Game #10 | OVC #2
Southeast Missouri (3-6-0, 0-1-0 OVC)
at Murray State (5-4-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021
Location: Murray, Ky.
Venue: Cutchin Field
First Kick: 3 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: Murray State leads 13-12-1
Last Meeting: 1-0 SEMO Win | April 15, 2021 | 2020-21 OVC Championship Tournament Semifinals | Murray, Ky.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Game #11 | OVC #3
UT Martin (5-3-1, 1-0-0 OVC)
vs. Southeast Missouri (3-6-0, 0-1-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.  
Venue: Houck Field  
First Kick: 1 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads 11-9-6
Last Meeting: 4-2 UTM Win | April 6, 2021 | Martin, Tenn.
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
Tickets

Game Notes: Southeast Missouri  

Redhawks Head to Murray State Thursday Before Hosting UTM Sunday
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (3-6-0, 0-1-0 OVC) continues its 2021 Ohio Valley Conference slate with a pair of games this week. SEMO first heads to Murray, Kentucky, Thursday to face league rival, Murray State (5-4-0, 0-0-0 OVC). First kick is set for 3 p.m., CT at Cutchin Field. The Redhawks conclude the week Sunday against UT Martin (5-3-1, 1-0-0 OVC) at Houck Field. Initial kick is slated for 1 p.m., CT.
 
Sunday's home game is Hispanic Heritage Day at Houck Field. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive Halcones Rojos Fútbol (Redhawks soccer) t-shirts compliments of Burrito-Ville. Mr. Taco 911's food truck will be selling food from 12:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. inside the stadium.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Thursday's and Sunday's games on SEMORedhawks.com
• Both games will be streamed on ESPN+
• @SEMOSoccer, the official Twitter page of Redhawks soccer, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
•  The 2021 Southeast Missouri women's soccer media guide is a source of information for the news media covering the Redhawks. 
 
Promotions
• Sunday's home game is Hispanic Heritage Day at Houck Field
• The first 200 fans in attendance will receive Halcones Rojos Fútbol (Redhawks soccer) t-shirts compliments of Burrito-Ville
• Mr. Taco 911's food truck will be selling food from 12:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. inside the stadium
 
Series History
Racers
Murray State leads the all-time series with SEMO, 13-12-1.
 
The last time the two schools met was in the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament Semifinals on April 15, 2021 in Murray, Kentucky. SEMO won that matchup 1-0 over the top-seeded Racers to advance to the 2020-21 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament Finals against SIUE. Emma Brune, a 2020-21 All-OVC Second Team and All-Newcomer Team honoree, provided the game-winner in the 12th minute of regulation. 
 
In 2020-21 regular-season action SEMO lost to Murray State, 3-1, April 2, 2021 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Lauren Welker registered her fifth goal of the 2020-21 campaign in the 11th minute of regulation.
 
SEMO last beat Murray State in regular-season play on Oct. 5, 2014, a 2-1 win in Cape Girardeau. The Redhawks last beat the Racers in regular-season play in Murray, Kentucky, on Sept. 27, 2013, a 1-0 triumph.
 
Skyhawks
SEMO leads the all-time series with UT Martin, 11-9-6 overall.
 
UTM won the most recent matchup, 4-2, April 6, 2021 in Martin, Tennessee. Nadiia Ivanchenko and Abby Tremain scored for the Redhawks in the 2020-21 regular-season finale. Lauren Welker compiled assists on both goals.
 
UTM has gone unbeaten (3-0-1) in the last four matchups. The two teams tied in 2019 (Oct. 20, 2019), 2-2, in Martin, Tennessee.
SEMO last defeated the Skyhawks at Houck Field on October 27, 2016 with a 4-1 victory.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Racers
Murray State comes into Thursday's matchup with an overall record of 5-4. The meeting with the Redhawks will be the first Ohio Valley Conference match for the Racers in 2021.
 
Abby Jones (eight points), Chloe Barnthouse, Symone Cooper and Lauren Payne have all notched three goals in non-conference play. Morgan Bodker and Hailey Cole have each posted two assists.
 
Goalkeeper Jenna Villacres is 5-4-0 in 2021 with 45 saves and has allowed 16 goals (1.77 GAA, .738 save percentage).
 
Murray State most recently lost to Cincinnati, 2-1, Sept. 26 in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers also lost to Indiana, 4-0, on Sept. 9 and were edged by Kentucky, 3-2, in overtime on Sept. 12.
 
Murray State is the defending 2020-21 OVC Regular-Season Champions and was picked to finish second in 2021.
 
Skyhawks
UT Martin enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 5-3-1. They opened conference play with a 1-0 win over Austin Peay on Sept. 26. The Skyhawks will play Eastern Illinois Thursday before coming to Cape Girardeau on Sunday.
 
Bella Roberts, Emely Van der Vliet, and Jill Hildreth lead UTM with three goals each in 2021. Maria Castaldo, this week's OVC Defensive of the Week, and Makayla Robinson each have tallied two assists.
 
Erica Myers is 5-3-1 for the Skyhawks in net with 36 saves (.837 save percentage, 0.85 GAA). She has posted three shutouts in 2021.
 
UTM was selected to finish fourth in 2021 in the league.
 
Belmont Recap
SEMO opened its 2021 OVC slate with a 1-0 loss to Belmont on Sept. 26 in double overtime. Maci Pekmezian registered the golden goal in the 103rd minute for the Bruins.
 
The Bruins outshot the Redhawks, 7-6, after two halves before recording shots in both overtimes.
 
Katelyn Miller paced the Redhawks with two shots on goal, competing in 70 minutes as a substitution. Lauren Welker, Abby Tremain, Natalie Jackson and Morgan McCourt also each had shots on goal in the game.
 
Bailey Redden, the reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Week, notched five saves.
 
Maddie Paulson Makes her First Career Start on Defense
Maddie Paulson made her first career start on defense, competing in a career-best 92 minutes on the backline Sept. 26 against Belmont.
 
Iron Lady
Brune has now played in all 822 minutes this season for SEMO and is the only Redhawk to play in every minute of regulation in 2021. The sophomore from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, extended her streak of playing every minute of regulation to 21-straight games dating back to this past spring's 2020-21 season.
 
Total 90
Besides, Brune, four Redhawk field players have played in all 90 minutes of regulation in 2021.
 
Lauren Welker and Natalie Jackson both competed in every minute of their second and third, respectively, straight games in 2021 Sept. 26 with 102 against Belmont. Welker played three-straight 90 minute games against Maryville (8/22), Missouri-St. Louis (8/26) and at Mississippi State (8/29) and most recently against Missouri State (9/19) and Belmont (9/26). Jackson most recently played in the full 90 at Iowa (9/12) and and most recently against Missouri State (9/19) and Belmont (9/26). 

Kate Daus appeared in the full 90 in consecutive games at Mississippi State (8/29) and at Evansville (9/2  Lexi Grote also played in the full 90 against Missouri State.
 
Redden Moving Up the SEMO Rankings for Shutouts
Bailey Redden notched her second shutout of the 2021 campaign against Missouri State Sept. 19. Redden now has 16 shutouts in her career and sits tied for fourth in the SEMO record books. She also ranks second for saves (263) and fifth for wins (24), minutes played (4,507) and save percentage (.812).
 
Redden plays for the Fire & Ice soccer team during the summers and was recently named the Women's Premier Soccer League Central Region Midwestern Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. 
 
Non-Conference Recap
SEMO wrapped up the non-conference slate with an overall record of 3-5-0. The Redhawks dropped road tests at Memphis (4-0, Aug. 19), Mississippi State (1-0, Aug. 29) of the Southeastern Conference, Evansville (1-0, Sept. 2) and the Big Ten's Indiana (6-0, Sept. 5) and Iowa (2-0, Sept. 12). SEMO was perfect at home during non-conference play with victories over Maryville (4-1, Aug. 22), Missouri-St. Louis (1-0, Aug. 26) and Missouri State (1-0, Sept. 19).
 
Anne-Clara Couturier (2), Kiana Khedoo, Elizabeth Rater, Emma Brune and Zoey Memmel all scored during the slate.
 
Brune Ball
Emma Brune converted her third career goal on a header off a corner kick in the 35th minute Sept. 19 against Missouri State. Kate Daus provided the service for the game-winner. Brune paced all field players with four shots including two shots on goal, competing in all 90 minutes. She started at forward and moved to midfield midway through the first half.
 
Hey Abby
Senior goalkeeper Abby Rollet made her first two starts in net for the Redhawks this season in Indiana Sept. 2-5. The Perryville, Missouri native, made her first start in net since the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament on Nov. 8, 2019 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Rollet tallied five saves against Evansville on Sept. 2. Rollet finished the weekend with a career-best 12 saves against the Hoosiers on Sept. 5.
 
Welcome Back Natalie Jackson 
Natalie Jackson, a junior defender from O'Fallon, Missouri, made her 2021 season debut on Sept. 2 against Evansville. She finished with 65 minutes on the pitch, registering a shot. Jackson then made her first start of the campaign at Indiana on Sept. 5, tallying 60 minutes of action. 
 
Welker Doing Welker Things
Lauren Welker registered a pair of assists in Aug. 22's victory over Maryville. Welker finished with three shots (two on goal) to complement her two assists. 
 
Welker has played in all 90 minutes of regulation against Maryville, UMSL, Mississippi State, Missouri State and Belmont.
 
What a Debut for Couturier
Sophomore Anne-Clara Couturier, a Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, Canada native, netted a pair including the game-winner in her Redhawks debut Aug. 22 against Maryville. Couturier, a sophomore transfer from Southeastern (NAIA in Florida), finished with a pair of goals on two shots on net in 45 minutes of action as a second-half substitution.
 
Redhawks Debut
Zoey Memmel, Grace Crowden, Emma Tucker, Elizabeth Rater, Katelyn Miller and Natalie Miller all made their SEMO debuts at Memphis on Aug. 19. Memmel appeared in the starting 11 and played in 46 minutes. Crowden led the newcomers with 68 minutes on the pitch. Gabby Gscheidmeier also made her first career start as a Redhawk in the contest.
 
Anne-Clara Couturier made her SEMO debut against Maryville on Aug. 22. Katelyn Miller and Crowden both made their first career starts as Redhawks in the win.
 
Couturier made her first career start against UMSL on Aug. 26. Rater tallied her first start on Aug. 29 at Mississippi State.
 
Tucker also made her first career start at Indiana on Sept. 5.
 
2021 OVC Preseason Poll
SEMO was selected to finish the 2021 season third in the Ohio Valley Conference. Senior midfielder Lauren Welker was tabbed to the 2021 OVC Players to Watch List.
 
The Redhawks received two first-place votes and 99 points in the projected order of finish for third. SIUE, the 2020-21 OVC Tournament Champions, was picked first with 12 first-place votes and 121 points. Murray State, the 2020-21 OVC Regular Season Champions, was pegged second with four first-place votes and 116 points.
 
Welker, a senior from Jackson, Missouri, was named to her first career OVC preseason team.
  
SEMO Schedule
The Redhawks will play 19 games including a trio of exhibitions during the 2021 campaign, its 23rd season under head coach Heather Nelson. The slate features nine non-conference contests and eight home games (one exhibition). The 2021 schedule also includes eight OVC games beginning with Belmont on Sunday at Houck Field.
 
2020-21 Season Recap
SEMO fashioned a 7-4-1 overall mark in 2020-21 including a 6-3-1 record during conference play, which tied for third in the OVC. The Redhawks qualified for their fourth-straight OVC Championship Tournament and 19th all-time appearance this past spring.
 
SEMO finished as the 2020-21 OVC Championship Tournament runners-up, downing top-seeded Murray State, 1-0, in the Semifinals as the fourth seed before falling to SIUE, the 2020-21 Champions, 2-1, in overtime of the Championship Finals.
 
The Redhawks opened the campaign with five-straight victories and a tie for a six-game (5-0-1) unbeaten streak to start 2020-21.
 
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks return 18 letterwinners and all but two starters from the 2020-21 squad. Lexi Grote and Hannah Compernolle return for their fifth-year senior seasons along with true seniors, Bailey Redden, Lauren Welker, Abby Tremain, Kate Daus and Abby Rollet.
 
Welker led the Redhawks offensively in 2020-21 with six goals and four assists for 16 points. The Jackson, Missouri, midfielder, also registered a team-best 18 shots including 12 on goal and tallied a pair of game-winning goals. Welker was named to the 2020-21 All-OVC First Team and selected to the 2020-21 All-OVC Tournament team.
 
Redden returns in net and started and played in all 1,103 minutes of regulation over 12 games in 2020-21, tallying a record of 7-4-1. She posted five or more saves in nine games and notched a career best six shutouts (first in the OVC) in 2020-21. Redden finished the campaign with a league-best 68 saves.
 
Sophomore midfielder Emma Brune played in all 1,103 minutes during 2020-21, registering two goals for four points on 14 shots in her freshman campaign. The Cape Girardeau native, was selected to the All-OVC Second Team, All-Newcomer Team and All-OVC Tournament Team in 2020-21.
 
Junior defender Natalie Jackson dished out a pair of assists while also never leaving the pitch in 2020-21, competing in all 1,103 minutes.
 
Redshirt-junior forward/midfielder Morgan McCourt also returns after earning 2020-21 All-OVC Tournament team honors. She was second on the Redhawks with four points (1g-2a) and 14 shots (11 on goal).
 
Newcomers
The 2021 Redhawks roster features seven newcomers with freshmen Katelyn Miller, Elizabeth Rater, Grace Crowden and Emma Tucker, sophomores Anne-Clara Couturier and Zoey Memmel along with junior Natalie Miller.
 
The Jackson 5
SEMO has five players from Jackson, Missouri, on their 2021 roster with newcomers Grace Crowden, Katelyn Miller, and Natalie Miller, along with returners Lauren Welker and Taylor Nelson.
 
Home Grown from the Southeast Region of Missouri
The 2021 Redhawks roster features eight players from the Southeast region of Missouri. In addition to the five Jackson student-athletes in Grace Crowden, Katelyn Miller, Natalie Miller, Lauren Welker and Taylor Nelson, the group of locals also includes Abby Rollet (Perryville, Notre Dame HS), Emma Brune (Cape Girardeau, Saxony Lutheran HS) and Megan Heisserer (Scott City, Notre Dame HS).

Uniform Changes
Megan Heisserer and Faith Liljegren have both changed their uniform numbers for the 2021 season. Heisserer will switch to #14 after wearing #16 her first two seasons. Liljegren will wear #10 after sporting #23 during her freshman campaign. 
 
Academic Excellence
Redhawks Soccer led the SEMO Athletics Department with 10 selections to the Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medals of Honor for the 2020-21 academic year. Kayla Byrd, Hannah Compernolle, Kate Daus, Emily Holten, Kiana Khedoo, Faith Liljegren, Morgan McCourt, Taylor Nelson, Maddie Paulson and Bailey Redden earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the 2020-21 academic year.
 
SEMO also had 18 student-athletes listed on the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2020-21 academic year. Emma Brune, Kayla Byrd, Hannah Compernolle, Kate Daus, Lexi Grote, Gabby Gscheidmeier, Megan Heisserer, Emily Holten, Nadiia Ivanchenko, Mariah Johnson, Kiana Khedoo, Faith Liljegren, Morgan McCourt, Taylor Nelson, Maddie Paulson, Bailey Redden, Abby Tremain and Lauren Welker all notched at least a 3.25 grade point average in 2020-21.
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks next travel to Clarksville, Tennessee, to take on Austin Peay on Oct. 10. First kick is slated for 1 p.m., CT at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.