#1 Southeast Missouri (11-4-1, 8-1-1) vs. #4 SIUE (8-5-4, 5-2-3 OVC)
 
Date: Friday, November 8, 2019
Time: 6:30 p.m., CT
Location: Houck Field
Series: SEMO leads, 8-3-1

2019 OVC Regular Season Champions
Southeast Missouri clinched the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title and top seed in this year's tournament after finishing with an 8-1-1 mark in conference play. The Redhawks went undefeated at home with a 7-0 record at Houck Field this season. 

SEMO will host the 2019 OVC Soccer Tournament Semifinals and Championship. Watch the Redhawks live on ESPN+. Live stats will be available at GoSoutheast.com. 

Quick Kicks
 The Redhawks finished the 2019 regular season with a 11-4-1 record and 8-1-1 mark in OVC play.

No OVC school had a winning record entering the start of conference play. SEMO won six of its first seven league contests to get 18 points, then tied UT Martin to reach a league-high 19 points. The Redhawks improved to 8-8-5 all-time in OVC openers and were off to a 3-0 start in conference play for the first time in eight years. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• @SEMOsoccer, the official Twitter page of the Redhawks, will feature live in-game updates.
• Watch SEMOsoccer live on ESPN+ for all home games and select away games. 
• Live stats for every game are available at GoSoutheast.com
 
OVC Tournament 
The tournament is split between two weekends, with the first round starting on Nov. 1 at the sites of the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. The semifinals and championship will are held at the site of the No. 1 seed (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) this weekend. SEMO hosts OVC Tournament action for the first time since 2014.

In the First Round, #5 Tennessee Tech fell to #8 Eastern Illinois, 2-0, and #7 Austin Peay fell to #6 Belmont, 1-0. #6 Belmont defeated #3 UT Martin, 3-2, to advance to the Semifinals to face #2 Murray State. #4 SIUE defeated #8 Eastern Illinois, 1-0, to move on to face #1 Southeast Missouri. 

Series History vs. SIUE
The Redhawks lead their all-time series against SIUE, 8-3-2. The last meeting between these teams was in on Oct. 3 when SEMO defeated the Cougars, 2-1, in double overtime. SEMO is 6-1-1 at home against the Cougars, with the last win before this season at Houck Field coming on Oct. 15, 2017 (4-1).

Scouting SIUE
SIUE finished the season with a 8-5-4 record and a 5-2-3 mark in conference play. MacKenzie Litzsinger leads the Cougars with 12 goals, three assists and 52 shots. Goalkeeper Jensen Schoch has allowed nine goals, made 65 saves and boasts a .878 save percentage. Schoch has four shutouts this season. SIUE was 1-1-2 before coming to SEMO in early October. Since then, the Cougars have gone 5-0-1.

Record Year
Esmie Gonzales earned First-Team All-OVC honors in back-to-back seasons. Gonzales ranks among Southeast Missouri's top five career leaders in goals (t2nd, 28), points (t3rd, 68), and field minutes played (5th, 5,524). The Fort Worth, Texas native holds the record for shots (217) and is tied for first in game-winning goals (12), and shots on goal (103). The 2019 campaign marks the final season for Gonzales.
 
Redden Named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week
Bailey Redden was named the OVC's Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 7. Redden recorded 14 saves for the week, allowing just one goal in 197 minutes in net. She recorded her second shutout of the season against regional-rival Southern Illinois. 

Succeeding In the Classroom
Southeast Missouri ranked 13th in the nation out of nearly 650 teams in grade point average after posting a 3.66 GPA for the 2018-19 academic year according to the United Soccer Coaches. SEMO had five student-athletes receive the OVC Medal of Honor with 4.0 GPAs. Bri Caccavale, Kate Daus, Emily Holten, Katie Lever and Morgan McCourt were those individuals.There were 20 women's soccer student-athletes honored on the Commissioner's Honor Roll after posting at least a 3.25 GPA in one season of competition.
 
Heisserer Hot Start
Freshman Megan Heisserer is off to a hot start in a Redhawks uniform. In exhibition play, the Scott City, Missouri native had a goal and an assist. So far this season, Heisserer has four goals and two assists on 29 shots.
 
OVC Regular-Season Champions
Southeast Missouri won its sixth Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title in program history and first in five years. SEMO last won the OVC outright in 2011. The Redhawks play host to the league's postseason tournament for the first time since 2014.