Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Blue/Gold Scrimmage (Exh.)
Gold Tops Blue, 3-1, In Soccer Scrimmage
8/10/2013 8:14:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Despite heavy rain in the morning, the annual Murray State women's soccer Blue/Gold Scrimmage went on as scheduled on Saturday after a last minute move to the Paducah Regional Sports Plex indoor facility. However, the rain did not dampen the competitive spirit of either side, as the Gold team edged out a 3-1 victory.
Because of the change in venue, the format of the scrimmage was altered as well. Instead of the traditional 11-player teams and two 45-minute halves, the match consisted of seven-player teams and three 15-minute periods.
After just a week of practice together, the first period of the scrimmage was spent feeling out the other team, as well as getting a feel for their teammates. While each team took shots in the opening stanza, neither team was able to convert.
In the second period, it looked like it would be more of the same as the match was still a scoreless draw over two-thirds of the way into the second frame. However, in the 11th minute of the period, junior Julie Mooney fired a shot that rebounded off the glass, grabbed her own rebound, then buried in the back of the net to give the Gold team a 1-0 lead.
In the third period, the Gold team extended its lead  in the fourth minute when sophomore Racheal Foxley scored off of a great cross from junior Pavlina Nepokojova to give her team a 2-0 lead. However, just one minute later, freshman Lauren Frazier set up a great piece of defending that allowed senior Shauna Wicker to score for the Blue team, cutting her side's deficit in half at 2-1.
The Blue team almost tied the match a minute after that when junior Sonja Murphy had the Gold team goalkeeper, Kylie Lawrence, beat. However, the ball went just wide, ricocheting off the area surrounding the goal.Â
With just minutes to go in the contest, Gold sophomore Alexa Hosey pulled the Blue team goalie, Savannah Haberman, out of the goal area and battled for control of the ball in the corner of the field. Then, when the ball popped loose senior Tasha Merritt was waiting on it and buried it in the empty net from almost 20-yards back to cap the scoring at 3-1.
Both goalkeepers shined in the match, as each got ample opportunity to prove themselves. Lawrence finished with an unofficial tally of 13 saves for Gold, while Haberman unofficially had eight for Blue.
After the match, head coach Beth Acreman talked about the positives that were taken away from the scrimmage.Â
"I think the girls are playing very hard and are very, very competitive," said Acreman. "We have worked purely on defending over the last three days, so that is really what I was focusing on. I think their commitment to defending has improved, but I still think that we need to transition a little quicker when we don't have the ball and that needs to really sharpen up. But I was really seeing some good stuff, especially some of the stuff we have already worked on."
Despite the positives being taken away from Saturday, Acreman says she is in no hurry to name a first XI.
"We just have to be a little careful of not [naming a first XI] too early, so we are not missing anyone," said Acreman. "I think it takes freshmen a little bit of time to get acclimatized to what we do and then to get their confidence up. We have made a decision as a staff, that we are really going to watch these next few training sessions and give these young ones some times to blossom here. We want some experience in our lineup, but it still kind of up for grabs."
On Friday, the Racers will travel to Chattanooga for the first of two exhibition matches. Kick off from Finley Stadium in Chattanooga is set for 9 a.m. CDT. A week from Tuesday on August 20, MSU will return to Cutchin Field to close out the pre-season with an exhibition match against Southern Indiana that is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The 2013 Murray State soccer season will officially get underway on August 23 when the Racers travel to Evansville for their regular season opener. That game is set to start at 6 p.m.
