Exhibition #2
Missouri – St. Louis (0-0-0, 0-0-0 GLVC)
Vs. Southeast Missouri (0-0-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
 
Match Information
Date: Monday, August 14, 2023
Location: Jackson, Mo.
Venue: Jackson Stadium
First Kick: 7 p.m., CT. 
All-Time Series: SEMO leads 2-0-0
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
 
Redhawks Set to Host Final Exhibition Match with Missouri-St. Louis Monday
Southeast Missouri women's soccer will play the second and final tune-up match to the regular season when they host Division-II and GLVC-member, Missouri-St. Louis on Monday, August 14 at 7 p.m., CT. 
 
Originally scheduled to be a closed scrimmage, the Redhawks and Tritons will now play an exhibition match open and free to the public at Jackson High School Soccer Field in Jackson, Mo. on Monday night. 
 
Series History
SEMO and UMSL have faced off two separate times on the soccer pitch in the history of each program. The Redhawks maintain a 2-0 series lead over the Tritons with the last match coming on August 26, 2021, in Cape Girardeau, Mo. 
 
Current senior forward Kiana Khedoo scored the game-winning goal as the Redhawks defeated UMSL, 1-0 at Houck Field. Khedoo's goal was the second of her career and secured the second-straight victory for the Redhawks in 2021.
 
Ohio Valley Conference Predictions
The Ohio Valley Conference released its predicted order of finish for the 2023 women's soccer season. The Redhawks were picked to finish fourth overall, the league announced Thursday morning.
 
Southeast Missouri, picked to finish fourth, received 118 points in the final voting by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Senior midfielder/defender Emma Brune landed on the 'players to watch' list released by the league. Brune started all 17 matches last season, logging 1,542 minutes of play and had matches of 90-minutes plus in 15 of them, including a 110-minute shift against Lindenwood in the OVC Tournament.  
 
She registered 14 shots, including seven on target and finished with a goal and an assist in 2022.
 
Last Time Out
SEMO most recently faced off with Big 10-member Illinois in the first exhibition of the season, resulting in a 3-0 defeat. 
 
Illinois registered two goals in the first 45-minutes, and a solo goal in the second half to secure the victory. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Sofia Elfrink faced 23 shots over the course of the match, making three saves in her 56:02 of match-time. Freshman keeper Madison Geisler made her SEMO debut in the net as the Manchester, Mo.-native saved four shots in 33:58 of action. 
 
Sophomores Cayla Koerner and Zoe Houston and junior Elizabeth Rater registered a shot each for all three of SEMO's registered shots. Houston and Rater's strikes were on-goal. 
 
The Redhawks utilized the bench as all 24 field players for the Redhawks played in the match. 
Keep An Eye On
Through the midfield, the Redhawks return a lot of experience for the 2023 season. Seniors Faith Liljegren, Emma Brune, Kiana Khedoo and junior Elizabeth Rater look to control the middle of the field as the four of them combined for 4,049 minutes a season ago. 
 
Graduate Student Natalie Jackson, senior Maddie Paulson, junior Emma Tucker, and sophomores Alayna Jakul, Macie Hockett, and Ella Baldwin will look to control the Redhawks defense in 2023. 
 
In attack, sophomore Cayla Koerner returns as the leading goal scorer from a season ago. Koerner, a Mahomet, Ill.-native, led the team last season with seven goals and 15 points as a freshman. She will be aided in attack by redshirt senior Megan Heisserer, junior Katelyn Miller, and sophomore Navi Washington.  
 
This Year's Squad
The 2023 women's soccer team will return a bunch of players to the roster after last season's heartbreaking loss in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. The roster will feature 18 returners and just nine newcomers, eight of them being freshman. 
 
13 Redhawks hail from the state of Missouri, six from Illinois, one from Kansas, and four from the state of Wisconsin. 
 
The squad also features two international players. Senior forward Kiana Khedoo and freshman defender Anika Sproxton both come to Cape Girardeau, Mo. by way of Brampton Ontario, Canada. 
 
On the roster are three goalkeepers, nine defenders, seven midfielders, and seven forwards.
 
Head Coach
Head Coach Heather Nelson begins her 25th season in the 25th year of Southeast Missouri women's soccer in 2023. Coach Nelson supports a 220-154-61 overall record at SEMO in her 25 seasons as the only coach in program history. In the Ohio Valley Conference, Coach Nelson also maintains a 106-59-38 record against conference opponents.
 
Scouting the Opponent
Missouri-St. Louis
The Tritons are coming off a 6-7-5 overall record with a 3-4-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) record in 2022 under head coach Maddi Moon. Coach Moon will enter her fourth season in charge of the Tritons in 2023. 
 
Last season, UMSL made it to the GLVC Tournament semifinals, losing to Illinois-Springfield by a final score of 2-1. 
 
In 2022, the Tritons registered 25 goals on the season for a. 1.44 goals-per-game average including a team-high three goals against Union (Tenn.) and William Jewell. 
 
Senior Jalyn Richardson led the team with six goals a season ago, the Tritons will look to replace her goal scoring in 2023. Fifth year senior forward Candice Parziani was third on the team last season with three goals scored, as the leading scorer on the Tritons for this season. 
 
UMSL will begin their season on August 20, when they take on Columbia College in St. Louis, Mo. 
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks return to action for the first official match of the season Thursday, August 17 in Columbia, Missouri. First kick is slated for 6 p.m., CT. at Audrey J. Walton Stadium.