Four Racers score after a dominant second-half performance as Murray State (5-1-1, 1-0-0) earns their first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season in a 4-1 victory over Southeast Missouri at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
Thursday’s contest featured a tale of two halves for Murray State. While the Racers did manage to record six shots in the first half, the Redhawks followed close behind with four shots of their own. Neither squad could muster a score before heading into the locker room for the halftime break, as the score remained 0-0.
The Racers hit the ground running following the half. Caroline Ashton got the Racers offense started with a score off an assist from Symone Cooper in the 48th minute. MSU earned their second goal of the match when Abby Jones converted a penalty kick to push Murray State to a 2-0 lead at the 62:23 mark.
Murray State’s offensive surge did not come uninterrupted, as the Redhawks managed to record a goal of their own in the 67th minute and to push the score 2-1. The goal came after Southeast Missouri’s Esmie Gonzales capitalized on a Murray State foul by sending a free kick past a diving Alex Steigerwald for the Redhawks lone score of the contest.
The Racers secured a second penalty kick opportunity after Miyah Watford drew a foul inside the box at the 70:04 mark. This time, it was Watford who hit the mark for her seventh score of the season and gave Murray State a 3-1 advantage.
MSU’s final goal of the contest came after freshman Arianna Mendez connected on a pass to Emma Heise in stride, who soared a shot past SEMO goalkeeper Maddie Gleeson at 86:47 to seal the Racers’ first OVC win of the year 4-1.
“It feels good as a first-time head coach – obviously following such a successful three or four years – you have a little bit of pressure on you,” said head coach Matt Lodge when speaking about his first OVC victory. “I have actually never won here in my five years, so it feels great to get a win. I have tied here, but this is the first time I have won as a coach. I couldn’t be prouder of the girls. They worked hard.”
The Racers are looking to return to action this Sunday; however, due to the predicted weather conditions surrounding the Southeast region, more information regarding Sunday’s contest is to be announced. Murray State will be heading to Illinois to wrap up a five-game road trip in OVC action against Eastern Illinois (Sept. 21) and SIUE (Sept. 23). MSU will be back at Cutchin Field to take on Tennessee Tech (Sept. 28) and Jacksonville State (Sept. 30) to end September in Murray, Kentucky.
Courtesy of MSU Athletics