MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State women's soccer's
Claire Cress made a career-high nine saves as visiting Marshall peppered the sophomore netminder with 19 shots en route to a 3-0 win on Thursday night in the season opener for both squads at the MSU Soccer Field in Morehead.
The Eagles struggled to gain possession of the ball for most of the night, preventing them from getting many chances to get on the scoreboard as Marshall (1-0) claimed its ninth win in the series and improved to 4-1-1 in Morehead. The victory also snapped an 11-game overall road winless streak for the Thundering Herd that dated back to 2023.
The visitors got on the board in the 14th minute when Bailey Fisher was taken down in the box by freshman defender
Olivia Lowe, who earned a card on the play, and Fisher converted the resulting penalty kick to the bottom left corner.
The second score came at 29:52, when Cress attempted to clear a Fernanda Dantas corner kick by punching the ball, but it landed on the head of Marcella Alves, who sailed it back over the head of Cress and into the net from 15 yards out.
Morehead State (0-1) went into the intermission having been outshot 9-0, but the second half was a different story as the Eagles were able to gain possession of the ball more and unleash five shots.
Marshall's Tiggi Gent headed in a Brookly McComas pass from the right side from 12 yards out that went across the box and over Cress' head and inside the far post at 71:09 to complete the scoring.
MSU coach
Paul Cox rated it as one of the most disappointing performances of his tenure with the Blue and Gold but took accountability for the shortcomings.
Watch Cox discuss the game on the MSU YouTube channel:
https://youtu.be/KlYxbG8KgLk.
Yet, there were highlights.
Particularly noteworthy was the play of Cress, whose nine saves bettered her previous career high of six, which also was set in a 3-0 defeat (Wright State on Sept. 5, 2024).
Marshall had two point-blank shots just yards from the goal in the latter stages of the first half that Cress saved.
The Thundering Herd finished the night with a 19-5 edge in shots and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. The Eagles had 11 fouls to Marshall's seven. Both teams had one yellow card and neither was flagged for being offside.
Morehead State's best scoring opportunity came when sophomore forward
BB Bonzheim's 23-yard shot hit the crossbar in the 69th minute.
Fisher had a game-high eight shots, while freshman midfielder
Charlotte Lee paced the hosts with two.
Emma Durand made two saves and earned the win (1-0). Cress fell to 0-1.
Marshall held the ball for 56 percent of the night, with 52 percent of its possession coming in the MSU defensive zone. The Eagles were on the attack 44 percent of the time they had the ball, with the vast majority of that coming in the second half.
Due to the heat, play was stopped in the middle of both halves for a short water break.
Morehead State played its third straight contest shorthanded, with three players sidelined with injuries.
Marshall and MSU tied 1-1 in the 2024 season opener in Huntington, W.Va. Two years ago in Morehead, the Thundering Herd also claimed a 3-0 victory in the first game of the year. MU leads the series 9-1-3 and has won or tied the last seven meetings. It is the fifth consecutive fall the two teams have faced each other.
The Eagles are 4-9 when they begin the campaign at home. Thursday's contest was the earliest start date in MSU history.
Morehead State stays at home to host Austin Peay on Sunday at 1 p.m. It is the only two-game home stand this season for the Blue and Gold.
