Racers Face EKU In OVC Title Game On Sunday

Last Time On Racer Soccer…
Miyah Watford's first half goal was all the Murray State Racers needed to reach the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament finals, as they defeated Southeast Missouri 1-0 at Cutchin Field in Murray, Kentucky.

Any Given Sunday
Murray State and Eastern Kentucky will battle at Cutchin Field in the OVC Tournament Finals on Sunday, November 3 at 1 p.m. The Racers are 7-1-0 overall and 4-0-0 against OVC opponents on Sunday this year.

We're Going To Need A Bigger Trophy Case
Winning isn't anything new for the Racers the past couple years. This year sees the addition of a regular season title, OVC Offensive Player of the Year, OVC Freshman of the Year, OVC Coach of the Year, three players voted to the All-OVC First Team, two players voted to the All-OVC Second team and two players voted to the All-OVC Newcomer team.

The Two Prong Crown
The Racers are currently two-time OVC tournament champs, with wins coming in 2009 and 2015 respectively. A win against EKU will give them the third title in program history.

There's Always A First Time For Everything
This will be the first time Murray State and EKU will face in the OVC Tournament Finals. In their previous two OVC Finals appearances, Murray State faced Tennessee Tech in 2009 and SEMO in 2015.

The Reflex
Alex Steigerwald has seen the ball well this year, and it shows. Steigerwald currently has the second best single season GAA of .63 in Racer history. She also has the second most shutouts in a single season with nine.

You Can't Go Through Walls
Since letting up three goals to Little Rock on September 8, the Racers have allowed just four goals and recorded six of their seven shutouts in this span.

Better Late Than Never
19 of the 28 goals scored by the Racers this year have come in the second half or in overtime.

Just Need One More
Harriet Withers needs one goal to tie the single season goal record of 13, and Alex Steigerwald needs one more shutout to tie the single season record of 10.

Rebounding Nicely
After seeing their six game winning streak end with a 1-0 loss to Saint Louis at Cutchin Field on September 14, the Racers have gone 8-0-2, and are currently on a five-game winning streak.

We Run This Conference
You have to look back to the tail end of 2014, the first season under coach Groves, that the Racers lost a regular season OVC Game. That was on October 26 against the Bruins of Belmont, where the Racers fell 2-0. Since then, Murray State has gone on a 26 game and counting conference unbeaten streak.

Know Thy Foe(s)
Eastern Kentucky is next up for the Racers. EKU defeated Tennessee Tech in double-overtime in the OVC Semifinals.
EKU sees three players in with double digits points, with Jordan Foster leading in both goals (7) and points (17). As a team they have scored 26 goals and have let up 20 for a goal differential of +6. Anna Hall, who has played every game for EKU, has a GAA of .98 while making 71 saves and has a .780 save percentage along with seven shutouts. EKU is 0-1 in penalty kicks, where the only miss came against Murray State earlier this year.

Last Time They Met
The last time these squads faced off was on Thursday October 5 where the Racers tied EKU 1-1 at the EKU Soccer Field in Richmond, Ky. The lone goal for Murray State came at the 51^st minute, with Miyah Watford getting a deflected ball off the EKU keeper and putting it away for a then 1-0 lead.

All Time Record
Murray State and EKU have been going at it since 2005, with the Racers holding a 8-3-2 overall record against EKU. Before the tie this year, Murray State had won the last three, with the last EKU win coming in 2013. The Racers are 4-1-0 at Cutching Field against EKU.

Who's Next
A win on Sunday will give either team an automatic bid to the NCAA soccer tournament.

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Players Mentioned

Alex Steigerwald

Miyah Watford

Harriet Withers

Murray State University Athletics