MOREHEAD, Ky. – The road has not gotten any easier for the Morehead State women's soccer team as it will host three-time defending Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Tennessee Tech on Thursday at the MSU Soccer Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
The Eagles enter the outing having dropped its last three games and have gone scoreless in the last 322:16 consecutive minutes. Morehead State (3-10-0/1-3-0) is nearing a must-win situation if it is to qualify for the eight-team OVC postseason tournament. The team presently sits in ninth place with the top eight teams earning a bid to the field. MSU has five conference games remaining this season.
"(Tennessee Tech is a) quality opponent who have turned things around in their last two outings. We've had a good week of training and look forward to a quality OVC match," said MSU head coach
Paul Cox.
The Blue and Gold fell at Eastern Illinois on Sunday 1-0. Prior to that, it dropped a 3-0 decision at home to Lindenwood on Sunday, Sept. 28, and also fell on the road to Southern Indiana 1-0 on Thursday, Sept. 25. The Eagles' last victory came on Sunday, Sept. 21 at home against Western Illinois 1-0. This season, Morehead State has played in five one-goal contests, posting a 3-2 mark in those games. MSU is 3-4 at home this season.
Ten of the team's outings to date have featured only one team scoring and it has dropped four games by one goal. It has been outscored 27-6 this fall.
In spite of its struggles, MSU has picked up its attack recently. It has taken double-digit shots in the last six games after only accomplishing that feat three times through its first seven contests. The Eagles outshot the Panthers 17-15 on Sunday, marking the third time this season they have taken more attempts than their opponents.
As a team, MSU is averaging 0.46 goals per game, 10.92, 3.85 shots on goal per game, 2.77 corner kicks per game, 8.0 fouls per game, 0.77 offside flags per game, 5.77 saves per game and 0.77 cards per game. Its opponents are averaging 2.08 gpg, 16.0 shots per game, 7.54 shots on goal per game, 5.46 ckpg, 8.77 fpg, 1.69 offside flags per game, 3.31 saves per game and 0.62 cpg.
Individually, senior midfielder
Kennedy Baquero leads the team with two goals, one assist and five points. Freshman forward
Jade Walton adds one goal, one assist and three points; while junior midfielder/defender
Hannah Burke and sophomore forward
Carlie Thurmond each contribute two assists. Walton tops the squad with 26 shots. Graduate student midfielder
Karissa Vela has 19, with Thurmond tallying 12, and Baquero and freshman defender
Faith Peper each with 10.
In net, sophomore
Claire Cress missed her first game all season on Sunday against EIU. She has a 3-9 record, with a 2.09 goals-against average, 68 saves, a .730 save percentage and three shutouts. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Sofia Rodriguez, who made her first career start on Sunday and stopped five shots, was a last-minute addition to the lineup after Cress was unable to play. Prior to the game, Rodriguez had only played 45 regular-season minutes in three years. Rodriguez has a 0-1 record, with a 2.00 GAA, seven saves, a .700 save percentage and no shutouts.
Tennessee Tech (2-6-6/2-0-2) started the season winless in its first 12 games, including losing the first four. Over its last 10, the team 2-2-6, undefeated in its last four. Most recently, the Golden Eagles won at Lindenwood 4-1 on Sunday and at home 6-1 over Western Illinois the previous Sunday. Prior to that, the team tied SIU Edwardsville 0-0 on the road and Little Rock 1-1 in Cookeville, Tenn.
TTU is 1-3-3 away from home this season and is unbeaten in its last four road outings.
Tech and MSU have four common opponents: Miami (Ohio), Chattanooga, Western Illinois and Lindenwood. The Eagles are 2-2 against those four, while the Golden Eagles are 2-1-1.
Over the last four outings, Tennessee Tech has outscored its opponents 11-3.
Sophomore forward Natalie Howard leads the squad with four goals, two assists, 10 points and 15 shots. She scored twice against Lindenwood on Sunday. Graduate student midfielder Lucia Cuadra adds three goals, one assist, seven points and a team-best 21 shots. Redshirt junior midfielder Allison Lee has three goals, six points and 11 shots; while Redshirt junior midfielder/defender Claire Palya contributes two goals, one assist and five points. Junior forward/midfielder Tori Soutuyo has one goal, two assists, four points and 19 shots. Junior defender/midfielder Melina Hamm has a team-high four assists. Senior forward Katie Toney chips in 19 shots.
Senior Maggie Conrad has started 14 of 15 games in goal. She has a 2-6-6 record, a 1.65 GAA, 56 saves, a .709 save percentage and two shutouts.
Corey Boyd is in his second season as the team's head coach. He has a 8-15-11 record at the school.
Tech leads the all-time series 14-12-5. The Golden Eagles won the first eight meetings, before the Blue and Gold got its first W. In the last two seasons, the teams have met four times, three of which took place in Cookeville and two were in the OVC Tournament. MSU won 2-1 at home in October of 2023. MSU won 1-0 in double overtime in November of 2023 in the league championship. Last year in October, TTU won 1-0. In the OVC Tournament semifinals, the teams tied 0-0 after two overtimes, but Morehead State advanced onward by winning the penalty kick battle 3-0.
Overall, MSU owns an 8-6-1 record against the Golden Eagles in Morehead. The Blue and Gold has captured the last two meetings, with TTU's last victory coming in March of 2021 (1-0). Since 2004, the Eagles have a 12-7-5 series advantage.
In last year's OVC game, Tennessee Tech outshot MSU 27-12, had a 13-1 edge in corner kicks and fewer fouls (3-8). Morehead State had more saves (7-1) and fewer offside violations (2-5). Cress came off the bench and played in the shootout, making two saves. Baquero had the game-ending penalty kick.
In the regular-season meeting, Toney scored in the seventh minute off an assist from Cuadra and rode it out to the victory.
Hedda Ornberg had a chance to tie the score on a PK with a minute and 56 seconds to play, but Conrad saved the attempt to seal the win. In that game, MSU had the edge in shots (13-11), while TTU had a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. Both teams had 12 fouls, five saves and drew three offside flags. Peck took a team-high three shots in the tilt.
Thursday's promotion is a scarf giveaway. The first 50 in attendance will get a free MSU branded soccer scarf.
For ticket information, click the link:
https://www.etix.com/ticket/v/16917.
Live stats can be found at the link:
https://shorturl.at/cE7A9.
The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be viewed at the link:
https://shorturl.at/DdspC.
MSU will travel to face Little Rock on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. ET. The Eagles will then host UT Martin for Homecoming Weekend on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 1 p.m.
