CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Lauren Welker registered her fifth goal of the 2020-21 campaign as Southeast Missouri women's soccer (6-2-1, 6-2-1 OVC) fell to Ohio Valley Conference leader, Murray State (8-1-0, 8-1-0 OVC), 3-1, Friday evening at Houck Field.
Welker pounced on her own rebound from a missed penalty kick to provide the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage in the 11th minute of regulation.
Murray State then responded with three straight goals to grab the victory Friday.
The Racers knotted the contest at 1-1 with a goal from Rebecca Kubin in the 26th minute to head to the locker room with the scoreboard even after 45 minutes.
Kubin led Murray State with five shots on goal.
Murray State outshot SEMO, 5-4, in the opening half.
Lilly Strader posted a brace in the second half to grow the Murray State advantage to 3-1. Strader struck from 18 yards out on both goals in the 49th and 88th minutes of play.
The Racers had a 13-5 advantage in shots on the Redhawks including 11 on goal compared to SEMO's three.
Bailey Redden made eight saves in net for SEMO.
Redden tallied a stellar one-on-one save off a breakaway on Kubin in the 86th minute to keep the contest at 3-1.
Jenna Villacres, this week's OVC Goalkeeper of the Week, had two saves in the victory for Murray State.
Welker paced the Redhawks with three shots including two on target.
Morgan McCourt added a pair of shots with one on net.
Emily Holten,
Emma Brune,
Lexie Hacker and
Natalie Jackson each competed in the full 90 minutes of regulation Friday.
SEMO played Friday's game in honor of former Redhawk
Meg Herndon who was tragically involved in a truck-scooter accident in 2012. SEMO wore special green and blue uniforms to support organ and tissue donation.
Cindy Silvey,
Meg Herndon's mother, presented a check to the
Meg Herndon Scholarship Fund prior to the game Friday.
The Redhawks opened the game with 10 players and a moment of silence to honor
Meg Herndon.
SEMO concludes its 2020-21 regular season Tuesday at UT Martin. First kick is set for 7 p.m., CT in Martin, Tennessee.
