MOREHEAD – Sophomore forward
Hedda Ornberg scored her seventh goal of the year and the Morehead State women's soccer team capped off its regular season with a 1-1 tie at the MSU Soccer Field against SIUE on Sunday.
The Eagles also recognized two of their players (senior forward/midfielder
Erin Fite and graduate student goalkeeper
Reegan Garrity) before the game as part of Senior Day.
The tie extended the team's unbeaten streak to three games, which equals its second-longest such stretch this fall. Coupled with other results across the Ohio Valley Conference, Morehead State (7-6-5/4-3-2) finished in fifth place in the final league standings.
SIUE (2-7-7/1-3-5) was not so fortunate. The outcome dropped it out of the OVC Tournament field and into ninth place to end its season.
Southern Indiana defeated Western Illinois at home 3-0 to catapult the Screaming Eagles in front of MSU, while securing the team a first-round bye and the right to host a second-round contest on Sunday, all part of the league's equivalent of "Decision Day."
Watch MSU head coach Paul Cox discuss the game.
The goals came one minute and 17 seconds apart.
After a free kick near midfield and near the SIUE bench, the ball went to freshman forward
BB Bonzheim, who passed it across the field to
Gracen Houck. The junior defender then kicked the ball 30 yards and over the defense and to Ornberg, who ran onto it and beat charging Cougar goalkeeper Abby Haskell to the ball. Ornberg then placed under a diving Haskell and into the left side of the net from about 19 yards out at 30:27.
Watch Ornberg discuss her goal.
The visitors quickly responded. Off a corner kick from the right side, Matea Diekema passed the ball to Taryn Moore just outside the box along the endline. Moore then dribbled free and split several defenders with a shot that went over the left shoulder of MSU freshman goalkeeper
Lilly Bailey and threaded a needle of a space between Bailey and the left post from four yards out at 31:40.
SIUE, which dominated the play in the first half, finished with an 8-3 advantage in first-half shots. The tide turned in the final 45 minutes as MSU held a 5-3 edge, with a trio of shots, (two point-blank wide-open attempts that sailed high and the third which was blocked) in the final two and a half minutes.
Morehead State ended its season with a 2-3-2 home record. The fifth-place finish stopped a string of three straight years with a top-four spot in the league standings.
SIUE struggled away from home and completed its campaign with a 0-5-8 mark on the road dating back to Sept. 21, 2023. It was 0-4-5 in those games this year. However, the Cougars did sport a 1-1-4 mark in their final six outings.
SIUE also extended its all-time record against MSU to 11-4-2 and 3-1-2 in Morehead.
The Cougars won the battle of shots 11-8, held a slight edge in corner kicks 5-4 and twice as many fouls (12 to 6). They also had both of the game's yellow cards. The Eagles received the lone offside flag.
Ornberg and junior midfielder
Kennedy Baquero each registered two shots. Moore led all players with three.
Bailey finished with four saves, while Haskell recorded three.
The visitors held a 62-38 edge in possession percentage, although most of it (56 percent) was in their defensive zone. The Eagles were on the attack 56 percent of the game.
The OVC Tournament will begin on Thursday, Oct. 31, with the fifth-seeded Eagles facing off against eighth-seeded UT Martin at fourth-seeded Southern Indiana at 2 p.m. ET. The winner will meet the Screaming Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. ET. The semifinals and finals will be held in Cookeville, Tenn., on Thursday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 10.
