MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State Soccer finished nearly even with Indiana State offensively but fell 2-1 at MSU Soccer Field on Thursday afternoon.

The Eagles were originally supposed to kick off at 8 P.M. ET., but due to the possibility of inclement weather, the game was pushed up to an 11 A.M. ET. start time.

The game started in a gloomy, rainy setting. From player introductions into the majority of the first half, the game was played in a steady downfall. 

Morehead State jumped to the offensive attack early on, something that Coach Cox had preached in previous matches.

In just the fourth minute of the game, Indiana State was called for a handball in the box, which led to a penalty kick from the Eagles. Gaia Fubelli took the penalty kick, sneaking it past the Sycamore goalie Sofie Hansen to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead. 

Gaia Fubelli's goal was the first of her collegiate career. MSU has now had nine different goal scores, eight of which were first time goal scorers. 

Fubelli's goal is the first converted penalty kick goal since 2023.

In the 17th minute, Natalie Lentine fired a shot that ricocheted off a Sycamore defender and fell to Ashton Lynam, whose attempt was also deflected. The ball then bounced to Faith Peper, who tried to sneak a shot past Hansen, but the Indiana State keeper made the save, finally clearing the scurry in front of the goal and giving the Sycamores a much-needed sigh of relief.

In the 27th minute, Meagyn Riffle broke free in front of the goal and fired a shot that Eagles keeper Allie Lammers saved. The ball bounced off Lammers and trickled back out in front of the net, falling perfectly to Hailey Morgan, who cleaned up the play and found the back of the net for Indiana State. Riffle was credited with the assist on Morgan's goal, which tied the game at 1-1.

Just before halftime, Hailey Repreza lined up a free kick from around 35 yards out that bounced off the top of the crossbar. The ball bounced vertically in front of the goal without crossing the line, before Carly Gilbert got a foot on it for another attempt. However, Hansen was there to make the save and preserve the 1-1 tie heading into halftime.

Thirteen minutes into the second half, Emily Lopez dribbled past several Eagle defenders before turning and firing a rocket past Lammers into the left side of the net, putting the Sycamores ahead 2-1 in the 58th minute.

MSU continued its offensive attack in search of an equalizer, with its best opportunity coming from Peper in the 77th minute. Peper spun in front of the goal before launching a shot toward the top of the net, but Hansen pushed it over the crossbar for another big-time save.

Indiana State would hold on its 2-1 lead until the final whistle, improving to 4-1-3 on the season. The Eagles fall for only the second time at home, dropping to 4-5 on the season.

The competition was evenly matched throughout, with Indiana State holding a slight 52-48% advantage in possession. Both teams finished with 17 shots, while the Sycamores held a 9-8 edge in shots on goal. Both goalkeepers also recorded seven saves, while Indiana State held a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks.
 

---

ILLINOIS STATE 1, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois and Illinois State finished deadlocked with 12 shots each on Thursday afternoon but a goal in the 12th minute for Illinois State proved to be the difference in a 1-0 Redbirds win at Lakeside Field.
 
EIU had 12 shots in the match but only three on net with Sadie Black, Amara Leppla and Haylee Rios finishing with the shots on goal for the Panthers.
 
Illinois State had nine of its 12 shots on goal with Ava Watson sneaking a ball just over the EIU goalkeepers arm with the ball hitting the inside of the post for the goal.  Sammi Cenek picked up the assist.
 
Ella Kratochvil turned away eight other Illinois State shots on goal in the contest.
 
EIU falls to 2-3-2 on the season. Illinois State improved top 4-1-3.
 
Abby Reinl had a team-high four shot in the match.
 

---

UIC 2, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHICAGO - The Western Illinois women's soccer team battled throughout Sunday afternoon but fell 2-0 to UIC at Flames Field.

UIC opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Camryn Ries found the back of the net off an assist from Elyse Deschryver, giving the Flames a 1-0 advantage.

Western Illinois goalkeeper Mahee-Lee Caron kept the Leathernecks within striking distance throughout the opening half, making five saves before halftime. Caron stopped attempts from Delaney Engel, Jennifer Rodriguez, Emily Crotty, Ajla Gradjan and Riley Cunningham.

The Leathernecks entered halftime trailing 1-0 before UIC continued to pressure the Western Illinois defense early in the second half.

Caron continued to keep the Leathernecks within one, making three saves during the opening 15 minutes of the second half, including two stops on shots from Crotty.

UIC doubled its lead in the 76th minute when Delaney Engel found the back of the net, pushing the Flames' advantage to 2-0.

Western Illinois continued to battle in the final minutes, but UIC held on for the 2-0 victory.

Caron finished the afternoon with nine saves for the Leathernecks.
 

---

AUSTIN PEAY 1, UT MARTIN 0
CLARKESVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team fell 1-0 at Austin Peay Thursday night at Morgan Brothers Field in Clarksville.

The lone goal came in the 20th minute for the Govs after a ball that Mac Titus played out of the goal was misplayed by the Skyhawks. Austin Peay's Allie Williams seized on the loose ball, dribbled it and fired it into the net for the eventual game-winner.

The Govs had more shots than UT Martin, 14-11, but the Skyhawks had more shots on goal, 7-6.  UT Martin also enjoyed a 10-2 advantage in corner kicks, but did not convert any of the chances.

Addy McClearly led the Skyhawks with four shots Thursday, including three on goal, while Allie Carroll had two, both on goal, as did Peyton Cook, who had one on goal. Titus finished the match with five saves on the night.
 

---

SOUTHERN INDIANA 1, CLEVELAND STATE 0
CLEVELAND - University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer posted its first win of the season Thursday evening after freshman Lilah Katz scored her first career goal and the game-winning goal in the final minutes to give the Screaming Eagles a 1-0 road victory at Cleveland State University.
 
USI (1-5-2) created multiple chances throughout Thursday's contest, but the game-winning goal came with under two minutes to go off a corner kick. After the initial cross into the box and multiple deflections, Katz ended the chaos in the box by putting the ball into the back of the net for the game-winning tally. The win put USI in the win column while snapping a three-game losing streak, and it gave the Screaming Eagles their second road result of the season. Plus, the Screaming Eagles notched their third clean sheet this season.
 
With Thursday's goal, Katz became the third different goal-scorer for USI this season and the second freshman. Katz joined freshman forward Liza Anderson to record her first career goal, as Anderson also scored her first career goal earlier this week at Eastern Michigan University.
 
While it took until the final minutes to break the nil-nil tie, USI Women's Soccer stuffed the stat sheet offensively on Thursday. The Screaming Eagles launched 25 shots with 10 on goal. The 25 shots were the most for USI Women's Soccer since putting up 27 at the end of last season against Western Illinois University. USI had 10 shots on goal earlier this season against the University of Akron. Meanwhile, Cleveland State (0-7-0) was limited to only six shots and four on goal.
 
Individually, Anderson and senior forward Eva Boer, who assisted Katz' game-winning goal, each tallied a USI season-high five shots. Anderson also placed a USI season-high four shots on goal. Seven Screaming Eagles took multiple shots on Thursday. Senior midfielder Kamryn Bea had three shots with two on target. In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Merrick Schwalbach made four saves while registering her third shutout this season.
 
USI came out challenging Cleveland State early, forcing the Vikings' goalkeeper to make three saves within the first 10 minutes. In the first half, Boer and Bea each took two shots. Bea placed both of her shots on goal. Freshman forward Morgan Wannemuehler got a quality look at the goal late in the half off a steal, but her shot was saved. The game remained scoreless going into halftime.
 
After an even start to the second half, the Screaming Eagles turned on the jets in the final 20 minutes. Anderson and Boer spearheaded the attack down the stretch, including a few shots by freshman midfielder Shea Krakowski. Katz's first attempt of the night missed high in the 80th minute. USI's constant pressure late in the second half eventually paid off on the corner kick, leading to Katz's game-winning goal to give the Screaming Eagles the road victory.
 

---

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 1, SIUE 0
CARBONDALE, Ill. - SIU Carbondale scored the game's only goal in the 55th minute Thursday as the Salukis edged SIUE women's soccer 1-0 at Saluki Stadium.

SIUE outshot SIU Carbondale 13-7, including six shots from Claire Nieroda. MaryClaire Imig added two shots for the Cougars.

Michelle Betancourt scored from just five yards out for SIU Carbondale on a double assist from Kayla Grain and Victoria Hassan.

Reagan Miller earned the shutout in SIU Carbondale's fourth straight victory this season. The Salukis improved to 5-2.

SIUE dropped to 2-2-3 overall. Freshman Baylor Lynch recorded two saves in goal for the Cougars in her first collegiate start.