Murray State University Athletics
Racers Soccer Opens OVC Play at Jacksonville State Friday
9/24/2009 1:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Murray State soccer team will continue their long road trip as they begin Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend. The Racers will take on Jacksonville State, Friday, Sept. 25, in Jacksonville, Ala., at 6 p.m. then head to Cookeville, Tenn., to match-up with Tennessee Tech, Sunday, Sept. 27 at 2 p.m.
Laken Dirkes and Sophie Hargreaves lead the Racers with three goals a piece. Hargreaves has tallied three assists as well to give her nine points, which is tied for second in the OVC. She also leads the team in shots with 19.
Katie Walsh leads the Racers in net with a 2-1-1 record and 17 saves. Walsh has allowed 10 goals in five games played and has a 2.23 goals against average.
Racers Rewind
MSU went 0-1-1 on their road swing out west against Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Northern Arizona got the better of MSU on Friday evening as the Lumberjacks won 4-0 and outshot the Racers 20-5.
MSU bounced back Saturday afternoon as they battled back late in the second half to come back from a 0-2 deficit to tie Southern Utah, 2-2. Hargreaves pulled the Racers within one with her unassisted goal in the 77th minute. Jenna Fioranelli headed in her first goal of the season off a corner kick by Rebecca Shultz in the 90th minute to send the game into overtime.
Scouting the Competition
Jacksonville State enters Friday's match-up on a high note, as they are coming off an 11-0 victory over Alabama State Wednesday. Overall, the Gamecocks are 6-4 and 4-1 at home this season.
Amber Delany leads the powerful Gamecocks offense with five goals and 11 points. The five goals tie her for the most in the OVC, as does the 11 points. Chelsea Pelletier also has 11 points as she has tallied four goals and three assists. JSU has five players in the top five for total points in the OVC. Eli Arthur has a team-high four assists this season, which is second most in the OVC.
The Gamecocks lead the OVC in shots, points, goals, and assists with 174, 93, 32, and 29, respectively.
Ali Koenig anchors the defense as she has compiled 4-3 record with two shutouts on the season. She has allowed five goals and tallied 31 saves for a 0.81 goals against average.
JSU leads the OVC in shutouts with six.
The all-time series between the two teams is tied at 3-3, with MSU winning last season, 4-0.
Tennessee Tech heads into the weekend with a 1-7-1 record overall and open OVC play Friday night at home against UT Martin before welcoming the Racers to town Sunday.
Andrea Meloff leads the Golden Eagles offensively with three goals on 10 shots. Kris Cambron and Jen Hoffman help lead a balanced attack as they have each found the back of the net twice for TTU.
Kaitlyn Thacker and Megan Polk have split time in goal for the Golden Eagles as they have played in seven and six games, respectively. Thacker has allowed eight goals and recorded a team-high 42 saves during her time in net to give her a 1.56 goals against average.
TTU has been outshot 154-94 and outscored 19-10 this season.
The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 6-3-1, but the Racers have won the last three meetings.
