MOREHEAD, Ky. – Coming into the 2022 season, the Morehead State soccer team was projected to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference under first year Head Coach
Chris Fox, but the Eagles exceeded all other's expectations and proceeded to construct the program's best season since 2015.
Morehead State finished with seven wins overall and four wins within the conference this fall, advancing to the OVC Tournament semifinals after winning a PK battle over UT Martin in the quarterfinals at home. 2022 marked the highest OVC finish since 2013, as the Eagles finished third. Fox and assistant coach Mark Sappington led MSU to the third longest unbeaten streak (6 matches) in program history, fewest goals allowed in program history (21), and least losses since 2014.
The team's style of play led to plenty of opportunities for student-athletes to achieve individual honors as well as wins, as members of the team garnered awards all season long. In addition, the Eagles averaged 64% possession in conference to rank first in the OVC (compared to 45% in 2021).
Hadley Cytron and
Colleen Swift won the program's first OVC Offensive Player of the Week awards since 2018,
Madelyn Mozeleski won Defensive Player of the Week, and
Erin Gibbs took home Goalkeeper of the Week, both marking the first time an Eagle has been honored with those awards since 2019. Swift, Mozeleski, and Gibbs won their awards in the same week, marking the first time Morehead State has swept the OVC's Weekly Awards since 2007.
In addition to weekly awards, MSU took home several postseason awards. Swift was named First Team All-OVC (first for the program since 2018),
Nicole Fiantaco was named Second Team All-OVC (first since 2019), and both Cytron and Gibbs were named to the OVC's All-Newcomer Team (first since 2018).
Anna Lohrer and
Avery Redmon were named to the OVC's All-Tournament team, the first Eagles to do so since 2015.
Gibbs also set a program record in her first season at MSU, setting the season record for goals against average (GAA) at an astounding 0.75, posting five shutouts.
Coach Fox and Coach Sappington showed off their recruiting prowess in their first year too, as both Gibbs (freshman) and Cytron (transfer) were named on the OVC All-Newcomer team. Along with those two,
Sejla Podzic (1 goal, 2 assists),
Natalie Ledin (5
th on the team in minutes played),
Erin Fite (1 goal, 1 assist), and multiple others had great seasons during their first year.
Redmon led the team in minutes played, playing 1,400 minutes of a possible 1,620 and was pivotal to the team's success under Fox.
With the groundwork laid for a continued upward swing, Morehead State soccer will hold exhibition matches in the Spring before returning to MSU Soccer Field in the Fall of 2023 in hopes of capturing the program's first OVC Tournament Title since 2013.
