Murray State University Athletics
MSU Soccer Senior Weekend - Racers Host APSU Friday
10/23/2008 5:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Murray State Women's Soccer team plays its final Ohio Valley Conference games Friday and Sunday at Cutchin Field when they host Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech.
The first place Racers are looking to win the program's first title but must play well in order to assure it.
After the Friday match against APSU at 3 p.m., the Racers entertain Tennessee Tech Sunday at 1 p.m.
With the OVC Tournament looming, there is plenty of room for movement in the final weekend of the season as the teams jockey to win the title and set seeding for the post-season tournament. The Racers and UT Martin host APSU and TTU, while
Using the conference formula of awarding three points for a win and one point for a tie, it's easy to see the league is a long way from deciding the participants in the six-team tournament and what their seeding will be. The winner of the regular season title will host the semi-finals and finals Nov. 7 & 9. The first and second seeds receive byes to the semi-finals while seeds three through six play Tuesday Nov. 4 at campus sites to see who advances to the semi-finals.
The Racers are on the verge of the title because of some great play in posting a 5-1 mark in conference play.
MSU started league play with four straight wins before dropped a 1-0 overtime loss at
WEEKEND NOTES
Planning MSU Senior Day
Sunday's match with TTU marks the final regular season home game for MSU seniors Rebekah Clay, Melisa Curry, Jane Dewitt, Krista Muilkens, and Kellyn Robison. On senior day, the student-athletes and their families will be honored on the field before the match.
Scoring First
MSU has scored first in 10 games this season and are 8-1-1 in those games. The only loss came in the season opener 2-1 to
MSU Trends
In OVC matches, the Racers have outscored opponents 13-3 and are 6-2-1 in their last nine matches.
Racers Getting Defensive
The MSU defense continues to be one of the best units in the OVC. In six conference games, MSU has three shutouts and have only given up one goal in the other three. In 16 matches in 2008, MSU has held opponents to one goal or less 12 times.
Freshman Fire
Rachel Wright has made an impact as a freshman and may be on her way to claiming OVC Freshman of the Year honors in 2008. Wright leads the Racers with 18 points on six goals and six assists. Jackie Thomas (2000) had the best year with 13 goals in the program's first season. Theresa Reedy (2001) and Kristin Robertson (2002) each had eight goals in their first season. Wright's current teammates Rebekah Clay and Krista Muilkens each had seven goals as freshmen in 2005. Clay won OVC freshman honors that year.
Goalkeeper Record
Sophomore Tara Isbell has already surpassed her 2007 record of most minutes in goal in a single season. In 2007, she logged 1477:33 and has 1496:33 this season. Isbell is second in the OVC with a goals-against-average of 0.96 and her 0.49 average in league games is also second.
Cutchin Field Records
The Racers are 5-3-1 at Cutchin Field this season and 2-0-0 in league play.
