PHOTO GALLERY
FIRST ROUND SCORES
#5 SIUE 2, #8 Morehead State 1 (OT)
#7 Southeast Missouri 0, #6 Belmont 0 (Southeast Missouri advances on penalty kicks)
SIUE 2, MOREHEAD STATE 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - No. 5 seed SIUE defeated No. 8 seed Morehead State 2-1 in a rain soaked game in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Friday. Andrea Frerker netted home the game winner for the Cougars in overtime.
The No. 5 seed Cougars move on to face No. 4 seed Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals Sunday at 12 p.m. in Richmond, Kentucky.
SIUE had a few good looks early in the game. In the 4th minute, Becca Jostes stole an Eagles pass, took a few dribbles in and fired a hard bending shot that was saved by MSU goalkeeper Michelle Washburn.
In the 13th minute, SIUE's Kayla Klipsch put in a good through pass to Jostes, whose shot went just wide of the far post.
The Eagles scored the first goal of the game in the 36th minute off a set piece from a free kick right outside of the penalty area. Samantha Damante swung in a cross from the free kick, which Katie St. Quinn slotted away for the Eagles.
SIUE outshot Morehead State 8-4 in the first half, despite being down a goal.
The Cougars scored right out of halftime in the 48th minute. Jostes took a corner kick for SIUE, which found Angel Ikeda for the headed goal, her third of the season.
It was a hard fought second half, but the 1-1 deadlock stood going into overtime.
Three minutes into overtime Jostes curled in a cross to the top of the box, the ball found Andrea Frerker who put in a nice low driven shot, which beat the MSU keeper for the game-winning goal.
Amanda DiNardo led SIUE with four shots on the day. Goalkeeper Jensen Schoch made a few spectacular plays for the Cougars to keep the ball out of the net. Schoch finished the day with seven saves.
SIUE will take on Eastern Kentucky in the quarterfinals Sunday to see who advances to the semi-finals, where No. 1 seed UT Martin awaits.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0, BELMONT 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (4-8-4, 3-4-4) advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Quarterfinals after beating Belmont on penalty kicks for the second consecutive year in the postseason.
The game was moved from Lakeside Field to Eastern Illinois' Rugby field due wet conditions which made the soccer field unplayable.
Freshman Bailey Redden recorded five saves on the day and turned away Morgan Pettit's do or die penalty kick to nail down the win. Belmont had 19 shots in the game.
SEMO, which had 17 shots, including eight on goal, took a 4-3 lead in the final shootout when Maddi Karstens scored on Lily Herman. Jordan Nelson, Amanda Orlando and Lexi Grote also scored on their penalty kicks.
Prior to the shootout, Morgan McCourt had three shots with her biggest shot coming in the 37 minute mark of the second half. Herman, however, made the save.
Jen Brien was later fouled in the box at the 35-minute mark. Esmie Gonzales took the shot, but Herman again made a save. Herman wound up with a total of eight saves in the match..
The Redhawks countinued to put the pressure on and recorded three consecutive shots in a matter of seconds. Emily Holten took a corner kick at the 32-minute mark. Lauren Kaempfe then took a shot and was blocked. That was followed by shots that were blocked for both Gonzales and Karstens.
The match was scoreless after two overtime periods before penalty kicks allowed the Redhawks to prevail. Belmont (6) and SEMO (2) combined for eight shots in the overtime periods.
The teams were tied, 3-3, in penalty kicks and went to a second sudden death round to decide the game. Redden made two huge saves in the decisive second round to send the Redhawks to the OVC Tournament Quarterfinals.
In penalty kicks, the teams were tied with three each, which called for a second round. This round was sudden death. Bailey Redden made seven stops in the penalty kick rounds, including two in the second round to secure the advancement.
SEMO remains in Charleston to face Eastern Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m., CT.