CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Southeast Missouri Women's Soccer enters its 26^th season as a program under the guidance of Head Coach Heather Nelson as the Redhawks look to build on a strong ending to the 2023 campaign. 
 
SEMO Soccer advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semifinals after taking down #6 Eastern Illinois with a 1-0 victory behind a goal from forward Emily Baker (94') in extra time in the first round from Edwardsville, Ill. 
 
The Redhawks would move on to the semifinal round with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over #3 SIUE (T, 1-1) after sending the game to overtime in the dying seconds with a goal from Defender Alayna Jakul in the 87^thminute, trailing 1-0. 
 
The magical run came to an end with a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to #2 Morehead State from Tennessee Tech Soccer Field in Cookeville, Tenn. The Eagles' goal came in the 83^rd minute as they would go on to claim the 2023 OVC title over the host, Tennessee Tech. 
 
Southeast Missouri ended the season with a 7-6-6 record overall and landed three players on the All-OVC Postseason list. Forward Cayla Koerner and goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink each earned All-OVC Second Team honors. Freshman midfielder Justi Nelson, the daughter of Coach Nelson, was selected to the All-OVC Newcomer Team.  
 
Koerner, Elfrink, and Nelson are all a part of the 19 returners the squad will feature in 2024. Koerner was the leading scorer from a season ago, marking the second time in two seasons she has led the Redhawks in scoring (2022 & 2023). She finished the season with 18 shots-on-goal, four goals, four assists, and 12 points in her second season in Cape Girardeau.
 
Goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink had a stellar 2023 between the posts for the Redhawks making 76 saves on the season in over 1,600-minutes of match time (1,648:20).  She ended the year with a .844 save percentage, allowing just 14 goals on the season. 
 
Midfielder Justi Nelson, who started in 17-of-19 games, was the first Redhawk since 2021 to earn OVC All-Newcomer honors since fellow midfielder Elizabeth Rater earned the honor during her freshman season. Nelson dished out an assist and rifled 14 shots, six on-target, over her first season in a Redhawk uniform. She logged 1,319 minutes of action in 2023. 
 
16 others will return to the 2024 squad along with the three All-OVC selections. Fellow goalkeeper Madison Geisler, Defenders Ella Baldwin, Macie Hockett, Alayna Jakul, Sophie Shrum, Kristin Anderson, Emma Tucker, and Grace Crowden will all roam SEMO's back line. 
 
Up front, forward(s) Navi Washington, Katelyn Miller, Melissa Kubin, Zoey Memmel and Emily Baker will be in attack for another season. In the midfield, Abbey Klund, Elizabeth Rater, and Zoe Houston will join Nelson in the middle of the pitch. 
 
New to the Redhawks in 2024 are three freshman, two forwards and a midfielder, who will play their first season of collegiate soccer in Cape Girardeau. Forwards Kylar Serio and Alli Saviano will look to provide a scoring threat up front for SEMO. Serio hails from Columbia, Mo. while Saviano is a St. Charles, Ill.-native. 
 
Midfielder Carson Bohnenstiehl will roam the middle-of-the-park by way of St. Jacob, Ill. 
 
The 2024 roster is made up of three states in Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin. 12 Redhawks hail from the state of Missouri, including four players from nearby Jackson, Mo. Seven Redhawks are from Illinois with just three Redhawks from the state of Wisconsin. 
 
The 2024 squad features three seniors and one graduate student who will play their final season for SEMO this year. Midfielder Elizabeth Rater, Defender Grace Crowden, and Emma Tucker make up the 2024 senior class. Graduate student Zoey Memmel is also in her final season. 
 
Assistant Coach Esmie Gonzales will serve in her first season as the Redhawks' assistant coach. Gonzales, who played for SEMO from 2016-2019, has been the graduate assistant on Nelson's staff for the last three seasons. 
 
Head Coach Heather Nelson enters her 26^th season at the helm of SEMO Soccer as the only head coach in program history. In 25 years under her guidance, the Redhawks have posted 19 winning seasons and compiled a 227-160-66 record. Nelson has coached six Ohio Valley Conference Regular Season Champions (2001, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2014, and 2019) and back-to-back OVC Tournament Championship squads (2006 and 2007) that earned berths to the NCAA Women's Soccer Cup. 
 
SEMO has made the OVC Tournament in 22-of-the-25 seasons under Nelson's guidance. 
 
The Redhawks will begin the 2024 campaign on Thursday, August 15, when they welcome in Missouri-St. Louis to Cape Girardeau. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m. from Houck Field.