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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — Erin Shulman and
Courtney Luehmann tallied goals as the Southeast Missouri soccer team broke out of its offensive slump to defeat Drake, 2-1, at Houck Stadium on Sunday night.
The Redhawks close their season-opening home stand 1-2-1 while handing the Bulldogs (2-2) their second-consecutive loss.
“We played the way we did during the spring,” Southeast associate head coach
Paul Nelson said. “We worked hard and understood our responsibilities on the field. We put together 90 solid minutes of play tonight. The team knew what they had to do tonight and they performed.”
Sunday's contest started in similar fashion to Friday's match with UMKC, where Southeast fell behind early on. An own goal put Drake on the board in the sixth minute. A free kick taken by Brittany Schuling was moving past the goal, but redirected off a Southeast defender into the net.
Southeast went on the attack from there, taking four shots in the next 10 minutes. The Redhawks nearly capitalized when they got consecutive corner kicks with about 15 minutes gone by.
Jacey Boyko played two crosses near the goal that
Hayley Abbott got a head on, but one was stopped and the other sailed a bit high, keeping the Bulldogs ahead.
Southeast snapped a scoreless streak of 257:14 in the 22nd minute. Shulman found a seam in the Drake defense, but was tackled in the 18-yard box to draw a penalty kick. The sophomore forward made good on her attempt for her first goal of the season.
Drake attempted six of the final eight shots over the last 23 minutes of the first half, but
Renee Kertz made three saves to keep the score tied 1-1 at the break.
Defense dominated at the start of the second half as the teams combined for only three shots in the first 14 minutes.
Southeast took its first lead of the season in the 60th minute.
Meg Herndon played a high ball into the penalty area that deflected off a Drake defender to Luehmann at the top of the box. Luehmann placed a low line drive shot past a diving Kalena Litch to make it 2-1.
“Courtney has done a fantastic job considering she has never played forward before,” Nelson said. “She is a player we look for to hold the ball and distribute it. We trust her to make plays for us.”
The Bulldogs had a look to tie the contest in the 67th minute when Laura Moklestad found shooting space from 20 yards out that beat Kertz, but clanged off the goal post. That attempt was the only shot the Redhawks' defense allowed in the final 30:24 of play.
Drake finished with a slim, 12-11, advantage in shots, though Southeast attempted seven corner kicks and yielded only two attempts defensively. Kertz stopped six of seven shots to pick up her first collegiate victory.
The Redhawks go on the road next weekend to compete in the Tropical Smoothie Invitational in Lexington, Ky. Southeast opens the tournament against Louisville on Friday night.
