MOREHEAD – The Morehead State women's soccer team had to weather a flurry of UT Martin shots on Sunday at the Skyhawk Field in Martin, Tenn., but the Eagles managed to come away with a critical 1-0 Ohio Valley Conference road win to snap a season-high two-game skid and move back above .500 on the season.
Morehead State (6-5-3/3-2-0) needed 10 saves from freshman goalkeeper
Lilly Bailey, plus the first-ever goal from junior midfielder
Kamryn Baquero and two team defensive saves to pull out the win and remain among the leaders in the conference standings.
MSU head coach Paul Cox singled out the play of the defensive trio of graduate student
Anna Lohrer, junior
Gracen Houck and freshman
Marinna Campos.
"Our back three have played 180 minutes on this trip (UT Martin and Tennessee Tech) and were excellent down the stretch of this game," he said. "I'm delighted for Kam to get her first collegiate goal as a junior, she's been coming back from injury and was great to see her in the score column.
"I thought we could've and should've scored more goals today, but a shutout and three points will always do!" he added.
The victory also moved the Eagles to 4-3-2 on the road (matching last year's win total). It was the fourth straight defeat for the Skyhawks and dropped the team to 1-3-1 on their field in the first of a two-game home stand. UTM has not won in Martin since August 29, although it has just been two outings.
UT Martin (2-8-3/1-4-0) unleashed an onslaught of shots (22), including an MSU opponent season-high 12 on goal, forcing the Eagles to make far-and-away their most saves of the season.
Bailey came up big.
"Obviously, (it is) exciting to get a career high but I have to give credit to the defense as well," she said. "The back three were phenomenal all (a)round. I think as a unit we just did our best to stay connected and deal with their balls over the top."
In the 39th minute, Baquero intercepted the ball at the top circle of the UTM box. She took two dribbles to the right and shot it past diving goalkeeper Mac Titus.
"I got the ball from a poor clearance from the other team and took a touch across to my right foot right outside the box and shot it to the left side of the goal," she said. "I feel super excited!! I can't wait to score more!"
MSU twice avoided an early UTM goal in the first half. Houck cleared a ball of the line for a team save at the 19:08 mark, with Campos doing the same at 35:44. It was just the second and third defensive saves of the season. Houck also cleared a ball off the line against Radford (although it was not a save).
Both sides had nine shots in the first half, but the hosts ratcheted up their attack in the second stanza, reeling off 13 attempts. Yet just four were on goal as the Eagle defense clamped down. UTM recorded its final shot with seven minutes and 15 seconds to play, with its last on frame about four minutes earlier.
The Skyhawks finished with 22 shots on goal, the second most the Eagles have faced this year and had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Morehead State had nine fouls to UT Martin's eight and both teams were flagged for being offside three times.
MSU had 18 shots, with junior midfielder
Kennedy Baquero, sophomore forward
Hedda Ornberg and senior forward
Erin Fite leading the way with three apiece. Freshman forward
Ava Peck, sophomore midfielder
Mary Trudeau and freshman defender
Ella Fuller each added two. It was the seventh straight contest the Eagles registered double figures in the category and the ninth time this fall.
Peyton Cook had a game-high five shots for the Skyhawks (three on frame). Alberte Amby came off the bench to record four. Three others had three, including Makayla Robinson, with all of hers coming on goal.
UT Martin held a 52 to 48 percent advantage in possession time, with both teams having the ball in the other's end for the bulk of that number. MSU was in the Skyhawk defensive side for 62 percent of its afternoon, with the hosts having it 75 percent of the time on their attack.
The Eagle defense had to do most of its work in the first half as it was responsible for eight saves, six by Bailey. The freshmen keeper's 10 saves were nearly double her previous high of six. Titus had eight in the UTM net.
UT Martin had both day's yellow cards.
Morehead State improved its record over UT Martin to 4-1-1 in the last six outings. It was the Blue and Gold's second straight win in Martin.
The Eagles are ahead of last season in several categories. Through 14 games, this year's club has allowed just 15 goals compared to 19 in 2023. The school record is 21, set in 2022. The 2024 squad also has scored 17 times versus 15 last season and the current group's six wins are better than the 4-5-5 record last fall's team had at this point.
MSU has four games remaining in the regular season, needing two more wins to guarantee it a spot in the eight-team Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. The squad will have six days off before hosting Southern Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 13, for Homecoming and Alumni Weekend. Start time for that game is 1 p.m. Following that, MSU will go on the road for two contests, before coming back to Morehead for the regular-season finale on Sunday, Oct. 27, against SIUE.
