Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Morehead State University
Racers Open OVC Championships Thursday Night vs. Morehead State
11/2/2011 10:33:00 AM | Women's Soccer
OVC Championships Quarterfinals
#4 Murray State (7-8-4, 4-3-2 OVC) vs. #5 Morehead State (9-7-3, 4-4-1 OVC)
7 p.m., Houck Stadium, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
OVC Soccer Championships
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Murray State soccer looks to keep its late season resurgence going this week at the OVC Championships, as they take on Morehead State in the quarterfinals Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The Racers and Eagles will be playing for the second time in less than a week, after Morehead State blanked MSU 1-0 this past Friday on a cold and rainy night in Morehead, Ky.
“Friday night was a tough environment for us to go into, with Morehead having senior day and the weather conditions being tough,” head coach Beth Acreman said. “We were pushing the girls to perform, and it was an unfortunate loss with just one goal going in. I think both teams played extremely hard and we came out on the wrong end of the result.”
The loss against Morehead was the Racers first time playing on turf this season, a surface they will experience again this weekend at Houck Stadium. The home field of Southeast Missouri is one of three venues in the OVC to feature the artificial playing surface, one the Racers feel fortunate to have experienced playing on this year.
“The game is fresh in the girls' memory, we can take that and use it to our advantage. We'll be back on turf at SEMO which we're not completely used to but the girls got a really good taste of what it's like to play at night under the lights and that's another bonus for us,” Acreman said.
The Racers ended regular season action on a 5-1-1 hot streak, outscoring their opponents 13-2 while also recording five shutouts in seven games. Murray State clinched the fourth seed on the final day of the regular season, defeating Eastern Kentucky 1-0 behind senior Sophie Hargreaves' 74th-minute goal on a redirect of a free kick. Hargreaves and freshman Julie Mooney have been the driving force behind the MSU offense as of late, scoring eight of the team's last 13 goals. Goalkeeper Yi Du, second in the conference with a goals-against average of .48 in seven OVC games played, has picked up shutouts in for of her last five starts, stopping 18 of 19 shots she has faced.
“We know OVC tournament play is going to be difficult and the girls need to take their play to another level and keep in mind the things we need to do better from last Friday,” Acreman said. “We're still a very young team, but as the season has gone on and through OVC play the girls have really matured and are understanding now what it takes to win games. They're putting forth the effort but we'll still be pushing them hard because we know that the OVC Tournament is a whole different type of ballgame.”
Morehead State enters Thursday's action having won their way into the OVC Championships in their last regular season game, beating Austin Peay 7-2 in a game that featured two teams tied at the time for the sixth and final postseason spot. Five different Eagles scored in the five goal win that wrapped up the fifth seed.
The winner of Thursday night's game will take on top-seeded Southeast Missouri at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4.
