Ohio Valley Conference

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a tightly contested conference matchup, Little Rock battled to a 1-1 draw against second-place Southern Indiana on Sunday. With the result, the Trojans remain the only unbeaten home team in the Ohio Valley Conference this season.

Little Rock moved to 1-0-3 in conference play, tying Lindenwood for third place with six points apiece. Southern Indiana improved to 2-0-2 and remained in second place, two points ahead of the Trojans.

Both teams came out aggressive from the opening whistle, trading possession and early shots in the first 10 minutes. The Trojans held firm against Southern Indiana's counters, staying composed and creating quality chances of their own. Freshman Clair Silvestro nearly broke through early with a strong run and shot that sailed just high.

Little Rock's pressure paid off midway through the first half. Junior Megan Rogan sent a perfectly placed pass up the field to sophomore Maggie Turner, who delivered a pinpoint cross to sophomore forward Maria Schuller. Schuller finished with precision to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead heading into halftime, adding to her league-leading total with her seventh goal of the season.

Southern Indiana came out strong after the break, controlling possession and keeping the ball in the Trojans' defensive half. Sophomore Jetney Cook and senior Amaya Arias anchored the back line, making key stops and challenging every attack.

However, the Screaming Eagles found the equalizer midway through the second half, firing a long-range shot into the top corner to even the score at 1-1. Little Rock continued to push for a game-winner and nearly broke through in the final seconds when Mary Ratcliff's shot off a corner kick went just high.

The draw extended Little Rock's home unbeaten streak to five this season and more than a year overall, with the Trojans' last home loss coming on Sept. 15, 2024. Little Rock has now gone over two years without dropping a home match to an OVC opponent, keeping the Trojans firmly in the hunt near the top of the conference standings.

TENNESSEE TECH 4, LINDENWOOD 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Natalie Howard claimed two braces on Sunday afternoon as she helped lead Tennessee Tech to a decisive 4-1 victory over Lindenwood to pick up the first back-to-back victories for the Golden Eagles this season and improve to 2-0-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

After scoring five goals in non-conference competition, Tech (2-6-6 overall) has scored 10 goals in its last two games to triple its offensive output.

Allison Lee put the Golden Eagles on the board first just seconds into the 21st minute. Katie Toney fed the ball to Lucia Cuadra, who attempted a header into the goal. However, the ball was deflected by Lion keeper Caroline Ritter and ran parallel to the goal line. Allison Lee played clean-up duty to complete the score and give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 lead.

It wasn't long before Tech was on the board again as the ball pinballed around Melina Hamm and Tori Soutuyo. Once the ball got to Howard, she directed the ball into the net to give Tech the 2-0 edge.

The Golden Eagles looked to get out of the first half with a clean slate, but a foul against Tech was called in the box at 43:57, putting Lily Sutter on the mark for a penalty kick. The try was good, cutting Tech's advantage in half at 2-1 going into the intermission.

Howard's second goal came at 60:42 as she raced toward the Lions' goal on a 2-on-1 with Cuadra following to the left sandwiching the Lindenwood defender. Howard fired to the left corner, beating Ritter to the side and putting Tech back up by two.

Barely five minutes passed before the Golden Eagles put in their final goal. Melina Hamm lined up for the free kick and sent a cross to the left side of the goal. Claire Palya headed the ball perfectly and in for the score in the 66th minute.

Lindenwood had another penalty kick try in the 77th minute off of a handball foul in the box. Mackenzie Compton's attempt sailed wide right, preserving the three-goal advantage.

Maggie Conrad went 87 of the match's 90 minutes, collecting four saves. Addison Johnson played the final three minutes and scooped up a save in the lone Lion attempt in her tenure.

Ritter, who entered the match with a 0.91 goals allowed average, saw four Tech goals with three saves.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, MOREHEAD STATE 0
CHRALESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois women's soccer posted its sixth straight shutout with Ella Kratochvil turning away five shots as the Panthers picked up a 1-0 win over Morehead State on Sunday afternoon.
 
EIU improved to 7-4-2 overall, 4-0 in the OVC.  It is the best start to conference play for the Panthers since the 2013 season.   The six straight shutouts are the longest streak in school history while the seven clean sheets this year ties for the fifth most in a single season. 
 
Kratochvil made four of her five saves in the second half protecting a 1-0 Panthers lead.  She now has seven shutouts this year which is the fourth most in EIU single season history.
 
The goal came from junior Abby Reinl who also moved up the EIU record book.  Reinl headed home a cross from Camylle Graves in the 20th minute for the lone goal of the match.   It was Reinl's sixth goal this season and 17th of her EIU career moving her into a tie for ninth on EIU's career list.
 
It was the third assist of the season for Graves who had two of EIU's 12 total shots in the match.  Reinl had three and Alex Tetteh added two.
 
Jade Walton had four shots for Morehead State with two on goal.
 
Morehead State dropped to 3-10 overall, 1-3 in the OVC.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2, UT MARTIN 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Mo. St. (1-11-1, 1-2-1) secured a 2-1 victory over UT Martin (1-6-6, 1-2-1) at Houck Stadium, with both goals coming in the second half. The victory on Sunday marked the first NCAA Division I career victory for the Redhawks' Head Coach, John Klein. 

UT Martin took an early lead with a goal by Peyton Cook, assisted by Unni Wolf, just 1:19 into the match. Madison Geisler made a crucial save for the Redhawks at 2:56, denying Ava Huntrods' attempt from the bottom center. Macie Hockett's shot was saved by UT Martin's Mac Titus at 3:51, maintaining the visitor's lead. The Redhawks earned a corner kick at 10:32, but the score held at 1-0 in favor of the Skyhawks.  

Southeast pressed relentlessly early with multiple corner kicks, including three between the 55th and 59th minutes. Geisler made crucial saves at the 60th and 72nd minutes to maintain the scoreline. The Redhawks leveled the match at 1-1 with a goal by Emily Baker in the 79th minute. Baker netted the decisive penalty kick in the 89th minute to secure a 2-1 victory for Southeast.

SIUE 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's soccer recorded a season high in shots for the second straight game and downed Western Illinois 3-2 Sunday at Korte Stadium.

It was the first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season for the Cougars, which improved to 2-9-2 overall and 1-2-1 in the OVC. Western Illinois dropped to 1-13 overall and 0-4 in the OVC.

SIUE's offense outshot Western Illinois 17-9 and kept WIU goalkeeper Ariel Bernard busy with a strong offensive performance.

The eventual game winner came at 59:15 by Claire Nieroda. The Cougar freshman was fouled just outside the box. She looked down five Western Illinois defenders and buried the ball to the left of Bernard on the free kick. It was Nieroda's first goal of the season and her collegiate career.

The Cougars also led the game early when Savannah DeFini scored her team-leading third goal of the season. She turned around in the box from the right side at 17:31 and fired it at the goal. The ball when off Bernard's hands and over into the goal.

After Western Illinois tied the game at 29:09 on a goal by Abigail Schilling, the Cougars regained the lead at 31:50 when Aleah Minehart evaded two defenders in the box and pushed the ball through left side of the net.

The Leathernecks pulled within one on a goal by Claire Bown at 65:08, but the Cougar defense held them off.

Sarah Bozeman collected the win in goal for the Cougars. She finished with three saves.