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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Courtney Luehmann got Southeast on the board early as the Southeast Missouri soccer team played UT Martin to a 1-1 tie at Houck Stadium on Tuesday night.
Tuesday's conference opener pit the defending OVC regular season champion Redhawks (1-6-3, 0-0-1 OVC) against the defending conference tournament champion Skyhawks (3-4-3, 0-0-1 OVC).
Luehmann's second goal of the season happened less than two minutes into the contest.
Jacey Boyko left-footed a corner kick on the ground that Luehmann one touched into the top corner of the net to make it a 1-0 contest. That tally marked the first time this season that Southeast scored first in a contest.
Southeast had two more excellent opportunities to add to the lead as Boyko was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down from behind in the 13th minute, but UT Martin keeper Mariah Klenke made the save. In the 27th minute, a deft Boyko cross in the air found
Hayley Abbott's head. The senior directed a shot to the near post, but a Skyhawk defender was positioned on the line and knocked the ball away to keep it a one-goal difference.
“We played against some very good teams to prepare for OVC play,” Southeast head coach
Heather Nelson said. “We took some of those plays that they ran on us, but the team was also extremely focused. The players really came together as a team and performed well tonight.”
The Skyhawks tied the contest up in the 33rd minute when Dominika Conc played a high ball past the Redhawks back line. Kendyl Wilson won a foot race with Southeast keeper
Renee Kertz and slipped a sharp angle shot into the net to even the score at 1-1. The Skyhawks outshot the Redhawks 6-4 in the opening 45 minutes of play, but the score was tied at 1-1.
UT Martin once again outshot Southeast by a 6-4 margin in the second half, but a number of those shots came early in the frame and from the outside. After allowing the first five shot attempts, the Redhawks pressured the Skyhawks for the rest of regulation.
Southeast created the best chance of the second half when
Torey Byrd fed a high ball that Luehmann corralled behind the UT Martin defense with under three minutes left. As she was approaching from the left side, Klenke came out to challenge and forced Luehmann's shot wide of the cage and sent the contest to overtime.
UT Martin held a 4-1 advantage in shots in the first overtime, but none of them found the back of the net. Southeast created a strong opportunity in the middle of the second overtime period as Luehmann again found a loose ball behind the defense, but Klenke made a point blank save.
The Skyhawks finished the contest with a 19-11 advantage in shots, including a 13-6 edge in shots on goal. The Redhawks created five corner kicks, several of which created quality scoring opportunities, against only two for the Skyhawks.
Renee Kertz made a career-high 12 saves while playing in her third overtime match of the season. Klenke turned aside four of the five shots she faced.
Southeast resumes OVC play on Friday night when it hosts Murray State at Houck Stadium. That match kicks off at 6:30 p.m.
