SEMO Heads to the Bluegrass State
 
OVC #7
Southeast Missouri (5-0-1, 5-0-1 OVC)
at Eastern Kentucky (2-4-0, 2-4-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Saturday, March 27, 2021
Location: Richmond, Ky.
Venue: EKU Soccer Field
First Kick: 12 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads EKU, 9-3-3
Last Meeting: 1-0 SEMO Win | Oct. 11, 2019 | Richmond, Ky.
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: SIDEARM Sports
 
OVC #8
Southeast Missouri (5-0-1, 5-0-1 OVC)
at Morehead State (1-5-0, 1-5-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Monday, March 29, 2021
Location: Morehead, Ky.
Venue: Jayne Stadium
First Kick: 2 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads Morehead State, 13-6-5
Last Meeting: 5-1 SEMO Win | Oct. 13, 2019 | Morehead, Ky.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast

Redhawks Trek to the Bluegrass State to Take on EKU and Morehead State Saturday and Monday
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (5-0-1, 5-0-1 OVC) will make a trip to the Bluegrass State this weekend to face Eastern Kentucky (2-4-0, 2-4-0 OVC) and Morehead State (1-5-0, 1-5-0 OVC). SEMO will open the road trip Saturday with a 12 p.m., CT meeting against Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Kentucky. The Redhawks will then close the roadstand Monday against Morehead State in Morehead, Kentucky, at 2 p.m., CT.
 
SEMO's game with EKU was rescheduled because of field conditions due to inclement weather in Richmond, which caused a domino effect and the rescheduling of the Morehead State matchup.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Saturday's and Monday's games on GoSoutheast.com.
• Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
• @SEMOSoccer, the official Twitter page of Redhawks soccer, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Series History
EKU
SEMO leads the all-time series with Eastern Kentucky, 9-3-3. The Redhawks have won or tied their last three meetings with the Colonels.
 
SEMO most recently edged EKU, 1-0, on Oct. 11, 2019, in Richmond, Kentucky. Hailey Block netted the Redhawks game-winner in the 27th minute.

Morehead State
SEMO leads the all-time series with Morehead State, 13-6-5. The Redhawks have won the last two meetings and won or tied in the previous five games with the Eagles.
 
SEMO most recently buried Morehead State, 5-1, on Oct. 13, 2019. Esmie Gonzales, Hailey Block, Jennifer Brien, Kennedy Jones and Katie Lever all had goals in the victory.

Scouting the Opponents
Colonels
Eastern Kentucky enters the matchup after a 2-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday at Lakeside Field in Charleston, Illinois. EKU has shutout its in opponents twice in the last four games. The Colonels (2-4-0) were powered by goals from Michaela Iacono and Claire Hicks. Senior goalkeeper Billie Clark made two saves to earn her first clean sheet of the year.
 
Eagles
Morehead State most recently split a pair of 1-0 decisions to UT Martin (win) on March 16 and at SIUE (loss) on March 19. Freshman forward Abby Wesselkamper scored her first career goal in the 77th minute to propel the Eagles to victory over UTM on March 16. Junior goalkeeper Michelle Jerantowski picked up five saves in the net to earn her first career shutout. Jerantowski tied her season-high with six saves in 90 minutes in the net against the Cougars.
 
The Eagles will face Jacksonville State on Friday before playing host to the Redhawks on Monday.

Senior Night Recap
SEMO (5-0-1, 5-0-1 OVC) tallied a 3-3 draw with SIUE (5-0-1, 5-0-1) Tuesday on Senior Night at Houck Field. Kayla Byrd, Morgan McCourt and Faith Liljegren each tallied goals for the Redhawks in the contest between the top-two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference standings. SEMO jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 41 minutes before SIUE responded with three unanswered goals.
 
Lauren Welker led the Redhawks with three shots including one on goal to complement her assist. Abby Tremain posted a pair of shots on net.
 
Bailey Redden made nine saves for SEMO in the tie, including Angel Ikeda's penalty kick to keep SIUE off the scoreboard early in the first half.
 
Emma Brune, Lexie Hacker and Natalie Jackson competed in all 110 minutes of the overtime game for the Redhawks.
 
Seniors Kayla Byrd, Lexi Grote, Lexie Hacker and Emily Holten were all recognized for their careers at SEMO prior to the game. All four started the contest along with senior Hannah Compernolle who will return for the 2021 fall season.
 
The Byrd is the Word
Kayla Byrd scored her first career goal as a Redhawk in the 11th minute of regulation Tuesday against SIUE. The senior goalkeeper from Normal, Illinois, made her first career start at forward Tuesday for SEMO. She converted a feed from Kiana Khedoo and Hannah Compernolle to provide the Redhawks a 1-0 early advantage.
 
Byrd played in 39 minutes in her second career game wearing a SEMO kit. 
 
The McCourt is Now in Session
Morgan McCourt netted her first goal of the 2020-21 season Tuesday against SIUE. Making her fifth start of the campaign, McCourt found the back of the net off a pass from Lauren Welker at 12:58 in the first half.
 
McCourt was on the pitch for 71 minutes of action Tuesday.
 
We Believe in Faith
Freshman midfielder Faith Liljegren registered her first career goal as a Redhawk to push the SEMO lead to 3-0 on SIUE Tuesday evening at Houck Field. The Collinsville, Illinois, scored a highlight reel header off a free kick in the 41st minute. Liljegren headed Natalie Jackson's free kick past Cougars netminder Taylor Spiller.
 
Appearing in her fifth career collegiate contest, Liljegren made an instantaneous impact with her score seven minutes after coming on as a substitution. She played in 11 minutes Tuesday.
 
Compernolle the Facilitator
Hannah Compernolle leads the Redhawks in 2020-21 with three assists, which puts her second in the OVC. She most recently registered a helper on Kayla Byrd's first career goal on Tuesday against SIUE.
 
Compernolle has tallied assists in both of SEMO's most recent contests and ranks fifth in the OVC with 0.50 assists per game. She has also posted seven shots this season including five on goal.

Brune Named OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week
Emma Brune was named the Ohio Valley Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week, the league announced Sunday. Brune, a freshman from Cape Girardeau, secured her first career weekly laurel after she notched her first career goal on March 16 to provide the Redhawks a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Illinois.
 
The Saxony Lutheran alum played in all 180 minutes over the two games this past week. Brune also finished with five shots (three on target).
 
Redden Tabbed OVC Co-Goalkeeper of the Week
Bailey Redden was tabbed Ohio Valley Conference Co-Goalkeeper of the Week, the league announced Sunday.
 
Redden compiled a pair of shutouts this past week. The junior from Belleville, Illinois, made two saves on March 16 at Eastern Illinois before tallying a season-high six on March 19 against Tennessee Tech. She played in the full 90 minutes of both games and improved to 5-0-0 in 2020-21 with the pair of wins. For Redden it was her third career OVC Goalkeeper of the Week honor.
 
Redden is first in the conference with four shutouts. She is also second in the OVC with a goals against average of .643 and third for minutes played in net (560:00). Redden also ranks fourth in the league with a save percentage of .852.
 
About Last Week
SEMO extended its win streak to five with a pair of 1-0 wins this past week at Eastern Illinois and at home against Tennessee Tech. The Redhawks have registered four straight 1-0 wins in 2020-21.
 
Lexi Grote's goal lifted SEMO past Tennessee Tech, 1-0, on March 19 at Houck Field. Grote, a senior from Granite City, Illinois, buried a shot in the bottom left corner of the net in the 79th minute to push SEMO past the Golden Eagles. The goal was Grote's first of the 2020-21 season and came off a pass from Hannah Compernolle.
 
Compernolle is fifth in the OVC with 0.40 assists per game (team-high two assists in 2020-21).
 
SEMO has tallied the game-winner in the 79th minute of regulation in both of its most recent games.

Emma Brune compiled her first career goal to propel SEMO over Eastern Illinois, 1-0, on March 16 at Lakeside Field in Charleston, Illinois. Natalie Jackson and Emily Holten were credited with their first assists of the 2020-21 season on the play.

I'm Welking (Welker) on Sunshine
Lauren Welker notched her first three career goals as a Redhawk in the first three SEMO victories in the 2020-21 season.
 
Welker led the Redhawks with three shots including one on goal on Tuesday to complement her assist on Kayla Byrd's goal.
 
Welker, a junior midfielder from Jackson, Missouri, has played in 493 minutes this season, and leads the team with seven points and nine shots on goal. She has notched a team-high two game-winning goals, which leads the conference. Welker averages 0.50 goals per game for third in the OVC.
 
Total 90
Midfielder Emma Brune and defenders Lexie Hacker and Natalie Jackson have all played in the full 560 minutes over the first six Redhawk contests this season. The trio played in all 110 minutes of Tuesday's overtime game against SIUE for the Redhawks.
 
Jackson is second on the team this season with a pair of assists including most recently Tuesday on Faith Liljegren's tally against SIUE.

Emily Holten played in all 90 minutes of March 16's game at EIU, posting an assist with Jackson on Emma Brune's goal.
 
Hacker tallied an assist in SEMO's home opener on March 5.
 
SEMO Debuts
Taylor Nelson, a sophomore transfer from Lindenwood, made her Redhawks debut on March 12 against Austin Peay. She finished with a shot on goal in 16 minutes on the pitch.

Gabby Gscheidmeier, a redshirt freshman from Germantown, Wisconsin, made her SEMO debut at Belmont on March 9.
 
Maddie Paulson and Faith Liljegren also both made their Redhawk debuts in the win over Jacksonville State on March 5.
 
Freshmen Nadiia Ivanchenko (twice, March 5 & 9) and Kiana Khedoo (three times, March 9, 19 & 23) have also appeared in the SEMO starting lineup and played in all six games this season.
 
OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO, the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Regular-Season Champions, were picked to finish the 2020-21 season second in the OVC. Forward Megan Heisserer was named to the 2020-21 OVC Players Watch List.
 
The Redhawks received seven first-place votes and 172 points in the projected order of finish for second behind Murray State (181 points, five first-place votes).
 
Heisserer, a sophomore from Scott City, Missouri, was named to her first career OVC preseason team. The Notre Dame High School alum played in all 17 games during her inaugural collegiate season, starting in eight. Heisserer tallied four goals and two assists for 10 points last season including a pair of game-winning goals. She was third on the team with 30 shots.
 
2019 OVC Regular-Season Champs Recap
The 2019 Redhawks fashioned an 11-5-1 mark, tallying a record of 8-1-1 in conference play to win their sixth OVC regular-season crown in program history and first outright title since 2011.
 
SEMO was undefeated at home with a 7-0 record at Houck Field in 2019 and entered the 2019 OVC Tournament with a mark of 6-0-1. Head Coach Heather Nelson was awarded her fifth OVC Coach of the Year honor in 2019.
 
Roster Breakdown
The 2020-21 roster features 22 student-athletes including 15 players from the 2019 OVC Regular-Season Championship team. Emily Holten, Lexi Grote, Hannah Compernolle, Lexie Hacker and Kayla Byrd return for their senior seasons.
 
Junior Bailey Redden returns in net and started 16 games in 2019. Redden made 90 saves and posted four shutouts, compiling a 9-0-1 mark.
 
Megan Heisserer was the fourth leading scorer in 2019 with four goals. Kennedy Jones chipped in a pair last season. Grote and Morgan McCourt each had one.
 
Freshmen Emma Brune, Nadiia Ivanchenko, Kiana Khedoo, Maddie Paulson, Laura Galindo Mejia, Faith Liljegren and sophomore transfer Taylor Nelson are the newcomers on the squad. Nelson is the daughter of head coach Heather Nelson and associate head coach Paul Nelson.
 
Looking Ahead
After this weekend's trip to Kentucky, SEMO returns home to start the final week of the 2020-21 regular season. The Redhawks host Murray State in the Meg Herndon Green Up Game on April 2 at Houck Field. Initial kick is set for 6 p.m., CT. SEMO then closes out its regular season Tuesday, April 6 against UT Martin in Martin, Tennessee.