MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State women's soccer team enters the stretch run of its regular season needing to win some games to earn a spot to the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament. The Eagles will take their next step in that process when they travel to Little Rock, Ark., to face the Trojans on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at the Coleman Sports Complex.
It will likely be the final time the two teams meet. Little Rock (4-3-5/2-0-3) announced on Friday that it will leave the OVC after this academic year and join the United Athletic Conference.
Morehead State (3-11-0/1-4-0) enters the contest having dropped a season-high four straight games and will need to virtually run the table to guarantee a fourth straight .500 overall record. The Eagles' three wins are their fewest in a complete season since 2017. The Eagles have also dropped eight consecutive road games and all seven this season. It is the most since the team lost 11 straight spanning 2019-21.
The Blue and Gold also sit outside of the OVC Tournament field in ninth place with three points. The top eight teams qualify for the event. Morehead State's next two opponents after Little Rock, SIUE (five points) and UT Martin (four points) sit just above it in the conference standings.
Making things all the more challenging, MSU is entering the weekend shorthanded. It will be without two key performers as well as its regular starting goalkeeper. A total of 13 players have missed 64 games this regular season. Those numbers will reach at least 15 and 71 after Sunday's contest.
"It's a massive game. We feel like we are in tournament mode already," said Morehead State head coach
Paul Cox. "This group is in high spirits and determined. So, (we are) looking forward to another opportunity to change our fortunes."
Recently, MSU has had the misfortune of playing teams which enter the matchup on a hot streak. With the exception of Lindenwood and starting with Southern Indiana (five-game unbeaten), then Eastern Illinois (six-game unbeaten), Tennessee Tech (four-game unbeaten) and now Little Rock (six-game unbeaten), the Blue and Gold has had a tough schedule.
MSU ended a scoreless streak that had stretched to 390 minutes and 45 seconds in Thursday's home game against Tennessee Tech, but the Golden Eagles still came out on top 4-1.
Prior to that, the club dropped a 1-0 road decision at Eastern Illinois last Sunday, a 3-0 home outing against Lindenwood on September 28 and a 1-0 road game at Southern Indiana on September 25. The Eagles' last win came in their OVC opener at home against Western Illinois 1-0 on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Freshman forward
Lily Burt's goal on Thursday against Tennessee Tech helped boost an offense that had only scored six times entering the game, but the Eagles are still being outscored 31-7 this season. The fewest goals MSU has recorded in a full season is 10.
There are good trends, however. Morehead State has reached double figure shots in seven consecutive games and outshot its opponents in its last two outings. Those numbers contrast with the team's first seven contests, when it only reached double digits three times.
In team statistics, MSU is averaging 0.5 goals per game, 11.0 shots per game, 4.07 shots on goal per game, 2.71 corner kicks per game, 8.41 fouls per game, 0.79 offside violations per game, 5.71 saves per game and 0.71 cards per game. Its opponents average 2.21 gpg, 15.71 shots per game, 7.64 shots on goal per game, 5.36 ckpg, 8.85 fpg, 1.57 offside violations per game, 3.64 saves per game and 0.57 cpg.
Senior midfielder
Kennedy Baquero tops the team with two goals, one assist and five points. She has taken 10 shots. Freshman forward
Jade Walton is the only other player with a goal and an assist. She has three points and has taken a team-leading 31 shots. Burt, graduate student midfielder
Karissa Vela, and freshmen defenders
Faith Peper and
Addison Petry, each have one goal. Junior midfielder/defender
Hannah Burke has a team-best three assists. Sophomore forward
Carlie Thurmond adds two and freshman defender/midfielder
Hailey Repreza has one.
Walton leads in shots, with Vela second at 16. Sophomore forward
Ava Peck has 16. A total of six Eagles have reached double figures.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Claire Cress has started 13 games, but she did not travel with the team to Arkansas. Redshirt sophomore
Sofia Rodriguez will get her second career start on Sunday. She has a 0-1-0 record, with a 1.89 goals-against average, an average of 2.33 saves per game, a .700 save percentage and no shutouts.
Little Rock (4-3-5/2-0-3) is riding a six-game unbeaten streak and is 3-1-5 since August 31. Most recently, it defeated UT Martin on the road 1-0. Prior to that it tied Southern Indiana 1-1 and tied SIU Edwardsville 2-0 both at home. The three games before those, it tied Southeast Missouri 1-1 and Tennessee Tech 1-1, both on the road, and tied Tulsa 3-3 at home. Overall, the Trojans have a 2-0-3 home record and have a 10-game unbeaten streak there dating back to Sept. 19, 2024.
UALR is averaging 1.92 gpg, 15.1 shots per game, 5.67 shots on goal per game, 4.33 ckpg, 8.33 fpg, 1.5 offside flags per game, 4.92 saves per game and 1.67 cpg. Its opponents are averaging 1.5 gpg, 12.5 shots per game, 6.42 shots on goal per game, 7.25 ckpg, 7.83 fpg, 2.42 offside violations per game, 3.75 saves per game and 1.08 cpg.
Sophomore forward Maria Schuller is one of four Trojans to start every game. She has seven goals, four assists, 18 points and 38 shots. Sophomore forward Maggie Turner also has 12 starts. She adds five goals, one assist, 11 points and 20 shots. Senior midfielder Amaya Arias has four goals, one assist, nine points and 26 shots. Junior midfielder Candice Kilderry contributes three goals, three assists, nine points and 14 shots. Graduate student forward Jaeda Centeno is the only other player with multiple goals at two, while also adding four points and 16 shots. Two other players have scored: junior midfielder Megan Rogan and senior midfielder Serenity Thake. They each have one goal, one assist and three points. Rogan also sits tied for third in shots with 20.
Senior goalkeeper Peyton Urban has a 4-3-5 record, 1.61 gaa, 4.58 saves per game, a .753 save percentage and has been a part of three shutouts.
Kelly Farrell is in her fourth season as the team's head coach. She owns a 23-22-23 overall record.
Morehead State is 4-2 all-time against Little Rock. Last year, the Trojans won 2-1 in Morehead on a goal that was misplayed by the Eagle goalkeeper. Prior to that, the Blue and Gold won four straight, including a 1-0 win in Little Rock in 2023 and a 2-0 win at home in 2022. The teams also met three times before UALR was an OVC member: a 3-1 MSU win at home in 2000, a 2-1 overtime MSU victory in Arkansas in 1999 and a 3-1 Little Rock win at home in the Eagles' inaugural season of 1998.
Morehead State holds a 2-1 series advantage on the road.
In last year's meeting, MSU outshot the Trojans 15-11 and had a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Little Rock had more fouls (9-7). UALR had more saves (5-1) and the Eagles drew the lone offside flag. Both teams had one card. Kilderry and Rogan scored goals for the victors. Former Eagle
Hedda Ornberg had MSU's goal, plus a game-high seven shots. Baquero had one of the two assists.
ESPN+ will broadcast the game. It can be found at the link:
https://shorturl.at/YtWlV.
Live stats are also available. They are located at the link:
https://shorturl.at/DZRo3.
Morehead State will return home to play next. UT Martin is coming to town on Thursday, Oct. 16 for a 1 p.m. tilt.
