Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Tennessee-Martin
Racers Make Most Of Opportunities, Beat Tennessee-Martin 3-1 For 5th Straight Win
10/13/2005 5:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
With just two conference games remaining, MSU is guaranteed to have its second straight winning record in the OVC.
Krista Llewellyn's second goal of the game proved to be the game winner. The score came in the 57th minute and broke a 1-1 tie. Melisa Curry assisted on the play. The goal was the seventh of the season for Llewellyn.
"We didn't have a good day, our energy in the first half was really low," said Murray State Head Coach Mike Minielli. "Championship teams find a way to win on bad days."
Freshman Rebekah Clay added an insurance goal at 80:01. The freshman took a long pass from Lauren Blessinger, dribbled five yards, and connected on her shot to the right side.
Only 11 of UTM's 32 shots were on-goal, while five of the Racers' seven shots were on-goal. Katie Behrens led all players with 10 shot attempts. Llewellyn led MSU with three shots to go along with her two goals.
Tennessee-Martin controlled the ball for most of the first half, attempting 19 shots compared to just three for Murray State.
The Skyhawks 4th shot found the goal at 6:59. Dani Myrick (6), while battling with a MSU defender, made a sliding kick near the end line on the right side. The ball got by Heather Jones for a 1-0 UTM lead.
The Racers answered just 55 seconds later. Llewellyn took a pass from Rebekah Clay 12 yards out in the center of the field. Llewellyn directed her shot to an empty net on the left side to tie the game.
The assist was Clay's third of the season.
Tennessee-Martin appeared to take the lead in the 38th minute but the goal was waved off due to an offsides penalty. Paula Sanematsu did her best to give the Skyhawks the lead in the 41st minute. The sophomore sent a bullet to the left side but Jones made a diving save to preserve the tie.
"Tennessee-Martin is a good team," Minielli said. "They are a lot better than they get credit for."
Jones made six saves in the first 45 minutes of play. The junior finished with 10 saves. Megan Dempsey stopped two shots for UTM but allowed three goals while playing 90 minutes.
"We've won three straight conference games on the road and that is almost unheard of in the OVC," said Minielli. "We have two very good teams at home next week, we'll see what happens."
The Racers will have over a week to prepare for their next match. MSU will host Southeast Missouri State University on October 21. The game at Cuthin Field on the Murray State campus will begin at 3:00 p.m.
