Game #7
Evansville (1-1-2, 0-0-0 MVC) 
vs. Southeast Missouri (3-3-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
Venue: Houck Field
First Kick: 6 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads the All-Time Series, 6-5-4
Last Meeting: 1-0 Evansville Win | Evansville, Ind. | Sept. 2, 2021
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets

Game #8
Southern Illinois (2-2-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
vs. Southeast Missouri (3-3-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022
Location: Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Venue: Houck Field
First Kick: 1 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads theAll-Time Series, 1-0-0
Last Meeting: 2-0 SEMO win. | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Oct. 5, 2019
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Tickets

Game Notes: Southeast Missouri (PDF) | Evansville (PDF) 
Updated 2022 SEMO Stats | Evansville Recap
Media Guide: Southeast Missouri
 
Redhawks Host Missouri Valley Institutions Evansville and Southern Illinois this Week to Continue Non-Conference Slate
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (3-3-0, 0-0-0 OVC) continues its non-conference schedule this week when it hosts a pair of Missouri Valley Conference institutions at Houck Field. SEMO will face Evansville (1-1-2, 0-0-0 MVC) Thursday at 6 p.m., CT before taking on local rival Southern Illinois (2-2-0, 0-0-0 MVC) Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m., CT. 
 
Thursday is International Student Night at Houck Field. Students receive free admission to all regular season home Redhawks sporting events including Thursday's game. International students in attendance Thursday will receive a free pregame tailgate. 
 
Follow the Redhawks
• Stats will be available for Thursday 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.
 
Series History
Purple Aces
SEMO leads the all-time series against Evansville, 6-5-4. 
 
In the most recent meeting, the Purple Aces beat SEMO, 1-0, Sept. 2, 2021, in Evansville, Indiana. The Redhawks last beat Evansville on Sept. 6, 2019, 2-1, on the road. 
 
The two teams last played in Cape Girardeau, Aug. 16, 2018, a 2-1 win for Evansville. 
 
Salukis
Redhawks and border rival Southern Illinois will meet for just the second time in program history Sunday.
 
The last meeting came on Oct. 5, 2019, at Houck Field resulting in a 2-0 victory for SEMO. 
 
Hailey Bock and Kennedy Jones each scored for the Redhawks after SEMO racked up 17 shots including seven on target. 
 
Scouting the Opponents
Purple Aces
The Purple Aces enter Thursday's match sporting a 1-1-2 overall record (0-0-0 MVC) with their lone victory coming against Ohio Valley Conference foe, Morehead State, 2-1, on Aug. 28 
 
Evansville has also drawn with Austin Peay (1-1, Aug. 21) and SIUE (0-0. Sept. 1). 
 
The Purple Aces lost to Southeastern Conference (SEC) member Vanderbilt, 3-0, in their season opener on Aug. 18.  
 
Evansville was supposed to play Northern Kentucky on Sunday, Sept. 4, but the match was canceled due to weather in the Evansville area. 
 
Purple Aces goalkeeper Myia Danek has currently registered 270-minutes of gameplay in net, registering 13 saves for an overall save percentage of .765. She has only allowed four goals on the season for a mark of 0-1-2. Sophie Lindner picked up the win over Morehead State (Aug. 28), making a save. 
 
Emily Ormson leads Evansville in points with four (2g). The fifth-year senior from Folsom, California, has seven shots with six shots on goal. 
 
Freshman defender Isa Valdez was named the MVC Freshman of the Week on Tuesday. Valdez helped Evansville pick up its first shutout of the 2022 season in a 0-0 tie at SIUE on Sept. 1.
 
Salukis
Southern Illinois enters the week with a 2-2-0 overall record with wins over Alabama A&M (2-0, Sept. 1) and Purdue Fort Wayne (2-1, Sept. 4) so far this season. 
 
SIU's only losses came to Lindenwood (2-0, Aug. 18) to begin the season, and a loss at SEC member Missouri (3-1, Aug. 25).
 
Forward Liz Brechtel and defender Paris Walsh each earned Missouri Valley Conference honors after helping the Salukis to a 2-0 week on the field, the league announced Tuesday. Brechtel was named Offensive Player of the Week while Walsh was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week. 
 
Brechtel tallied a goal and an assist in SIU's 2-0 victory over Alabama A&M on Sept. 1. Brechtel then played a full 90 minutes on Sept. 4 against Purdue Fort Wayne. Walsh played a full 180 minutes, leading the Southern Illinois defense.
 
SIU came from behind in Sept. 4's match after allowing Purdue Fort Wayne's first goal in the 14th minute. McKinley Stiff tied the game for the Salukis, sending the match tied at one at halftime. 
 
Southern Illinois grabbed the lead in the early stages of the second half when Kaitlin DuCharme scored in the 58th minute.
 
Goalkeeper Maddy Alaluf allowed just one goal while making three saves for SIU on Sunday. Alaluf has played in three matches for a total of 270 minutes of gameplay, allowing just four goals and registering 12 saves. 
 
The Salukis will play SIUE on Thursday, Sept. 8 in Carbondale, Illinois, before heading to play SEMO on Sunday afternoon. 
 
Last Time Out
Southeast Missouri women's soccer returns home following their two-match road trip to Colorado where they faced a pair of Mountain West foes. 
 
The Redhawks started the trip out with an impressive 2-1 victory over Colorado College on Thursday, Sept. 1 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 
 
Faith Liljegren got the scoring going early for the Redhawks in the second minute of the match (1:21) when she found the back of the net off a cross from midfielder Alayna Jakul. 
 
For Liljegren, it was her second career goal and first in 2022. For Jakul, a freshman from St. Charles, Missouri, the assist was the first in her career as a Redhawk. She competed in 73 minutes, adding a shot in the second half.
 
Megan Heisserer scored the game-winning goal for the Redhawks, her second-straight game winning goal, in the 56th minute to give SEMO the 2-1 advantage. Heisserer received a pass from Zoe Houston in the box before finishing with a strike to the right side of the net. The assist was the first for Houston in a Redhawks kit.
 
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink made six saves including four in the second half for the win. 
 
SEMO then dropped its most recent contest to Colorado State, 2-0, on Sept. 4.
 
CSU used back-to-back goals in the 19th and 21st minutes to seal the deal.
 
The Rams outshot the Redhawks 14-4 with a 10-1 shot on goal advantage for the match. 
 
Sophia Elfrink made eight saves in her sixth-straight in 2022. 
 
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. Baldwin made her first career start on defense, tallying a shot in 63 minutes against UIS.
 
Total 90 Tracker
Through the first six games, defender Natalie Jackson, along with goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink have played in all 540 minutes of regulation.
 
Emma Brune has played in the full 90 in each of the last four games. Mariah Mannino played in the full regulation in each of the first four contests in 2022. 
  
Full Regulation Games
Natalie Jackson (Missouri, UIS, Missouri State, Columbia College, Colorado College, Colorado State)
Sophia Elfrink (Missouri, UIS, Missouri State, Columbia College, Colorado College, Colorado State)
Emma Brune (Missouri, Missouri State, Columbia College, Colorado College, Colorado State)
Mariah Mannino (Missouri, UIS, Missouri State, Columbia College)
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.
 
Next Time Out
Following the Evansville and Southern Illinois matches, SEMO will open Ohio Valley Conference play Sunday, Sept. 18 against SIUE. First kick is scheduled for 1 p.m., CT at Houck Field.