CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri women's soccer (4-5, 0-1 OVC) fell to 2022 Ohio Valley Conference preseason favorite and 2021 OVC Champions, SIUE (2-4-2, 1-0-0), 2-0, Sunday afternoon at Houck Field.
SIUE utilized sequential goals from Matea Diekema and Savannah DeFini in the 31st and 32nd minutes to overcome SEMO in the league opener.
Megan Heisserer and
Alayna Jakul paced the Redhawks with three shots each (1 SOG) while
Zoey Memmel added two shots on goal as a second half substitution.
Elizabeth Rater added two shots (1 SOG) Sunday.
Heisserer looked to put the Redhawks up early with a shot that just missed the net wide at 15:27. She tallied another shot-on target in the 41st minute but Taylor Spiller was there for the save.
The Cougars out shot SEMO, 12-6, in the opening half before the Redhawks posted a 9-7 advantage in shots in the final 45 minutes. SIUE finished with a differential of 19-15 (9-7 SOG).
SEMO had a prime scoring opportunity in the 71st minute. Memmel went toe-to-toe with Spiller who poked away the ball to
Faith Liljegren. Liljegren's second chance opportunity then squeaked wide for a Redhawks corner.
Memmel added a shot from distance at 75:02 that was stopped.
Katelyn Miller made her first start of the season Sunday, finishing with a season-high 47 minutes on the pitch.
Emma Brune,
Maddie Paulson, and
Natalie Jackson all competed in the full 90 minutes Sunday as field players.
For Brune, it was her seventh consecutive. She registered a shot on frame at 78:15 in the second half.
For Paulson, the reigning OVC Defensive Player of the Week, it was her third-straight full regulation game.
Jackson extended her full-regulation streak to nine in 2022.
Sophia Elfrink made seven saves for the Redhawks. Spiller finished with seven in the win.
The game was very physical with SEMO leading fouls, 16-17. A pair of yellows were handed out with
Mariah Mannino and Grace Ferguson both assessed yellows in the first half.
DeFini posted a game-high four shots (2 SOG). Lily Schnieders, Taylor Dolt, and Maria Haro both added three shots (1 SOG). Haro was credited with an assist on DeFini's insurance goal.
Sunday marked SEMO's annual Meg Herndon Donate Life Game presented by Mid-America Transplant. The Redhawks honored former Redhawk Meg Herndon who was tragically involved in a truck-scooter accident in 2012.
SEMO wore specialty green and blue uniforms to support organ and tissue donation and opened the contest with 10 players and a moment of silence to honor Meg Herndon.
Cindy Silvey, Meg Herndon's mother, presented a check to the Meg Herndon Scholarship Fund prior to the game Sunday.
Mannino, a defender and nursing major like Herndon, was named the recipient of the 2022 Meg Herndon Memorial Scholarship.
SEMO will next hit the road to continue OVC play when it takes on Eastern Illinois in Charleston, Illinois, Thursday, Sept. 22. First kick is slated for 3 p.m., CT at Lakeside Field. The Redhawks then host Lindenwood Sunday, Oct. 2 at Houck Field.
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