ST. CHARLES, Mo. – #7 Southeast Missouri Soccer (3-10-3, 3-4-3 OVC) advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 2-1 victory over #6 Eastern Illinois (5-8-6, 3-4-3 OVC) on Thursday night at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles.
Senior midfielder
Elizabeth Rater recorded the game winning goal in the 84
th minute as the Redhawks and Panthers were deadlocked at one goal apiece.
SEMO outshot EIU by a 18-13 margin led by three Redhawks with four shots on the match.
Cayla Koerner,
Emily Baker, and
Zoe Houston paced the Redhawks offensively on Thursday.
Seven Redhawks played the full 90-minutes in the opening round including the entire defensive backline of
Kristin Anderson,
Alayna Jakul,
Sophie Shrum, and
Melissa Kubin.
Zoe Houston and
Elizabeth Rater played in the midfield for the entire duration.
Goalkeeper
Sophia Elfrink spent the entire night between the posts for the Redhawks. Elfrink made four saves on 13 shots faced.
The Redhawks got off to a fast start with six shots-on-goal in the first half led by midfielder
Zoe Houston with three including four shots total.
Five different Redhawks recorded a first half shot as
Cayla Koerner (3),
Emily Baker (3),
Elizabeth Rater (2), and
Justi Nelson (1) all got on the shot chart in the opening 45.
SEMO opened the scoring in the 23
rd minute as
Justi Nelson took a ball in the midfield from
Emily Baker. Nelson dribbled the ball into the box and fired a left-footed shot that beat EIU's goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil.
For Nelson, the goal was the first of the season for the sophomore midfielder.
SEMO's second-best chance came just two minutes later in the 24
th minute as the ball bounced around and found the foot of
Zoe Houston who fired a shot that was going into the bottom right of the net before an EIU defender kicked it away.
The Redhawks opened the half with a shot in the second minute that forced a save from Kratochvil.
SEMO outshot the Panthers 13-4 in the first 45-minutes, including six shots on goal. The Redhawks also utilized the corner kick, edging the Panthers 3-1 in the corners category.
The Panthers opened the second half with a goal 23 seconds into the second 45 with a goal from Alex Tetteh on a breakaway to tie it at 1-1.
SEMO would come right back.
Alli Saviano rifled a shot at the 48
th minute that forced another save from EIU's goalkeeper. A minute later,
Cayla Koerner fired her first shot of the second half forcing another save.
With the score still tied and the time winding down,
Elizabeth Rater (who left the match briefly due to an injury) returned from the sideline and received a great pass from
Emily Baker on the right side of the pitch.
Rater dribbled past an EIU defender and fired a left-footed shot into the top left corner of the goal in the 84
thminute for a 2-1 SEMO lead and the game-winner.
Looking Ahead
#7 SEMO Soccer advanced to the quarterfinal round on Sunday, Nov. 3, where they will take on #3 Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. Kick off is slated for 5 p.m. at Hunter Stadium.