OVC #9
Southeast Missouri (6-1-1, 6-1-1 OVC)
vs. Murray State (7-1-0, 7-1-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, April 2, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field
First Kick: 6 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: Murray State leads SEMO, 12-11-1
 Last Meeting: Murray State 5-0 Win | Aug. 29, 2019 | Murray, Ky.
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Redhawks Host Murray State Friday in Meg Herndon Memorial Green Up Game
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (6-1-1, 6-1-1 OVC) will host Murray State (7-1-0, 7-1-0 OVC) Friday in SEMO's annual Meg Herndon Memorial Green Up Game. First kick is set for 6 p.m., CT at Houck Field in the battle of the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference.  
 
Friday's game will be played in honor of former Redhawk Meg Herndon who was tragically involved in a truck-scooter accident in 2012. SEMO will wear special green and blue uniforms to support organ and tissue donation.
 
Cindy Silvey, Meg Herndon's mother, will present a check to the Meg Herndon Scholarship Fund Friday. SEMO will also open the game with 10 players and a moment of silence to honor Meg Herndon.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Friday's game on GoSoutheast.com.
• Friday'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
Murray State leads the all-time series with SEMO, 12-11-1. The Racers have won or tied each of the last seven matchups. Murray State won the most recent meeting, 5-0, on Sept. 29, 2019 in Murray, Kentucky.
 
SEMO last beat Murray State on Oct. 5, 2014, 2-1, at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Scouting the Racers
Murray State has fashioned a 7-1-0 record in 2020-21, good for first in the OVC. The Racers most recently beat Tennessee Tech, 1-0, on March 23 in Murray, Kentucky, before overcoming SIUE, 2-1, on March 26 in Edwardsville, Illinois.
 
Jenna Villacres was named the OVC Goalkeeper of the Week after she earned her second clean sheet of the season when the Racers blanked Tennessee Tech. She made five saves in the 1-0 win over Tech. Villacres allowed just one goal in 180 minutes allowing a penalty kick against SIUE. She finished with 10 saves over the two games.
 
Morehead State Recap
Abby Tremain's late goal provided SEMO (6-1-1, 6-1-1 OVC) a 1-0 victory over Morehead State (1-7-0, 1-7-0 OVC) Monday afternoon at Jayne Stadium. Tremain registered her first career goal as a Redhawk in the 79th minute of regulation off a feed from Lauren Welker.
 
Welker paces the Redhawks in 2020-21 with 10 points after tallying her second assist of the campaign Monday, playing in 66 minutes of action.
 
Emma Brune led SEMO with five shots including four on goal. Morgan McCourt also tallied a shot on goal for the Redhawks. Hannah Compernolle finished the game with a shot.
 
Goalkeeper Bailey Redden made eight saves for the victory.
 
About Last Week
SEMO secured a tie with SIUE and fell at Eastern Kentucky last week.
 
The Redhawks tallied a 3-3 draw with SIUE on Senior Night March 23 at Houck Field. Kayla Byrd, Morgan McCourt and Faith Liljegren each tallied goals for the Redhawks. SEMO jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening 41 minutes before SIUE responded with three unanswered goals.


Lauren Welker scored her fourth goal of the 2020-21 season as the Redhawks fell to Eastern Kentucky, 2-1, March 27 at the EKU Soccer Field. Welker drew a foul before converting a penalty kick in the sixth minute of regulation. Eastern Kentucky then responded with consecutive goals for its third win of the season.
 
Yeah Abby T!!
Abby Tremain registered her first career goal as a Redhawk in the 79th minute of regulation Monday at Morehead State. The junior from Bridgeton, Missouri, competed in 46 minutes Monday against the Eagles, while registering the game-winner.

I'm Welking (Welker) on Sunshine
Lauren Welker leads the Redhawks in 2020-21 with 10 points, good for fourth in the OVC. In eight games this season, Welker has compile four goals and two assists. She ranks fourth in the league with 1.25 points per game.
 
Welker posted her fourth goal of the season on March 27 at Eastern Kentucky off a penalty kick. She leads the conference with a 1.000 rate on penalty kicks.
 
She also added her second assist of the year Monday on Abby Tremain's goal at Morehead State.
 
She notched her first three career goals as a Redhawk in the first three SEMO victories and games in the 2020-21 season.
  
Welker, a junior midfielder from Jackson, Missouri, has played in 636 minutes this season, and leads the team with 10 points and 12 shots. She has notched a team-high two game-winning goals, which is third in the conference. Welker averages 0.50 goals per game for second in the OVC.

The Byrd is the Word
Kayla Byrd scored her first career goal as a Redhawk in the 11th minute of regulation March 23 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 has started at forward in the past three games for SEMO.
 
The McCourt is Now in Session
Morgan McCourt netted her first goal of the 2020-21 season March 23 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 on March 23.
 
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 March 23 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 third in the OVC. She most recently registered a helper on Kayla Byrd's first career goal on March 23 against SIUE.
 
Compernolle ranks fourth in the OVC with 0.38 assists per game. She has also posted 10 shots this season including seven on goal.
  
Total 90
Midfielder Emma Brune and defenders Lexie Hacker and Natalie Jackson have all played in the full 740 minutes over the first eight Redhawk contests this season. The trio played in all 110 minutes of March 23's overtime game against SIUE for the Redhawks.
 
Jackson is second on the team this season with a pair of assists including most recently March 23 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
SEMO closes out its 2020-21 regular-season Tuesday at UT Martin. Initial kick is set for 7 p.m., CT in Martin, Tennessee.