Racer Soccer Begins 2021 Season With Pair of Exhibition Matches

Photo by Dave Winder- MSU Athletics

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racer Soccer Begins 2021 Season With Pair of Exhibition Matches

8/9/2021 3:54:00 PM | Women's Soccer

The Racers get the 22nd season in program history going with friendlies against Evansville and Samford

The Murray State Women's Soccer 2021 season gets underway this week with a pair of exhibition matches. The Racers travel to Evansville to take on the Purple Aces at 5 p.m. Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Ind., followed by a home exhibition Thursday at 1 P.M. against Samford at Cutchin Field in Murray, Ky.

The Racers are coming off a 2020 season that was played in the spring of 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions but was very successful winning the Ohio Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship with a 9-1 record. This was the Racers fifth OVC regular season championship and first regular season championship for Coach Matt Lodge, who begins his fourth season with the program this fall.

Players to watch
Izzy Heckman- A senior from Powder Springs, Ga., returns to the Racers following an All- OVC First Team and OVC Defensive Player of the Year campaign in 2020 and is projected to be one of the Racers key contributors again in 2021. Heckman helped lead the Racer defense last season that allowed just 10 goals in 11 matches.

Chloe Barnthouse- A sophomore from West Bloomfield, Mich., Barnthouse returns to the Racers and was named an All-OVC First Team member for the 2020 season as a freshman. She scored seven goals in 11 games last season including a hat trick against Eastern Illinois.

Saraya Young- A junior from Wilmore, Ky., Young was named All-OVC second team last season as she was a key contributor to the Racer defense and added a goal and an assist.

Lauren Payne- A junior from Louisville, Ky., Payne scored two goals and recorded two assists last season and was named All -OVC second team for the 2020 season and will look to continue her success as a midfielder again this year.

Rebecca Kubin- A fifth year senior from Lake Zurich, Ill., she was named to the All-Tournament team in the OVC tournament last season scoring four goals and picking up three assists on the year.

Symone Cooper- A redshirt senior midfielder from Loganville, Ga., Cooper scored two goals and added two assists last season and was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team.

Looking Ahead
The 2021 regular season opener comes at home (Aug 19.) Missouri State and followed by a home match against Louisiana Tech (Aug. 22). The Racers hit the road for nearly a month for matches at Xavier (Aug. 29), Florida Atlantic (Sep. 3), Florida International (Sep. 5), Indiana (Sep.9), and Kentucky (Sep. 12). The Racers return to Cutchin field (Sep. 19) for a matchup with Southern Illinois and Cincinnati (Sept. 26).