MOREHEAD, Ky. – Host Southern Indiana scored in the 81st minute of Thursday's women's soccer game against Morehead State to pull out a 1-0 win at the Strassweg Field in Evansville, Ind.
In a relatively evenly-played contest, the Screaming Eagles were able to convert the night's best scoring chance.
The play started after Southern Indiana (4-5-2/1-0-1) gained control of the ball off an Eagle goal kick. A pass puts the ball at the feet of Haley Kocher, who made a 20-yard pass forward on the right side to Emerson Grafton, who tried to fake out an MSU defender before crossing the ball from the right side near the end line over to the middle, where Josie Pochocki ran onto it and at the left corner of the goal box kicked it inside the right goalpost from six yards out.
A disappointed Eagle coach
Paul Cox felt as though his team did enough.
"(We) didn't deserve to lose the game. (The) girls played hard on a difficult pitch," he said. "The game could've gone either way, but conference is wide open."
Coupled with the other Ohio Valley Conference results on the day, only one team sits with a 2-0 league record and six clubs have at least one tie.
A wet playing surface and a slippery ball likely contributed to the lack of offense as the two teams combined for 25 shots.
It is the fourth time this season Morehead State (3-8-0/1-1-0) played in a 1-0 contest and the eighth game in which only one team scored.
The Eagles had two quality opportunities to get on the board.
The first came just three and a half minutes into the game, when sophomore forward
Ava Peck got behind the defense and received a pass on the right side setting up a 1v1 with USI goalkeeper Anna Markland. However, while dribbling, the ball got too far ahead of Peck and Markland was able to run out and corral it.
In the 67th minute, sophomore forward
Carlie Thurmond got free and had a point-black shot from six yards out on the left and kicked it to the right, but Markland dove to make the play and batted it out of bounds.
Southern Indiana increased its unbeaten streak to six games and improved to 4-2 at home, winning its fourth in a row. Morehead State fell to 0-5 on the road this season and has now dropped six straight away from home. The Eagles also saw their streak of winning their first two conference games end after three years.
The Screaming Eagles outshot the Blue and Gold 13-10. They also held a 9-3 edge in corner kicks. Both teams were whistled for six fouls. USI drew both offside flags, while the Eagles received both yellow cards.
Both teams held possession for 50 percent of the night. Morehead State was on the attack for 59 percent of its possession, while Southern Indiana did the same during 65 percent of its time with the ball.
Peck finished with four shots, while junior midfielder/defender
Hannah Carter and freshman forward
Jade Walton had two apiece. Pochocki led the hosts with four shots, with Eva Boer recording three.
Markland made five saves and improved her record to 4-4-2, while sophomore
Claire Cress registered four saves and fell to 3-8-0.
Southern Indiana improved to 3-2 all-time against MSU, including a 2-1 mark at home.
The Eagles will be back in Morehead for a rematch of the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship, when it meets Lindenwood on Sunday at 1 p.m.
