Southeast Missouri (0-0)
at Evansville (0-0)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Aug. 18, 2017
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m., CT
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Field: Arad McCutchan Stadium
Series: SEMO leads 4-3-4
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
 
vs. Illinois Springfield (0-0)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017
Kickoff: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Field: Houck Field
Series: SEMO leads 1-0
 
Media Information
Live Stats: GoSoutheast.com
Live Stream: OVC Digital Network
 
Follow the Redhawks on Twitter for in-game updates @SEMOsoccer
 
Complete Match Notes: Southeast Missouri
 
Quick Kicks
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (0-0) will officially kick off the 2017 season this weekend. The season opener will be Friday evening at 7 p.m. at Evansville (0-0) followed by the home opener Sunday at 6:30 against Illinois Springfield (0-0). 
 
Sunday's home opener will be a special eclipse-themed game. The first 400 fans through the gate will get a special SEMO soccer glow-in-the-dark eclipse t-shirt sponsored by Burritoville. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Live stats will be available for both matches this weekend. Live stat links can be found on the soccer schedule on GoSoutheast.com. 
• Sunday's game will be streamed live and for free on the OVC Digital Network. All nine of Southeast's home matches will be streamed to the OVC Digital Network in 2017. 
• @SEMOsoccer, the official Twitter page of the Redhawks, will feature live in-game updates all season long. 
 
Series Histories
Evansville
Southeast narrowly leads the all-time series with Evansville, 4-3-4. The teams have met each of the last three seasons, going 1-1-1. In Evansville, Southeast is 2-1-2 all time. Last season, the Redhawks and Purple Aces played to a scoreless draw in double overtime. 
Illinois Springfield
The Redhawks and Prairie Stars met for the first time a season ago in Cape. Southeast was victorious in the match, 3-1. Lauren Kaempfe scored the game winner and Cassidi Tomsu netted her first career goal in the match. 
 
Scouting the Opponents
Evansville
     The Purple Aces finished the 2016 campaign with a 4-12-3 mark on the season. Not including exhibitions, UE played four OVC squads, going 0-3-1; however, they finished Missouri Valley play over .500 with a 3-2-1 clip then advanced to play for The Valley Tournament Championship. 
     This season, UE was tabbed for a four-place finish in the Valley following a second-place finish a season ago. The Purple Aces return six starters and 14 letterwinners from 2016. In exhibition play, Evansville defeated SIUE 1-0 but fell to OVC favorite Murray State, 5-0. 
Illinois Springfield
    UIS finished the 2016 season 7-11 with all 11 losses coming in GLVC play. Defender Maggie Juhlin returns to the team after ranking second among the Prairie Stars with four goals last season. She is one of four players on last year's roster to start all 18 matches. Sunday's contest will be an exhibition for Springfield.
 
Looking Ahead
Southeast will continue its homestand next week when it hosts a pair of Wisconsin programs. Milwaukee comes to Cape Friday evening for a 6:30 p.m. tilt. Green Bay follows Sunday for a 1 p.m. matinée. Friday's match will be Youth Soccer Night and Take a Kid to the Game. Kids 14 and under will receive free admission. Sunday's match will be the first Sunday Fun-Day of the season. The East End Zone of the stadium will be open for parking and tailgating during the contest. 
 
Exhibition Recap
The Redhawks defeated Southland Conference preseason favorite Central Arkansas in exhibition play last Friday at home, 3-2. SEMO led the Bears 1-0 at halftime but quickly fell behind early in the second half with a pair of Bear goals just minutes apart. Jennifer Brien tied the contest in the 73rd minute then Esmie Gonzales netted an 85th-minute game winner to secure the victory. Gonzales walked away with a goal and an assist, taking two shots. Brien led the team with three shots on the evening. 
 
Redhawks in Openers
In 18 seasons, Southeast is 13-4-1 all time in season openers. In all-time home openers, the Redhawks are 12-3-3. SEMO has won the last three season openers. 
 
OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast was picked to finish tied for fifth in the 2017 OVC Predicted Order of Finish, the league announced Tuesday. Murray State was picked to win the league with 10 first-place votes. Three other teams also garnered first-place votes including SIUE, Eastern Kentucky, and Tennessee Tech. Southeast's conference slate begins Sept. 15 against Tennessee Tech.
 
Prepping for a Record Year
Goalkeeper Kindra Lierz will look to break several career goalkeeper records during her senior season including saves, wins, and solo shutouts. She broke the goalkeeper minutes played record in the season finale last year, having played 5,298 in three seasons.
 
Approaching 100 Home Wins
Entering its 19th season, Southeast Missouri has won a total of 97 matches at the friendly confines of Houck Field. In all, the Redhawks are 97-39-21 at home. 
 
Roster Breakdown
The 2017 roster consists of 24 student-athletes including 16 returners, nine of which were regular starters in 2016. Notable players back in 2017 are senior goalkeeper Kindra Lierz and 2016 Second Team All-OVC/All-Newcomer Team midfielder Esmie Gonzales.
 
Champions in the Classroom
Three women's soccer student-athletes were honored with the OVC Medal of Honor last week for achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA in the classroom during the 2016-17 academic year. Lauren Kaempfe, Katie Lever, and Maggie Pike were all bestowed with the honor. In all, women's soccer had the most of any sport league-wide with 33. As a team, the Redhawks were honored with the OVC Team Academic Achievement Award for the sport of soccer for the second year in a row. The Redhawks put together a cumulative 3.708 team GPA for the 2016-17 academic year.