Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
UT Martin
Racers Open OVC Slate at Cutchin Field
9/22/2011 9:58:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Murray State soccer returns to action following a week off, starting Ohio Valley Conference action at Cutchin Field this week. The Racers host UT Martin at 3 p.m. Friday afternoon and close out the weekend Sunday at 1 p.m. against Southeast Missouri.
MSU is coming off its second overtime victory of the season, scoring in the 93rd minute on Julie Mooney's second goal of the season to take a 2-1 win on the road against Arkansas State. With the majority of the remaining schedule featuring conference opponents, head coach Beth Acreman knows how important the momentum picked up can be.
“Getting the goal in an overtime game was a big deal, the girls showed a lot of resilience coming back with a goal to tie it,” Acreman said. “They fought really hard and Julie Mooney put in a fantastic goal to finish it off. Going through the beginning part of the season has been a big learning experience for us. Looking ahead to playing some tough competition going into conference season, the team has been training hard and is excited about going into conference play.”
The Racers will run into a pair of competitive teams in their first weekend of conference action, as Southeast Missouri and UT Martin sit in second and third, respectively, in the OVC following non-conference play.
The Skyhawks enter Friday's game having gone without a win in their last three contests, tying most recently in a 2-2 double overtime match at Evansville. Rosaelia Loza is one of the top offensive threats in the OVC, placing second in the conference with 15 points (six goals & three assists) after leading UTM last season in scoring. The Racers took last season's match, scoring halfway through the second half for a 1-0 shutout victory.
Southeast Missouri is also searching for a win this weekend coming off of a 0-0 double OT game at Saint Louis. Erin Shulman leads the Redhawks with five goals this season, two of them game-winners against Arkansas State and Butler. SEMO knocked off the Racers late in the season last year, holding off MSU in a 2-1 win at Cutchin Field.
“Going into conference, it's going to come down to who wants it most,” Acreman said. “Every team is going to be competitive now and anything can happen. We need to be focused and ready to battle as UT Martin and Southeast Missouri are going to give us hard-fought matches on our home field.
“UT Martin is a local rival and they're going to be well-coached under their new head coach Phil McNamara. We've heard SEMO is a much improved team and are the strongest they've probably been in the last few years.”
Facebook 'Like It' Day - Fans can go to our facebook page (Murray State Racer Athletics) and print off a special coupon to redeem at the match. They can also show us the coupon from their phone. Those who do so will be entered into a raffle for prizes.
Greek Day - All sorority and fraternity members are asked to wear their letters. Greek members will have the opportunity to participate in promotions during the match.
