SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Little Rock 4, Morehead State 1
Eastern Illinois 1, @Southeast Missouri 0
UT Martin 1, @Tennessee Tech 1
@Southern Indiana 1, SIUE 0
Lindenwood 1, @Western Illinois 0
LITTLE ROCK 4, MOREHEAD STATE 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Senior forward Maria Schuller delivered a historic performance Sunday afternoon, recording the first Little Rock hat trick in more than a decade as the Trojans earned a 4-1 victory over Morehead State at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex. The win keeps Little Rock unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play and marked the program's first hat trick since 2014 and the first under head coach Kelly Farrell.
Schuller opened the scoring in the seventh minute, finishing a cross from Clair Silvestro to give the Trojans an early lead. After Morehead State leveled the match in the 56th minute, Schuller put Little Rock back in front with a composed penalty kick just five minutes later. She completed her hat trick in the 86th minute, securing her first collegiate three-goal outing and the Trojans' fifth win of the season.
Maggie Turner added the team's third goal in the 73rd minute, assisted by Amaya Arias, as Little Rock's attack erupted for three goals in the second half. Goalkeeper Peyton Urban made four saves to collect her fifth win of the season while the Trojans outshot the Eagles 16-10 and controlled the pace late.
The Trojans improve to 5-3-5 overall and 3-0-3 in OVC play, now sitting second in the conference standings as the regular season enters its final stretch.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Alex Tetteh scored for the second time in as many matches lifting Eastern Illinois women's soccer to a 1-0 win at Southeast Missouri on Sunday afternoon.
The win locked up a spot in this year's OVC Tournament for the Panthers as they improved to 8-4-3 overall, 5-0-1 in the OVC. SEMO fell to 2-12-1 overall, 2-3-1 in the OVC.
Both teams played to a scoreless draw in the opening half and for a majority of the second half.
Tetteh was able to break through and score with less than eight minutes remaining in the match for her eighth goal of the season. Tetteh moved into ninth place on the EIU career goals scored list this week.
Ella Onstott and Brooklynn Greene added shots on goal for EIU for the Panthers adding to Tetteh's two total shots on net.
Ella Kratochvil made two saves for her eighth shutout this season, one shy of the EIU single season record.
Zerina Markovic had both shots on goal for the Redhawks as they had ten total shots in the match.
UT MARTIN 1, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer battled Tennessee Tech to a 1-1 draw Saturday afternoon at Tech Soccer Field in Cookeville.
Shayla Addington put the Skyhawks on the board in the 50th minute when she took a feed for Ayja McCleary from the top left corner of the 18-yard box and buried the ball into the upper right corner of the goal for the 1-0 lead.
Just when it looked like the Skyhawks were about to escape with the win and three points, Katie Toney scored for the Golden Eagles in the 89th minute to save the tie for Tennessee Tech.
Despite being outshot by the Golden Eagles, 18-8, the Skyhawks placed all of their eight shots on frame, while Tennessee Tech placed just eight of their 18 shots on goal.
Alexandra Weihs led UT Martin in shots in the game with three total and three on frame. Despite allowing the goal, Mac Titus spent all 90 minutes between the posts and racked up seven saves on the day.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 1, SIUE 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer battled past Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 1-0, at Strassweg Field on Sunday after senior forward Emerson Grafton scored the game-winning goal on a diving header with less than 10 minutes left in the contest.
With Sunday's victory and results elsewhere within the Ohio Valley Conference, USI Women's Soccer (6-5-4, 3-0-3 OVC) clinched its spot in the OVC tournament for a fourth straight season. The win also gave USI its most wins in a season since moving to Division I in 2022 and pushed the Screaming Eagles' unbeaten streak to 10 matches. USI also picked up its first win against SIUE (2-10-3, 1-3-2 OVC) since 2007. The two teams had tied in each of the previous three meetings before Sunday.
In Sunday's game, Grafton recorded her fourth goal of the season, taking the team lead in goals scored and in points on the campaign. Grafton totaled two shots in the game. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer led USI with four shots, while sophomore forward Josie Pochocki had three shots and an assist on Grafton's game-winner. The Eagles outshot the Cougars 16-6 overall and 4-2 in shots on goal.
USI came out with early momentum and pressure in the first half, generating two quick shooting chances. The Screaming Eagles produced a good build-up into the attacking third, totaling six shots in the first half.
As SIUE tried to grab some momentum in the middle of the first half, redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland recorded both of her saves within a couple of minutes to turn the Cougars away, keeping the match scoreless into halftime. Markland wound up collecting her sixth clean sheet of the season and 14th career solo shutout.
In the early portion of the second half, USI created a few more chances that were just off the mark. Then, SIUE increased its pace and tempo to test the Screaming Eagles' defense in the middle of the second half. USI's defense was up for the challenge, making multiple clearances from inside the box.
USI flipped the field position back in their favor near the 70-minute mark, as Boer fired from the inside of the top of the box with USI's first shot on goal that forced SIUE's goalkeeper to make a tip-save over the crossbar. The Eagles had another push about 10 minutes later, as Pochocki and redshirt junior midfielder Emma Thurston each took a shot that made SIUE's goalkeeper make a pair of reaction saves.
The Screaming Eagles broke through in the 81st minute when Thurston played a long ball outside to Pochocki. Pochocki dribbled in from the left side and played a low cross to connect with Grafton on a diving header at the six-yard box and into the net for the game-winning goal. Thurston and Pochocki each registered their second assists of the season. USI maintained possession and closed out the game from there.
LINDENWOOD 1, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
MACOMB, Ill. - The Lindenwood women's soccer team (6-4-4, 3-2-1 OVC) earned a pivotal three points with a 1-0 win over Western Illinois (1-15-0, 0-6-0) on Sunday afternoon.
The game-winner came in the game's 30th minute, as a corner kick delivery by Tasneem Dizdarevic deflected off the hands of the Western Illinois goalkeeper and fell at the feet of an unmarked Maddy Vasiloff, who used her right foot to bury the loose ball into the back of the net.
Lindenwood outshot Western 19-3 in the game with six shots on goals compared to just one for the Leathernecks. The Lions also earned 12 corner kick opportunities while conceding just one to the opposition. LU was also the more disciplined team, picking up just two fouls while WIU was called for 12.