Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Racers Advance to OVC Championship Match After Defeating Skyhawks 1-0
11/7/2009 1:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Murray State Women's soccer team advanced to their first ever OVC Tournament Championship match tonight as they knocked off the second-seeded UT Martin Skyhawks, 1-0 at Jayne Stadium.
MSU tallied their first two shots of the match on goal, but neither of them were able to get past Skyhawks goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler. UTM didn't record their first shot until the 28th minute of play which sailed wide of the goal. The Skyhawks next shot came in the 34th minute when Melissa Govea gathered in a loose ball and fired it past Isbell, but Sophie Hargreaves made a diving save with her head to keep the score deadlocked at 0-0.
MSU capitalized on their first corner kick of the half in the 39th minute as Rachel Wright took the corner and Ashley Fraser headed it into the back of the net for her second goal of the tournament to give the Racers a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Skyhawks came out in the second half desperate for a goal as they fired off three shots in the first eight minutes of the half. Two of the shots were blocked by Racer defenders while the other sailed high. MSU looked to expand on their 1-0 lead early in the half, but each of their four shots during the first 26 minutes of play were off target. The Skyhawks took five shots the rest of the match, but only one on goal, which was stopped by Isbell.
Tara Isbell tallied two saves on the night to earn her fifth shutout of the season and the 16th of her career to become the all-time leader in MSU history.
MSU will be back in action Sunday afternoon at 12 p.m. central time as they take on Tennessee Tech at Jayne Stadium in the OVC Tournament Championship match.
