WATCH | LIVE STATS SIUE | LIVE STATS EIU
MOREHEAD, Ky.— Morehead State Soccer takes its 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference record on the road this week to the most western part of the OVC slate, visiting defending league tournament champions SIU Edwardsville Friday evening, and finishing up Sunday afternoon at Eastern Illinois.
The Eagles will face SIUE at 8 p.m. ET Friday and EIU at 2 p.m. Sunday. Fans can watch each match live on the
OVC Digital Network.
MSU is coming off a week where it pushed ACC and in-state foe Louisville to its limits in a 1-0 road loss. That was followed by an explosive offensive performance against conference rival Eastern Kentucky in a 4-1 win. According to Head Coach
Warren Lipka, it's the defense making all the difference.
"We've matured, and we have the right people in the back now. We're defending better, we're blocking shots, and it's giving us more momentum to go forward," said Lipka. "When we win a ball, when we tackle, we transition quicker. It's all about defending at the beginning, and we have to defend first before we can go forward."
In six matches this season, the Eagles have held their opponents to one goal or less, and they're 4-2 when doing so. The only losses in those six contests came on the road at Wyoming and Louisville. In seven matches, MSU has allowed two or more goals, going 1-5-1 in those matches. But in the last three matches against Belmont, Louisville, and EKU, the Eagles have held each team to one goal or scoreless, going 2-1 in their recent stretch.
SIUE is currently in the middle of its longest home stretch of the season, playing eight of ten matches at Ralph Korte Stadium. In the first five matches, the Cougars have gone 3-2, and each win has been a shutout. The Eagles are 0-4-1 in true road contest but have faced five opponents who combined have won 17 matches at home. MSU has been tested on the road, and according to Lipka, road matches and home matches are the same at this point.
"Our level of fitness and recovery time are where we want it, to be competitive. It doesn't matter if we're at home or on the road, we just need to do what we need to do, concern ourselves with our issues, and play. I feel confident in our players and where we're at this point in the season" said Lipka.
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