Ohio Valley Conference

CHARLESTON, Ill. - Little Rock women's soccer took over first place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 1-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Lakeside Field. The win keeps the Trojans undefeated in OVC play at 5-0-3 and extends their unbeaten streak to eight matches.

Sophomore forward Maria Schuller netted the game's only goal in the 22nd minute, her 12th of the season, after a well-placed flick from midfielder Amaya Arias. Schuller won a foot race to the loose ball and buried it past the keeper to put Little Rock ahead early. Arias earned the assist as the Trojans grabbed control of the match.

Goalkeeper Peyton Urban tallied her seventh shutout of the year with four saves, anchoring a defense that stayed organized and disciplined for all 90 minutes. Little Rock outshot Eastern Illinois 14-11 and generated consistent pressure throughout the afternoon despite cold, windy conditions.

TENNESSEE TECH 1, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Tennessee Tech is coming home in a first-place tie in the Ohio Valley Conference after topping Southeast Missouri 1-0 on Sunday.

Eastern Illinois took its second consecutive loss in a 1-0 decision against Little Rock, putting the Golden Eagles dead even with the Trojans at 5-0-3 in the league with 18 points each. The Panthers now stand in a tie for third with Lindenwood at 16 total points following a 2-1 victory over Southern Indiana.

So it all comes down to one last match as all league teams are idle on Thursday and the Golden Eagles host Eastern Illinois at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Little Rock hosts Lindenwood next Sunday at noon, potentially putting the top four seeds at stake between those two matches.

After a scoreless first half, Lucia Cuadra stole the ball from a Southeast Missouri player and passed the ball along to a driving Natalie Howard. The opportunity was there and Howard took it as she beat Redhawk goalkeeper Madison Geisler for her sixth goal of the year and fourth in OVC play to give Tech a 1-0 lead at 50:26.

The Golden Eagles appeared to have a second goal in the 68th minute as Cuadra headed the ball in, but the official raised the flag, waving the score off the board.

Tech's defense held strong, only allowing just two shots by the Redhawks – neither one on net – as Maggie Conrad collected the clean sheet.

The Golden Eagle offense peppered the Redhawk net, putting nine shots up with five on frame. Tori Soutuyo and Howard each had two tries on goal.

LINDENWOOD 2, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Lindenwood women's soccer team (8-4-4, 5-2-1 OVC) picked up a huge win over Southern Indiana (6-7-4, 3-2-3 OVC) in Evansville on Sunday afternoon. The win secured a top-four OVC finish for the Lions while keeping them squarely in the running for the regular season crown.

On a windy day in Evansville, neither team was able to break through for a score in the first half, with Lindenwood only recording three shots with zero attempts on goal. Meanwhile, Southern Indiana totaled seven shots with Caroline Ritter posting three saves.

The Screaming Eagles would take the lead shortly after halftime with Emerson Grafton scoring from close range following a botched clearance in the box by the Lindenwood defense in the 49th minute.

With the Lions still trailing in the 76th minute, a ball played out the back by Allison Schrumpf took a touch from Mackenzie Compton in the box before deflecting off the USI keeper and rolling free in front of a now open net. Kaylee Conoyer was then able outpace the final Southern Indiana defender to get a foot on the ball and roll in into the net for the equalizer.

With 6:30 remaining, USI's Tierney Mullady was given a red card for a handball in the box after purposefully using her left hand to prevent another Lindenwood goal on a shot by Anna Johnson, as the Screaming Eagle goalkeeper had been drawn out of position again by Compton. Jessica Dodd was selected to take the subsequent penalty kick and calmly converted for her first goal of the season to give LU the lead.

The late game dramatics were not over, though, and after drawing a foul in the box on a corner kick, USI looked set to salvage a point with a PK. However, Caroline Ritter turned away the would-be equalizer with a diving save to her right to preserve the Lindenwood lead. The Lions were able to see out the final five minutes to secure a massive three points on the road.

WESTERN ILLINOIS 1, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team tied Western Illinois, 1-1, Sunday at the Skyhawk Soccer Field in Martin. With nine points in the conference standings, the Skyhawks are now locked into the eight-team field for the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship later this month.

The Skyhawks took the lead in the 38th minute when Ava Huntrods and Caroline Moore set up Ella Rucka for her first collegiate goal that went into the upper right corner of the net. However, in the 72nd minute, Hattie Mourning equalized for Western Illinois off a pass from Claire Brown, tying the game at one. UT Martin had several good looks in the final minutes of the game, including a shot from Rucka that hit the crossbar, but it was unable to convert, resulting in both teams earning one point in the conference standings.

The Skyhawks had season-highs of 26 shots and 11 on frame in the match, compared to 11 shots and just three on goal by the Leathernecks. Peyton Cook and Allie Buchman led UT Martin shots with four, with Buchmann also leading in shots on goal with two.

With the draw, the Skyhawks are currently tied for sixth place and can finish as high as fifth with a win in their last match.

MOREHEAD STATE 0, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's soccer collected a shutout for the second straight game Sunday, finishing the contest 0-0 with Morehead State.

The Cougars are now 3-10-4 overall and 2-3-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference heading into the final week of the regular season. SIUE has earned a spot in the OVC Tournament, which begins Oct. 30. The team's final seed will be determined after next Sunday's season finale at UT Martin.

SIUE and Morehead State each finished with 13 shots Sunday. Claire Nieroda led the Cougars with four shots while Alayna Hauser, Savannah DeFini and Aleah Minehart each had two.

Sarah Bozeman collected eight saves in her fourth shutout of the season for SIUE. Claire Cress grabbed six saves for the Eagles.