Game #3
Southeast Missouri (1-1-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
at Missouri State (0-1-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Match Information
Date: Thursday, Aug. 25, 2022
Location: Springfield, Mo.
Venue: Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium
First Kick: 2 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: Missouri State leads the all-time series, 8-3-0
Last Meeting: 1-0 SEMO Win | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Sept. 19, 2021
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Game #4
Columbia College (0-0-0, 0-0-0 AMC)
vs. Southeast Missouri (1-1-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Aug. 28, 2022
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field 
First Kick: 6 p.m., CT 
All-Time Series: First Meeting
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets

Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) | SEMO Updated Statistics
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Head to Missouri State Thursday Before Hosting Columbia College Sunday
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (1-1-0, 0-0-0 OVC) will continue the non-conference portion of the season on Thursday afternoon in Springfield, Missouri, when they play Missouri Valley Conference member Missouri State (0-1-1, 0-0-0 MVC) at the Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium. First kick will be 2 p.m., CT Thursday afternoon. SEMO will then return to Houck Field on Sunday evening to face Columbia College (0-0-0, 0-0-0 AMC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Initial kick is set for 6 p.m., CT.
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Thursday and Sunday's game on SEMORedhawks.com
• @SEMOSoccer, the official Twitter page of Redhawks soccer, will feature live in-game updates all season long.
 
Series History
Bears
Missouri State leads the all-time series between the two schools, 8-3-0. 
 
SEMO took the most recent meeting in last year's (2021) matchup on September 19, 1-0, at Houck Field in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Emma Brune scored her first goal of the season and Bailey Redden made eight saves for her second shutout in 2021. 
 
Cougars
Sunday's contest will mark the first time that SEMO has faced off with NAIA-member (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Columbia College in women's soccer. 
 
Scouting The Opponents
Bears
Missouri State comes into Thursday's match versus SEMO with an 0-1-1 record so far on the season.
 
MSU opened the season with a home match against Central Arkansas on Aug. 18 that ended in a 0-0 draw. Freshman forward Riley Smith led the Bears in shots (3) and shots on goal (2) in the contest
 
On Aug. 21, the Bears went on the road to take on Big 12 Conference opponent Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma. MSU registered six shots with two on goal as OSU won 4-0. Midfielder Maddie Augustine led the way for the Bears with two total shots. 
 
Senior Isabel Burke and sophomore Grace O'Keefe both earned selections on the All-Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Team. Missouri State was slotted at the No. 8 spot in the MVC preseason coaches' poll.
 
Head coach Kirk Nelson inherits 16 letterwinners and seven starters from the previous season. Additionally, eight freshman and two new transfers help make up the Bears 2022 roster. Missouri State is coming off a 5-7-5 mark in 2021, including 2-4-2 in conference play.

Cougars
NAIA-member (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) Columbia College comes into the 2022 season off the back of an 18-4-0 overall record and a perfect 9-0-0 record in the American Midwest Conference (AMC). 
 
The Cougars competed in the 2021 NAIA National Championship Opening Round, falling in the finals, 2-0 to Central Methodist. 
 
Columbia College finished AMC play undefeated for the third-straight season on the way to their fifth-straight AMC Regular-Season title and their seventh-straight AMC Tournament Championship in 2021.
 
Sunday's match versus SEMO will be the Cougars' first match of the 2022 season. They are currently ranked No. 15 in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll.
 
In 2021, Columbia registered 74 goals (3.36 goals/game) while only allowing 14 to their opponents. 
 
Last season, Jewel Morelan led the Cougars in total goals with 15 on the season. She was named to the All-AMC Team with Kate Marshall, Greta Haarmann, Abigail Meyer, Emilia Zolesio Fernandez Blanco, Macie Lucas and Maddy Schrader (AMC Newcomer of the Year). Chloe Hall earned a spot on the AMC Champions of Character Team.
 
About Last Week
The Redhawks opened the regular season with a hard-fought loss to SEC (Southeastern Conference) member Missouri on Aug. 18, 1-0. 
 
SEMO and Missouri went to the break scoreless before the Tigers broke the stalemate in the second half. Missouri held a slight edge in shots, 6-4 (2-1 SOG), after the opening 45 minutes of play.
 
Missouri's Kylie Dobbs found the back of the net in the 58th minute for the Tigers. 
 
Freshman Sophia Elfrink registered seven saves in her first career game as the Redhawks goalie in her hometown of Columbia, Missouri.
 
Cayla Koerner paced the Redhawks with two shots including a shot on goal in 67 minutes of action on the pitch.
 
SEMO then beat Illinois Springfield, 2-0, on Aug. 21 at Houck Field.
 
Zoey Memmel got the scoring underway early in the first half (15th minute) from a beautiful pass off the foot of midfielder Faith Liljegren. Memmel took the pass and slotted it past the UIS goalkeeper for the game-winning goal for SEMO.
 
The goal was the second for Memmel in her career at SEMO. She finished Sunday's contest with two shots on target including the game winner in 46 minutes on the pitch in her first start of the campaign.
 
For Liljegren, the assist was the first in her career at SEMO as she made her second-straight start of the season.
 
Koerner, a freshman from Mahomet, Illinois, then found the back of the net as she led SEMO in shots with five (2 SOG). In the 80th minute, Koerner stepped inside a defender from the 18-yard box and shot the ball into the top left corner. Megan Heisserer was credited with the assist.
 
For Heisserer, the assist was her first since her freshman season in 2019, after she missed the 2021 campaign due to a season-ending injury suffered in 2020-21. She competed in both games for the Redhawks to open the 2022 season. 
 
Elfrink earned her first career shutout against UIS. She finished with five saves in her second-straight career start as a Redhawk.
 
Redhawks Debuts
Five freshmen made their SEMO debuts Aug. 18 against Missouri in Cayla Koerner, Sophia Elfrink, Alayna Jakul, Zoe Houston, and Ella Baldwin. Koerner, Elfrink, Jakul, and Houston were all featured in the Redhawks starting XI.
 
Navi Washington and Macie Hockett both made their Redhawk debuts Aug. 21 against Illinois Springfield while Taylor Nelson and Natalie Miller both made their 2022 season debuts.  Baldwin made her first career start on defense, tallying a shot in 63 minutes against UIS.
 
Total 90
Through the first two games of the season, defenders Mariah Mannino and Natalie Jackson, along with goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink have played in all 180 minutes of regulation.
 
Emma Brune, Faith Liljegren and Alayna Jakul all played in the full 90 at Missouri on Aug. 18.
 
Full Regulation Games
Mariah Mannino (Missouri, UIS)
Natalie Jackson (Missouri, UIS)
Sophia Elfrink (Missouri, UIS)
Emma Brune (Missouri)
Faith Liljegren (Missouri)
Alayna Jakul (Missouri)
 
2022 OVC Preseason Poll
Southeast Missouri women's soccer was selected to finish the 2022 season fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference, the league announced Aug. 11. Sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Rater was tabbed to the 2022 OVC Soccer Preseason Players to Watch List.
 
SIUE, the 2021 OVC Regular-Season and Tournament Champions, was picked first with 11 first-place votes and 123 points. UT Martin, the 2021 OVC Regular Season Champions, was pegged second with seven first-place votes and 119 points.
 
Rater, a Mequon, Wisconsin, native, was named to her first career OVC preseason team Thursday. She led SEMO offensively in 2021 with three goals and was second on the team with six points (3g). In conference play, Rater paced the Redhawks with two goals and four points in eight games and was selected to the 2021 OVC Second-Team and All-Newcomer Team. She appeared in all 19 games, making nine starts during her freshman campaign in 2021. 
 
SEMO Schedule
The Redhawks will play 16 regular-season games during the 2022 campaign. The slate features eight non-conference contests and eight home games at Houck Field.
 
The 2022 schedule also includes eight Ohio Valley Conference games beginning with SIUE, the 2021 OVC Tournament Champions and Regular-Season Champions, on Sept. 18 at Houck Field. SEMO will also host OVC foes Lindenwood (Oct. 2), Morehead State (Oct. 9) and Southern Indiana (Oct. 20) in 2022.
 
The 2022 OVC Tournament Championship will be contested Oct. 28 through Nov. 6. The first two rounds will be hosted on campus sites (with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds hosting) while the semifinals and championship will be played on campus at the No. 1 seed and regular-season champion. 
  
Roster Breakdown
The Redhawks return five All-OVC players this season in midfielders Kiana Khedoo (2021 Second-Team) and Elizabeth Rater (2021 Second-Team and All-Newcomer Team), redshirt senior forward Morgan McCourt (2020-21 Tournament, 2018 All-Newcomer), senior defender Natalie Jackson (2019 All-Tournament) and Cape Girardeau midfielder/defender Emma Brune (2020-21 Second Team, All-Newcomer and Tournament).
 
The 2022 team features 25 student-athletes including 16 returners and nine newcomers. 
 
Head coach Heather Nelson will lead the Redhawks in her 24th season at SEMO in 2022. 
 
Newcomers
The 2022 squad also features nine freshmen in goalkeepers Sophia Elfrink and Sarah Pattillo, defenders Ella Baldwin, Macie Hockett and Alayna Jakul, midfielders Josetiarainnah Olaco and Zoe Houston, and forwards Cayla Koerner and Navi Washington.

The Jackson 4 
SEMO has four players from Jackson, Missouri, on their 2022 roster with sophomores Grace Crowden and Katelyn Miller, along with seniors Natalie Miller and Taylor Nelson.
 
Home Grown from the Southeast Region of Missouri 
The 2022 Redhawks roster features six players from the Southeast region of Missouri. In addition to the four Jackson student-athletes in Grace Crowden, Katelyn Miller, Natalie Miller, and Taylor Nelson, the group of locals also includes Emma Brune (Cape Girardeau, Saxony Lutheran HS) and Megan Heisserer (Scott City, Notre Dame HS).

Academic Excellence
Redhawks Soccer led the Southeast Missouri Athletics Department with eight Ohio Valley Conference Academic Medals of Honor for the 2021-22 academic year. Emma Brune, Kate Daus, Lexi Grote, Katelyn Miller, Taylor Nelson, Maddie Paulson, Elizabeth Rater, and Bailey Redden all carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
 
SEMO also had 21 student-athletes named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll for the 2021-22 academic year. Emma Brune, Anne-Clara Couturier, Grace Crowden, Kate Daus, Lexi Grote, Gabby Gscheidmeier, Megan Heisserer, Natalie Jackson, Kiana Khedoo, Faith Liljegren, Mariah Mannino, Zoey Memmel, Katelyn Miller, Natalie Miller, Taylor Nelson, Maddie Paulson, Elizabeth Rater, Bailey Redden, Abby Rollet, Emma Tucker, and Lauren Welker achieved a 3.25 GPA or higher for the honor. 

SEMO earned the United Soccer Coaches College Team Academic Award as recognition for their exemplary performance in the classroom during the 2021-22 academic year. The Redhawks posted a 3.76 GPA for their third-straight distinction from United Soccer Coaches and 11th overall in program history. 
 
2021 Season Recap
SEMO finished 2021 as an OVC Tournament Semifinalist, going on a Cinderella run as the #7-seed. The Redhawks edged #6 Morehead State, 1-0, in the First Round before eliminating Quarterfinals host, #3 Belmont, 2-1, in overtime. The Redhawks then fell to #2 SIUE, the 2021 OVC Tournament Champions, in the Semifinals. 
 
SEMO finished the 2021 campaign with a 7-10-2 overall record (2-4-2 in the OVC). 
 
Kiana Khedoo and Elizabeth Rater earned 2021 Second-Team All-OVC honors. Rater was also named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Seniors Lauren Welker and Bailey Redden were also both named to the 2021 All-OVC Championship Tournament team.

Looking Ahead
Following Sunday's match, SEMO will hit the road as they venture to the state of Colorado for two matches. The first coming on Sept. 1 versus Colorado College. First kick is slated for 7 p.m., CT in Colorado Springs, Colorado. SEMO will wrap up the Colorado tour with a match Sunday, Sept. 4, when they take on Mountain West Conference opponent Colorado State in Fort Collins. That match is scheduled for 3 p.m., CT at CSU Soccer Field.