Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southeast Missouri State
Overtime Goal Sends SEMO Past Racers, Ends MSU's Quest For OVC Title
10/21/2005 5:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MSU is guaranteed a spot in the OVC Tournament, but will need a win on Sunday over Eastern Illinois in order to remain in the hunt for the tournament's second seed and a first round bye.
"This was a good game, both teams played well and you have to give SEMO credit for finishing off their scoring chances," said Murray State Head Coach Mike Minielli. "The loss took a lot out of them right now, but they'll be okay by Sunday. We're going to the OVC Tournament and that was our goal."
Both teams battled back and forth in the first half of play but neither team could score. The Racers attempted seven first half shots, five of which were on goal, and limited the Redhawks to just three shot attempts.
Murray State wasted little time getting on the board in the second period. Jen Nowak played the ball up the right sideline to Krista Llewellyn who found Melisa Curry in the center of the field. Curry's shot to the right side gave the Racers a 1-0 lead at the 52:18 mark.
MSU maintained its lead for much of the second half despite being out shot 10-3 by Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks finally got one in the net in the 79th minute. Jessi Wuellner took a cross from Nicole Bussman and found an opening on the left side to tie the match at 1-1.
Overtime play was even with the ball being played up and down the field. In the 97th minute, Schweppe made a drive into the box on the right side. In an attempt to get the ball away, Laura Oppegard tangled with Schweppe and both players fell to the ground.
After the officials awarded Schweppe a penalty kick, the senior shot the ball to the left side past a diving Heather Jones to end the game.
"Laura tried to pull the ball away but got tangled up," said Minielli. "Schweppe is a good player, one of the better players in the OVC this year, and she capitalized on the mistake."
The Redhawks finished with a 14-10 edge in shots and a 12-4 advantage in corner kicks. Schweppe and Oppegard led all players with three shots each. Murray State forwards Rebekah Clay and Krista Llewellyn, the last two OVC Offensive Players of the Week, were limited to one shot each.
"They did a good job on our forwards, playing physical," said Minielli. "With the success they've had they're going to have to get used to that kind of play."
Jones made four saves in goal for MSU. Lindsay Pickering, a three-time OVC Defensive Player of the Week this season, made seven saves for SEMO.
The Racers will play their final OVC regular season match of the season on Sunday when they host Eastern Illinois University at Cutchin Field. The match is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. Live broadcast of the contest can be heard on WNBS 1340AM with pregame coverage beginning 10 minutes prior to the start of the game.
