Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Eastern Illinois
Senior Day Highlights Last Home Soccer Weekend
10/20/2011 11:39:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Murray State soccer looks to move up in the OVC standings this weekend as the Racers complete their 2011 home schedule. MSU hosts Eastern Illinois at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, with SIU Edwardsville coming to town Sunday, Oct. 23, at 1 p.m., in the final games at Cutchin Field this season. The Racers will be thanking their group of four seniors prior to Sunday's game against SIUE.
Currently sitting in ninth place with five points in the OVC standings and four conference games remaining, the Racers are one of just two teams (Austin Peay) to have only played five conference games this season. Six OVC teams have played seven conference matches, including Jacksonville State and Morehead State who currently hold the final two spots into the conference championships, with the Racers weekend opponents having played six times in-conference in 2011.
MSU earned four of a possible six points in action last weekend, taking a 2-1 win at Tennessee Tech before a 110 minute 0-0 draw at Jacksonville State on Sunday. Julie Mooney got the Racers on the scoreboard first at TTU, scoring her sixth goal of the season halfway through the second half. Sophie Hargreaves netted her second of the year on a penalty kick following a foul in the box just over 10 minutes later in the 79th minute. Yi Du entered at goalkeeper at halftime, earning her fourth win of the season. She scored her fourth shutout of the year against Jacksonville State, playing the entire match and making three saves.
“Last weekend it was important for us to get some points,” head coach Beth Acreman said. “We were obviously thrilled to get the win against Tennessee Tech, and then played a really tough game against Jacksonville State. We had opportunities to get the result we needed, obviously without the ball going into the back of the net it was a tough one, but the girls really fought hard to get the tie. Getting four points out of the weekend, I can't be too disappointed.”
Eastern Illinois sits in third place in the OVC standings with a 4-2 record and 12 points. The Panthers have alternated wins and losses their last four games, defeating Morehead State 2-0 at home their last time out. Murray State and EIU played to a scoreless 0-0 draw in the one meeting between the teams in 2010, with Eastern Illinois holding a 5-3-4 advantage in the all-time series record.
SIU Edwardsville comes into the weekend having won two in a row, both 1-0 wins over Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky. The Cougars currently stand alone in fifth place in the OVC at 3-3 with nine points but are ineligible for the OVC Championships this season as part of their transition into gaining full NCAA Division I membership. The Racers have dropped all three prior meetings with SIUE, including a 3-0 defeat on the road last season.
“This weekend and the rest of the season, we going to need to be successful in every game,” Acreman said. “You never want to be going into that last game being worried about points and if you're going to make the tournament. For us, we need to keep pushing forward to get the results we want and being at home for senior weekend is going to be huge for us.”
