Murray State University Athletics
Racers Close Out Regular Season With Matches Against SEMO and SIU-Edwardsville
10/29/2009 1:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Murray State Women's soccer team will play their final regular season matches this week as they host Southeast Missouri State, Thursday at 3 p.m. and SIU-Edwardsville, Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cutchin Field.
Sophie Hargreaves leads the Racers and is second in the OVC with 14 points. She leads the team with four assists and is tied for the team lead with five goals. Nicole Evans and Danielle McMurray each have five goals and two assists.
MSU's defense has stepped up over the last three games as they have tallied three-straight shutouts, while outshooting their opponents, 46-29 during that period. The reemergence of Tara Isbell in goal has helped solidify the defense. She has tallied 14 saves over the last three matches while posting a 2-0-1 record. The Mayfield, Ky., native has seen her goals against average drop from 2.47 to 1.28 over the past two weeks.
Racer Rewind
MSU was able to come away with two hard fought victories last weekend. Thanks to a late goal by Veronika Pribyslavska against Austin Peay, Friday night, the Racers were able to tally their fourth conference victory of the season, 1-0. A strong defensive effort made things easy for Isbell in goal as she faced only three shots all night.
Kalli McCoy tallied her first game-winning goal of the season Sunday afternoon as she one-timed a pass from McMurray in the 59th minute of play to give the Racers the 1-0 victory. Isbell tallied the victory in net to become the all-time leader in MSU history for wins in net with 23 in her career.
Scouting the Redhawks
Southeast Missouri State enters Thursday's match needing at least a tie to earn a spot in the OVC Tournament. The Redhawks are 7-6-3 overall, but just 2-2-3 in OVC play.
SEMO is led up front by freshman Bobbi Jo Schlick and junior Ashley Runion. Each have tallied a team-high 11 points. Schlick leads the team with five goals, while Runion leads the team in assists with three. Runion is second in the OVC in shots, with 46. Mabel Velarde, Ali Bauer and Vanessa Hart help pace the offense with seven points each.
Kristen Starkey leads the Redhawks in goal with a 6-4-3 overall mark. Her 0.85 goals against average is best in the OVC, while her six shutouts ties her for the lead in the conference. As a team, the Redhawks have compiled seven shutouts.
The Redhawks have outshot their opponents by a margin of 215-146.
SEMO leads the all-time series 6-5, but the Racers won last year's match-up, 1-0.
Scouting the Cougars
SIU-E will play host to SEMO, Friday night, before heading to Cutchin Field, Sunday afternoon. The Cougars enter the weekend 2-9-2 overall after dropping a match to Missouri State, 2-0, last Sunday. Chelsey Johnston, Kristen Dailey and Kristin Dierker have each tallied up a team-high five points this season. Kiara Akpore leads the Cougars with 32 shots.
The Cougars have used three different goalkeepers, with Claire Lovercheck earning the majority of the time. She is 1-7-2 with a 2.03 goals against average while tallying 47 saves.
SIU-E won the first ever match-up between the two teams last season, 1-0.
