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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Ashton Aubuchon made eight saves for her first shutout of the season as the Southeast Missouri soccer team played Arkansas State to a scoreless tie at Houck Stadium on Friday night.
The Redhawks are now 0-3-1 on the season while the Red Wolves are 2-1-2.
Southeast generated several quality opportunities early on. The Redhawks won some 50-50 balls on a corner kick and set up
Ashley Brendel from in close, but her blast was steered aside by ASU keeper Amanda Lee. Brendel got another opportunity from outside the 18-yard box that Lee was again equal to the task on to keep the contest scoreless.
The match bogged down to a demonstration of set pieces for the rest of the half. Both teams attempted five corner kicks and Southeast outshot Arkansas State, 7-4, but neither team found the back of the net and the contest went to halftime 0-0.
Arkansas State recorded the first three shot attempts of the second half, though Aubuchon was up to the task each time. The Red Wolves' most dangerous attempt came in the 64th minute when Loren Mitchell got a step on the Redhawks' defense down the right side. Aubuchon met her at the top of the 18-yard box and dove to cut down the angle and preserve the scoreless tie.
The best opportunity of the match came in the 83rd minute when
Natasha Minor found
Erin Shulman behind the ASU defense. Shulman worked the ball around Lee but the keeper's dive caught her just off balance and her tap hit the post, the regulation ended with Southeast holding a 13-10 edge in shots.
Southeast had the better of the chances in the first overtime period, taking three shots in the final two minutes.
Breana Beine got free in the 99th minute but Lee aggressively came out to challenge her shot at the top of the 18-yard box to make a big stop.
Stephanie Palmer tracked down the rebound from about 20 yards out at a sharp angle and quickly flicked another shot on net, but Lee was there again to send the contest to double overtime.
ASU had a 2-1 shot advantage in the final period. Southeast's lone attempt came in the 105th minute when Shulman got a step on the defense, but Lee again came out to challenge and forced the sophomore's attempt wide. The Red Wolves drew a corner kick in the final minute and the ball got into a dangerous spot in traffic for a header, but Aubuchon's diving stop preserved the shutout.
"We played a solid 90 minutes, the best we played this season," Southeast head coach
Heather Nelson said. "We created a lot of chances offensively and played pretty solidly defensively. We're getting better every game, I can see it. I think we are a dark horse in this league and our record when we get to conference play will not be indicative of how good we really are."
The Redhawks finished the contest with a 17-13 advantage in shots. Minor led Southeast with four shots while Shulman and Brendel attempted three apiece. Both teams tried six corner kicks.
Aubuchon's eight saves netted the senior keeper her 16th-career solo shutout, the second most in school history. On the other end, Lee made 10 saves of her own to blank Southeast.
The Redhawks are back in action on Sept. 13 when they travel to Illinois State.
