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MOREHEAD, Ky. – In the last seven meetings between the Morehead State soccer team (4-4-2, 0-1-0) and Eastern Kentucky (3-6-1, 1-0-0), the Eagles had never dropped a match to the Colonels. That all changed on Friday night, as the Colonels stunned MSU 1-0 on a chilly, damp night at Jayne Stadium. It also marked the first time since the 2008 season that the Eagles have dropped a regular-season Ohio Valley Conference match.
“I thought we played the sloppiest game we’ve played all year long,” said coach
Warren Lipka. “We were nowhere near the caliber of play we had last weekend. We outshot EKU nine to one in the first half; we need to put one of them away. We talk about finishing opportunities, but no matter how well it looks on the field, or how many shots you take, someone needs to put it upon their shoulders and put the ball in the back of the net. That didn’t happen.”
Both teams started slow in the first half, finding the rhythm of the match. The Eagles found multiple opportunities to build their offense from their defensive third, but were unable to connect in the final third. The score remained 0-0 after the first 45 minutes of the match. For the first half, the Eagles tallied nine shots to EKU’s one and had the lone corner kick in the first half.
Morehead State continued its attack into the second half, dominating play in the midfield. Eastern Kentucky did not back down, however, and was inches from scoring the go-ahead goal mid-way through the second period. After a skirmish in front of the Eagles’ net that took senior goalkeeper
Katie Blevins out of the goal box, EKU’s Kaylynn Brown had a shot straight into an open net. Senior defender
Stephanie Gildehaus proved to be an Eagle hero, clearing the ball on the MSU goal line.
The match remained scoreless late into regulation until Eastern Kentucky’s Stephany Ellison put the Colonels ahead in the 83rd minute. Ellison got control of the ball in the center of the field and carried it with speed towards the Eagle defensive third. Ellison fired a driven shot from 25 yards out into the bottom left corner, past Blevins who was caught off her line.
“The streak was going to end at some point, but you always want them to go on,” said Lipka. “Maybe this will be a lesson to everyone, that if you have a target on your back every time you step on the field and you’ve won the conference one way or another three years in a row, you have to expect it.”
The Eagles outshot the Colonels 14-7 for the match, with four shots on frame for MSU. Senior forward
Devan Jordan led MSU individually with four shots, two on frame. Senior midfielder
Brittany Kiracofe tallied three shots. Morehead State earned three corner kicks during the match, while EKU had one. Blevins registered one save on the night, while EKU goalkeeper Annie Wickett recorded four.
MSU hits the road for the first time in OVC play, as the Eagles travel to Jacksonville, Ala., to take on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks on Friday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. The Eagles then head to Cookeville, Tenn., for a match against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Oct. 2. Match time is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
