Exhibition #1
Southeast Missouri (0-0-0, 0-0-0 OVC)
Vs. Illinois (0-0-0, 0-0-0 BIG 10)
 
Match Information
Date: Sunday, August 6, 2023
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Venue: Demirjian Park
First Kick: 5 p.m., CT. 
All-Time Series: Illinois leads 2-0-0
Live Stats: SideArm Sports
 
Redhawks Begin Season With Exhibition Match at Big 10-Member Illinois
The 2023 Southeast Missouri women's soccer program will get its first taste of live action on Sunday, August, 6, as they travel to take on the Big 10 conference's Illinois. First kick is slated for 5 p.m., CT. at Demirjian Park in Champaign, Ill. 
 
 Series History
The Illini support a 2-0-0 series record against the Redhawks with the last meeting between the two schools coming in 2006. Illinois won the match 2-0 in St. Louis, Mo. The first time that these two squared-off on the pitch came in 2004 as the Redhawks fell 2-0 in Cape Girardeau. 
 
Head Coach
Head Coach Heather Nelson begins her 25^th season in the 25^th 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. 
 
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. 
 
In the net
Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink returns to the squad this season after having a standout 2022 freshman season in net for the Redhawks. Elfrink, the Columbia, Mo.-native, started all 17 games in net for the Redhawks and finished the season with five shutouts over the course of the season. She finished fifth in the OVC for number of goals allowed (18), fourth in the conference in save percentage (.827), second in total saves (86), and second in goal allowed per game percentage (1.05). 
 
Included on the roster are freshman goalkeepers Sydney King and Madison Geisler. 
 
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. 
 
Scouting the Opponent
Illinois
The Illini, led by Head Coach Janet Rayfield in her 21^st season, finished the season with a 7-7-4 overall record with a 2-5-3 mark in the Big 10 a season ago. 
 
As a team, Illinois registered 22 goals for a 1.22 goals per game average. Senior Makala Woods and junior Maeve Jones return as the top goal scorers from a season ago. 

Woods and Jones scored three and two goals, respectively last season and finished the campaign with six points apiece.
 
In the net, senior Julia Cili returns as the Illini's main goalkeeper. Cili played in all 18 games last season for Illinios while accumulating 99 saves on the season for a .728 save percentage. She registered four shutouts on the season. 
 
For Illinois, SEMO will be the first game on their schedule.
 
Looking Ahead
The Redhawks will take on Missouri for the first official match of the season on Thursday, August 17 in Columbia, Mo. First kick is slated for 6 p.m., CT.