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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – A program-record 841 fans filed into Houck Stadium to watch the Southeast Missouri soccer team play Evansville to a scoreless tie on Tuesday night.
The crowd on hand edged out the previous mark, set in the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals against Murray State on Nov. 9, 2001. The crowd gathered on the field after the contest to support injured Redhawk defender
Meg Herndon.
“The crowd was unbelievable,” Southeast associate head coach
Paul Nelson said. “Meg's family came down tonight for the game and they were overwhelmed by the support. It shows how many people are intertwined in situations like this. Meg is a great person and it showed by the amount of people that came to show their support.”
Scoring chances were hard to come by in the opening 45 minutes of play. Southeast (1-5-2) doubled up Evansville (1-6-1), 6-3, in shot attempts during the first half. Evansville did hold a 3-1 edge in corner kicks in the opening frame.
The Redhawks came out firing in the second half, taking six of the first seven shots in the final regulation period. In the 51st minute,
Kasey Crowden blasted a shot from just outside the 18-yard box that eluded EU keeper Simone Busby, but grazed off the crossbar to keep the contest deadlocked.
Nearly 12 minutes later, Crowden took another of her game-high tying five shots. That attempt appeared labeled for the top corner of the net, but Busby made an acrobatic save to knock the ball away to help send the match to overtime.
Evansville attempted the only shot of the first overtime period, but Southeast surged in the second period. The Redhawks took all three shots in the final 10 minutes of play, a period that opened with a dangerous shot by
Jenna Collingridge that Busby steered aside once again.
The Redhawks finished with an 18-9 edge in shot attempts. Southeast's 18 shots represent a season high. The Purple Aces attempted seven corner kicks and yielded four Redhawk attempts.
“We decided that we are going to play a certain way,” Nelson said. “It is going to increase our opportunities and increase our possession time. I think it will increase our team's confidence level and lead to more goals.”
Renee Kertz made her first start in goal for the Redhawks since Aug. 31. The senior made four saves for her second career shutout, both of which came in scoreless ties at Houck.
Southeast returns to action on Friday night when it travels to Memphis. That contest kicks off at 7 p.m.
