Complete Match Notes (PDF) | OVC Tournament Central | Live Stats | Live Video

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. ­– With a successful regular season concluded, the Southeast Missouri State (12-5-1, 8-1 Ohio Valley) soccer team gears up for the postseason this week as host of the 2011 OVC Tournament. The tournament begins on Thursday afternoon, though the top-seeded Redhawks have earned a bye until Friday's semifinals. They will face the winner of Thursday's quarterfinal match between Murray State and Morehead State. Live stats and live video will be available for every OVC Tournament match courtesy of gosoutheast.com and OVCSports.tv. Complete information on the 2011 OVC Tournament is available on the OVC Tournament Central page linked at the top of the screen.

Last Week ­– Southeast clinched its first regular season OVC title since 2007 in dominant fashion with a pair of 3-0 home wins over Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech over the weekend. Senior forward Jessie Crabtree factored in on five of the Redhawks' six goals, tallying three goals herself and dishing out two assists. She recorded a career-high five points in Friday's win over Jacksonville State, helping Southeast clinch a conference title by scoring twice in the first half and helping on an insurance tally in the second half. She opened the scoring in Sunday's senior day win over Tennessee Tech, a goal that proved to be the game-winner, before once again assisting on a second-half insurance goal. The Redhawks enter this week's OVC tournament as the top seed with an overall record of 12-5-1. The 12 victories are the Redhawks' most since 2007 and the fourth most in school history.

A Look at the OVC Tournament – Southeast is in the OVC Tournament for second consecutive season and the 11th time in program history. The Redhawks hold a 9-7-2 all-time record in the league tournament. Southeast won the OVC Tournament in 2006 and repeated as champs in 2007, punching its NCAA Tournament ticket. The Redhawks are also 5-2-1 all-time in OVC Tournament matches at Houck Stadium. Joining the Redhawks in this week's tournament are second-seeded Eastern Kentucky (7-9-3, 5-3-1 OVC), third-seeded UT Martin (11-6-2, 5-3-1 OVC), fourth-seeded Murray State (7-8-3, 4-3-2 OVC), No. 5 seed Morehead State (9-7-3, 4-4-1 OVC) and sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois (5-11-2, 4-5-0 OVC).

Scouting the Field – Eastern Kentucky rode a 3-0-1 start to league play all the way to the second quarterfinal bye in this week's tournament. In league play, EKU ranked second in the OVC in goals against average (0.75) and sixth in goals per game (1.00). UT Martin finished with an identical 5-3-1 league record, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with Eastern Kentucky for the second seed. The Skyhawks finished second in the league in goals per game (1.56) and fourth in goals against average (0.95). Murray State caught fire late in the year, going 4-1-1 in its last six league matches to get into the postseason tournament. The Racers ranked third in goals per game (0.89) and fifth in goals against average (0.95) during league play. Morehead State went 2-0 on the final weekend to jump into the field. During league play, the Eagles ranked third in the OVC in goals per game (1.33) and sixth in goals against average (0.97). Eastern Illinois got off to a 3-1 start in league play before holding onto the final tournament spot. The Panthers posted the third-best goals against average (0.76) during league play while finishing seventh in goals per game (0.78).

Free Kicks:

Southeast vs. the 2011 Field – The Redhawks went a combined 4-2 against the 2011 OVC Tournament participants this season (4-1 in league matches). Southeast' posted league wins against Murray State (3-0 on Sept. 26), Eastern Illinois (3-0 on Sept. 30), Eastern Kentucky (1-0 on Oct. 9) and UT Martin (2-1 on Oct. 14). Three of those matches (Murray State, Eastern Kentucky and UT Martin) were on the road. The Redhawks' lone league loss came at Morehead State by a 2-1 score on Oct. 7. UT Martin also defeated the Redhawks in double overtime, 2-1, in a non-conference match on Oct. 21.

Saving the Best for Last – Senior forward Jessie Crabtree put together her finest performances of the year in the final weekend of the regular season. Crabtree tallied eight points (3 goals, 2 assists) in home victories over Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech. The outburst vaulted the Marion, Ill., native to first on the team's scoring list with 20 points (8 goals, 4 assists).

Coming Through – Senior Lauren Bozesky has been a key cog in the Redhawks' attack during their run to the top of the OVC standingss. After a slow start to the year, Bozesky netted six goals and an assist for 13 points since the start of conference play, the second-best production in the OVC. Three of her five goals in league play have been game winners, which led all conference players.

Bringing the D – Southeast's bread and butter has been its stellar defensive play. The Redhawks boast a conference-best 0.76 goals against average and 10 shutouts. The Redhawks' starting defense of Nikki Edwards (1,635 minutes), Hayley Abbott (1,456 minutes), Meg Herndon (1,408 minutes) and Shona Goodwin (1,280 minutes) have combined to play 5,779 out of a possible 6,628 minutes on the back line (87.2 percent of the minutes).

Magic Number is 2 – The key to Southeast's success has been the number two. The Redhawks' are a perfect 9-0 when they find the back of the net at least twice offensively. The number also applies to the back end as Southeast is an unbeaten 11-0-1 when allowing fewer than two goals. Conversely, Southeast is 3-5-1 when scoring less than two goals and 1-5 when opponents tally two goals or more.

Winning the Close Ones – The Redhawks have proven adept at making the critical play to win a tightly contest match this season. Seven of the Redhawks' 15 contests have been decided by one goal and Southeast boasts a 5-2 record in those contests. In fact, four of Southeast's last six contests have been one-goal matches, with the Redhawks posting a 3-1 record in those contests.

Last Line of Defense – Sophomore goalkeeper Ashton Aubuchon is in range to make her mark on the Southeast single season record books this year. At 12 wins, Aubuchon is in fourth place on the school's single season list. Her eight solo shutouts are tied for the third most in school history with current assistant coach Lindsay Pickering.

New Blood – Some of the newest members of the Redhawks are making the biggest impact on the scoresheet.  Freshman Erin Shulman (nine goals, 18 points) and senior transfer Jessie Crabtree (eight goals, 20 points) pace the Southeast attack with a combined 17 goals and 38 points this season. Their offensive prowess has carried the Redhawks thus far as they are 7-0 when Shulman scores at least one goal and 6-0 when Crabtree records at least one point.