MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Morehead State women's soccer team is traveling to Cleveland for its final non-conference match of the season and will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline. Cleveland State head coach Mark Sappington spent two seasons as MSU's assistant coach. His Vikings will square off against the Eagles at 1 p.m. on Sunday at Krenzler Field.
Sappington was MSU's goalkeeper coach in 2022 and 2023, when the team compiled a 16-13-9 overall record, a 10-5-4 Ohio Valley Conference mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in his final season.
"It will be a good game. I think it's a good opportunity to bounce back ahead of conference and it will allow us to test a few final things," said Morehead State head coach
Paul Cox.
The Eagles enter on a four-game road slide that is their longest since dropping 11 straight spanning three seasons (October 6, 2023, to September 19, 2021). One of the contests on that current stretch came in last year's NCAA Tournament game against Wake Forest. This fall's 0-3 road start is the longest in-season skid since Aug. 24-Sept. 16 of Sappington's final year at MSU.
Morehead State (2-6-0) also has fallen in its last two games by 2-1 scores, at home against Bellarmine on Thursday and at Radford last Sunday. This season, the Blue and Gold is 1-3 in Sunday contests.
The Eagles have struggled offensively this fall, but lately the squad has started to find its way, scoring in their last three games. Overall on the season, they have been outscored 19-5. It is the lowest scoring output through eight games since the spring of 2021, when the team was outscored 12-3. The last time the Eagles allowed 19 goals through their first eight games was in 2018, when the team was outscored 21-5.
As a team, the club posts averages of 0.63 goals per game, 8.0 shots per game, 3.25 shots on goal per game, 2.63 corner kicks per game, 8.5 fouls per game, 0.75 offside flags per game, 6.0 saves per game and 0.88 cards per game. Its opponents are averaging 2.8 gpg, 17.13 shots per game, 8.13 shots on goal per game, 6.0 ckpg, 9.25 fpg, 1.88 offside flags per game, 2.63 saves per game and 0.75 cpg.
Individually, senior midfielder
Kennedy Baquero has moved to the top of MSU's goals' and points' lists. She has two goals, one assist, five points and six shots. Freshman forward
Jade Walton adds one goal, one assist, three points and nine shots. Graduate student midfielder
Karissa Vela and freshman defender
Faith Peper both have scored once. Vela leads the squad in shots with 10.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Claire Cress has played all but 45 minutes and owns a 2-6-0 record, with a 2.27 goals-against average, 45 saves, a .726 save percentage and two shutouts.
Cleveland State (2-3-1) is just the second team on MSU's schedule to date that has a sub-.500 winning percentage entering its game.
It is coming off a 1-0 home victory over St. Bonaventure last Sunday. Prior to that, it fell at Duquesne 4-1, tied Saint Francis (Pa.) at home 1-1, lost at Bowling Green 2-1, won at Southern Indiana 2-0 and dropped a 1-0 decision at home to Kent State.
The Vikings are 1-1-1 at home this season with a two-game unbeaten streak.
As a team, CSU is averaging 1.0 gpg, 14.5 shots per game, 5.83 shots on goal per game, 4.67 ckpg, 7.67 fpg, 2.83 offside flags per game, 5.67 saves per game and 0.33 cpg. Its opponents are averaging 1.33 gpg, 14.8 shots per game, 6.83 shots on goal per game, 6.17 ckpg, 9.83 fpg, 3.17 offside flags per game, 4.83 saves per game and 1.67 cpg.
Senior midfielder Mayra Sesmas tops the squad with three goals, one assist, seven points and 23 shots. Redshirt junior midfielder Sophia Cucchetti is next with one goal, one assist, three points and five shots. Redshirt junior forward Tanji Sarver and junior forward Elise Boyd both have one goal and two points. Sarver has taken 13 shots, with Boyd at four. Freshman forward Ryleigh Alcala has the final point off an assist. She has taken two shots. Sophomore forward Cortlyn Hefty has contributed 13 shots, while freshman midfielder Alicia Riberich has taken nine.
Two goalkeepers have seen time in the net. Redshirt junior Hayleigh Lewis has started five games and has a 1-3-1 record, with a 1.17 gaa, 30 saves, a .789 save percentage and one shutout. Redshirt junior Elyse Broderick has played in two games, starting one, with a 1-0-0 record, a 0.00 gaa, four saves, a 1.000 save percentage and one shutout.
Sappington is in his second season leading the club. He has a 4-17-2 record.
This is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
It is the only opponent MSU will face for the first time this season, although Morehead State did play Brescia (Ky.) in an exhibition game on August 7 and the two teams have never met in the regular season. MSU won that game 2-0.
The last time the Eagles played a new club was on September 15, 2024, when they faced Mercyhurst. That outing ended in a 2-2 tie.
The Eagles are 0-1 this season against schools from the Horizon League of which Cleveland State is a member. Northern Kentucky topped the Blue and Gold 5-0 on August 31.
ESPN+ will broadcast the game via the link:
https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/eventCalendarId/401781276?gameId=738637&sourceLang=en&om-navmethod=espn%3Aglobalsearch%3Aresults.
Live stats are also available at the link:
https://csuvikings.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary.
Morehead State will be off a week before opening its OVC campaign with Western Illinois at home on Sunday at 1 p.m.
