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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Paige Weber's goal with 52 seconds left in regulation snapped a 1-1 tie and sent the top-seeded Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team to a 2-1 setback at Houck Stadium in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night.
The setback eliminates the 2011 OVC champion Redhawks (12-6-1) from the postseason tournament. The fifth-seeded Eagles advance to the OVC Tournament Championship match at Houck Stadium on Sunday afternoon to face third-seeded UT Martin, who defeated Eastern Kentucky 4-0 earlier in the day. That match kicks off at 1 p.m.
Southeast got off to a hot start, firing the first four shots of the evening, several of which were quality scoring opportunities. The Redhawks drew first blood in the 21st minute when
Lauren Bozesky crossed a perfect ball to the opposite side, where OVC Offensive Player of the Year
Jessie Crabtree headed it in for her ninth goal of the year. The Marion, Ill., transfer finishes her lone season at Southeast with 22 points.
The Eagles picked things up late in the first half, taking five of the last seven shots in the opening frame and pinning the Redhawks in their end for large stretches at the end of the opening frame. Nevertheless, the Southeast defense stood tall and held the 1-0 lead at the break.
Southeast started strong in the second half, creating some quality opportunities early. However, the Redhawks were unable to build upon the lead.
MSU tied the contest up at one apiece in the 56th minute after Holly Tilley corralled a loose ball and sent it ahead to Jillian Birchmeier. She fired a low blast from 30 yards out that eluded
Ashton Aubuchon and set up a dramatic finish.
Both teams traded blows with chances on corner kicks, Aubuchon made a pair of quality saves on first-team All-OVC performer Brittany Kiracofe to keep the contest even while MSU fended off three Southeast corner kicks down the stretch.
With time winding down, Brittany MacLennan had a throw in near the 18-yard box. Her toss was redirected by Kiracofe to the top of the box where Weber blasted a low shot through traffic and into the net with 52 seconds remaining on the clock, capping a dramatic finish.
“I felt like we played our style in the first 30 minutes,” Southeast head coach
Heather Nelson said. “We possessed the ball very well early on, but they played better the last 15 minutes of the half. When we came out at half, both teams were very determined. It become a play the long ball and knock it down game, and Morehead is very good at that.”
The Eagles outshot the Redhawks, 13-11, including 8-5 in the second half. Southeast attempted eight corner kicks while MSU had five tries from the corner.
Ashton Aubuchon finishes her sophomore campaign with a 12-5-1 mark after making five saves in goal for the Redhawks.
The Redhawks finish the season with a 12-6-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in OVC play. The 12 wins are tied for the fourth most wins in school history while the regular season conference title is Southeast's fourth overall and first since 2007.