mastodons to start the second 45 minutes, USI sophomore midfielder Greta Ohlwein (Highland Park, Illinois) provided the Eagles a little spark with two shots and one on goal early in the second half.
 
USI's defense continued to keep Purdue Fort Wayne off the scoreboard despite facing many shots. However, the Mastodons broke through in the 72nd minute with a low-corner goal to take a 1-0 lead.
 
Inside the last 10 minutes of the game, Markland made three key saves to turn away Purdue Fort Wayne's efforts at an insurance goal and keep USI within one, but Southern Indiana was unable to find the back of the net before the final whistle.
 
Seeing 23 shot attempts from the Mastodons, Markland totaled a season-high seven saves for USI. Southern Indiana tallied nine shots with Ohlwein having a team-high three shots. Boer and sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) had two shots each. Purdue Fort Wayne placed nine shots on goal and USI had two on target.

WRIGHT STATE 3, MOREHEAD STATE 0
DAYTON, Ohio - Well, that was quick. The fast start to the Morehead State soccer team's season seemed to evaporate on Thursday night in Fairborn, Ohio.

Wright State just seems to have the Eagles' number. At the Alumni Field at Rinzler Student Sports Complex in MSU's fifth road game of the season, that number was three.

In WSU's home opener, the Raiders defeated the Eagles 3-0. It was the largest defeat for the Blue and Gold since dropping a 5-0 decision to Florida State in the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament and was the team's second shutout of the season.

The result ended MSU's three-game win streak and dropped the team's road mark to 2-2-1 on the year and 5-3-1 in its last nine outings away from home. It also likely means the Eagles' stay in the United Soccer Coaches' South Region rankings will be only one week.

Wright State (2-3-0), which has now won two straight games over Ohio Valley Conference opponents, extended its home unbeaten streak to seven and improved to 13-1-1 all-time against Morehead State (3-2-1), including a 6-1 mark at home.

Eagle coach Paul Cox admitted his team hurt itself.

"A humbling result for sure, we were punished on three mistakes and couldn't convert our chances," he said. "It's a learning moment for us. We are looking for a solid reaction going into Sunday."

It did not take long for Wright State to get on the board as the hosts picked up an unassisted goal by Olivia Stroud in the ninth minute.

It ended MSU's shutout string at 274 minutes and 13 seconds.

Nine minutes and 24 seconds later, the Raiders extended their lead to 2-0 on a pass from Stroud to Caitlin Burger.

At halftime, the Raiders held an 8-2 edge in shots and the Eagles did not even take one corner kick.

Things improved in the second half in most categories except the score. WSU got its third goal in the 51st minute off a pass from Ruby Dunlevy. Stroud again scored the goal, contributing on all three scores of the night.

The Eagles put together more offensive attacks in the second half. They had six shots and four corner kicks. In the end, Wright State finished with a 16-8 advantage in shots and a 5-4 edge in corner kicks.  MSU committed its fewest fouls of the season with three (to WSU's six). Morehead State was flagged for being offside a season-high five times, nearly doubling its previous high mark.

The hosts had nine shots on goal to Morehead State's five, had possession of the ball for 55 percent of the game and spent 52 percent of its time with the ball in the MSU side of the field. Conversely, the Eagles were on the attack in WSU's half of the pitch for 55 percent of the time.

One positive note, the Eagles did not get a single yellow card for the first time in 2024. MSU is tied for fifth in Division I with 10.

The Baquero sisters accounted for about two-thirds of the team's shots. Junior midfielder Kennedy Baquero had three and junior midfielder Kamryn Baquero chipped in two. Sophomore forward Hedda Ornberg also added two. Dunlevy had three to lead the Raiders. Five others had two.

OVC Goalkeeper of the Week Claire Cress went the distance and took the loss, falling to 3-2-1. The freshman finished with a season-high six saves. As they did last year, Kiera Sarka and Erin Barker shared time in the Wright State net with each playing 45 minutes. Sarka had one save and earned the win. Baker ended with three saves.

IU INDY 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - IU Indy scored in the opening 20 minutes and tacked on an insurance goal in the final five minutes of the opening half handing Eastern Illinois a 2-0 loss.

The Panthers fell to 2-3-2 on the season while the Jags picked up their first win of the season improving to 1-3-1.

EIU's offense was limited to seven total shots with two shots on goal by Elisa Solis and Alex Tetteh. 

Abby Reinl and Tetteh had two shots each accounting for four of the seven total shots by the Panthers.

IU Indy had just four shots on goal but scored on two of the attempts.  The first Jags goal came in the 19th minute by Caroline Kennedy.   Ella Green added a goal in the 41st minute for the second goal.

LOUISVILLE 2, UT MARTIN 0
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team competed to the very end in its 2-0 setback this evening against undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference foe Louisville at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
 
Izzy Patterson rocketed a shot attempt while Brooke Kala, Parker Gelinas, Ella Rucka, Shayla Addington and Anna Østergaard Ibsen played the full 90 minutes for the Skyhawks (1-3-2). Additionally, Mac Titus played the full match in goal and made four saves against 18 shots.
 
It seemed destined for a scoreless first half as the UT Martin defense more than held its own in the opening 45 minutes. However, the Cardinals (5-0-2) found the back of the net with just 59 seconds remaining before the halftime break as Gianna Angelillo scored on the first shot on goal of the night for either side.
 
After a Titus stop in the 47th minute kept the Skyhawk deficit at 1-0, Karsyn Cherry knocked in her fifth goal of the season at the 47:15 mark to make the score 2-0 in favor of Louisville.
 
UT Martin's defense held the Cardinals without another shot on goal attempt until the 79th minute as Titus was there for the save. The senior from Chelsea, Ala. added saves in the 81st and 90th minutes but the Louisville defense did not allow the Skyhawks a chance to get in an offensive rhythm.

LITTLE ROCK 2, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 0
CONWAY, Ark. - In a thrilling conclusion to the Governor's I-40 Showdown, Little Rock secured a 2-0 victory over UCA with a dramatic late-game surge. Serenity Thake's game-winning goal in the 89th minute, followed by an insurance goal from Abbie Smith in the 90th minute, ensured the Trojans left with the win. Goalkeeper Peyton Urban also played a pivotal role, recording her second clean sheet of the season.

The first half saw a tight contest, ending in a 0-0 stalemate. Little Rock demonstrated their offensive prowess with 4 shots, 3 corners, and maintained a clean slate in terms of fouls. Defensively, the Trojans kept UCA to just 3 shots, effectively controlling the game's tempo and spending most of the half in the attacking third.

The second half mirrored the first in terms of intensity until Serenity Thake made her mark. In the 89th minute, Thake netted her first goal of the season, a decisive one at that. The play began with Kaitlin Graeber's clean touch to Candice Kilderry, who then delivered the ball to Thake. With a first-touch shot, Thake found the back of the net, placing the ball to the far side of the goal and out of reach of the UCA goalkeeper.

After Thake broke the game open, senior captain Abbie Smith added an insurance goal off a well-placed pass from Jaeda Centeno. The two seniors connected to put the Trojans up by 2 with less than a minute remaining.