Game #17
#7 Southeast Missouri State (6-5-5, 2-3-4 OVC)
vs #6 Eastern Illinois (4-8-4, 3-4-2 OVC)
Match Information
Date: Friday, Oct. 27, 2023
Location: Edwardsville, Ill.
Venue: Ralph Korte Stadium
First Kick: 7:00 p.m., CT
All-Time Series: SEMO leads the series 15-11-4.
Last Meeting: 0-2 Loss | Cape Girardeau, Mo. | Sep. 24, 2023
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Video: ESPN+
 
Game Notes (PDF)

#7 Redhawks Play #6 Eastern Illinois in First Round of OVC Tournament Friday
Southeast Missouri women's soccer (6-5-5, 2-3-4 OVC) will begin the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Friday, Oct. 27, when they take on #6 Eastern Illinois (4-8-4, 3-4-2 OVC) in the first round of the tournament. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m., CT. at Ralph Korte Field in Edwardsville, Ill. 

The winner of Friday's match will face SIUE on Sunday afternoon in the tournament's quarterfinals. 
 
Series History
The Redhawks and Panthers will meet for the 31^st time between the two programs on Friday and for the second time in 2023. SEMO holds a 15-11-4 advantage over EIU, but dropped the lone regular season matchup, 2-0, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
 
In the OVC Tournament specifically, the Redhawks have not beaten the Panthers in tournament play. Last time these two met in the OVC Tournament came in 2018, resulting in a EIU victory in penalty-kicks, 3-2. 
 
Tournament History
Southeast Missouri women's soccer has made the OVC Tournament in seven straight seasons, dating back to the 2017 season, having last made the championship game in 2020-21. The Redhawks fell just short, losing to SIUE 2-1. Overall SEMO is 15-15-8 in tournament games after losing last season to Lindenwood in penalty kicks, 2-0, at Houck Field. 
 
In tournament history, the Redhawks have a neutral site record of 6-5-2. The Redhawks will face EIU at SIUE on Friday night. The winner will advance to face the Cougars on Sunday afternoon. 
 
Brick Wall
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink was named the Ohio Valley Conference Goalie of the Week the league announced Tuesday afternoon, for her performances against Southern Indiana and UT Martin this past week. This is the Sophomores' third goalkeeper of the week honor this season.
 
Elfrink played in all 180 minutes of both games and recorded her eighth and ninth shutout of the season.
 
The Missouri native leads the OVC in shutouts while notching 69 total saves on the year. She added five saves a piece in both games this past week.
 
Elfrink has played in a total of 1338 minutes and has started in 15 of 16 games in the 2023 campaign.
 
Last Time Out
The final regular season match of the season came on Sunday, Oct. 22, when the Redhawks played to a 0-0 draw with UT Martin at Houck Field. 
 
Sunday's match marked the final game at Houck Field for seven Redhawks seniors in Emma Brune, Faith Liljegren, Kiana Khedoo, Natalie Jackson, Maddie Paulson, Megan Heisserer, and Zoey Memmel. 
 
The Redhawks were outshot 8-4 by UT Martin as both teams really struggled to find much on the offensive side of the field. 
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink was in-form once again. The Columbia, Mo.-native was sharp between the posts once again as she recorded five saves including a nice diving stop to her left to deny UTM. 
 
Nearing the end of the first half, freshman Emily Baker was shown a yellow card for a foul. 
 
Six Redhawks played the full 90-mniute shift on a warm afternoon in Cape Girardeau as the defensive back line of Jackson, Paulson, and Jakul remained very solid as the Redhawks recorded the second-straight shutout of the week. 
 
Emma Brune, Zoe Houston, and goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink were the other three to play the entire match. 
 
Four different Redhawks recorded a shot in the contest. Emma Brune, Faith Liljegren, and Kiana Khedoo each recorded a shot (on target). Melissa Kubin also fired a shot towards the UTM net, but it was off target.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Eastern Illinois
The Panthers get ready for postseason play against SEMO coming off a 2-1 win over Southern Indiana. They had a total of six shots with three on goal against USI.
 
Espi Logan and Zenaya Barnes scored the two goals for the Panthers. That was Logan's first goal of the year and Barnes's third on the year.
 
EIU's goalkeeper Ashlyn Hoover had six saves for the game bringing her season total to 23 saves. The Panthers other goalie, Ella Kratochvil has the most saves on the team with 59 and is ranked fourth in the OVC.
 
The Panthers leading scorers are Abby Reinl, Alex Tetteh, and Zenaya Barnes all with three scores a piece. Reinl Also leads the team in assists with three and in shots on goal with eight (0.800 SOG%). 
 
Carys Grieve leads the team in shots with 14. Grieve also has one goal, one assist, and five shots one goal. 
 
As a team EIU has 17 goals, 120 shots (0.142 Sh%), and 59 SOGs on the year.
 
The last time the Panthers faced SEMO, Cami Lummus and Alex Tetteh scored the goals for EIU. The Panthers also had three shots with two on goal during that game. 
 
Looking Ahead
With a win, the Redhawks will advance to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday, Oct. 29, to take on #4 SIUE. Kickoff is slated for 3 p.m., CT. at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill.