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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State Soccer is set to host Eastern Illinois for Senior Day, on Sunday, Oct. 18, at MSU Soccer Field in Morehead, Ky. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Four Eagle seniors will be honored;
Hannah Carter,
Hannah Burke,
Molly Tapak, and
Gwen Ladd.
"Looking forward to celebrating our four seniors before kick off for their contributions," said Head Coach
Paul Cox.
He later continued with his thoughts on the game itself.
"It's a massive game for us. We are looking to put in another solid performance and add to our points from midweek."
THE SERIES
Record vs. Eastern Illinois: 10-16-6
First Meeting: 10/11/1998 EIU won 3-1
Last Meeting: 10/5/2025 EIU won 1-0
Eagles' Record in Morehead, KY: 7-5-2
Eagles' Record in Charleston, IL: 2-11-4
Neutral Record: 2-0
Morehead State enters tomorrow's contest with a 5-9-1 record, coming off its first tie of the season against the University of Tennessee at Martin, 0-0.
UT Martin was the first to jump to its offensive foot. Gi Verdi launched a shot from 20-25 yards out in the first 125 seconds that was saved by new Eagle goalkeeper,
Amira Hendrick.
The Eagles pushed the tempo in the seventh minute, as
Ashton Lynam played a pass to
Faith Peper in stride. Peper battled shoulder-to-shoulder with a Skyhawk defender before getting a shot off that was saved by UT Martin goalkeeper Mac Titus.
In the 11th minute, the Skyhawks attempted two more shots, both of which were saved by Hendrick. The first was a free kick taken at midfield by Titus, and the second was a deep shot from 30-35 yards out by Reece Windsor.
In the 17th minute, Peper sent a ball into the box toward three of her Eagle teammates. The ball eventually ricocheted to Lynam, who fired a shot just inside the left post, but Titus made a diving save to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard.
The Eagles and Skyhawks entered halftime tied at 0-0, with a similar half about to start.
The second half was all UT Martin.
The Skyhawks outshot MSU 9-0 in the second half, but none found the back of the net, resulting in a 0-0 tie.
Morehead State led the contest in saves, 6-3.
Hendrick received the nod for her first collegiate start in replacement of the injured
Allie Lammers. Hendrick recorded the first collegiate shutout of her career.
Under Head Coach Dirk Bennett's leadership, the Panthers enter Sunday's contest with a 4-6-3 record.
The Panthers are averaging 1.08 goals per game on 8.8 shots per contest. They're allowing 1.54 goals per game on an average of 16.0 shots per game.
MSU is averaging 1.00 goals per game on 11.6 shots per game, while allowing 1.47 averaged goals per game on 14.3 shots per contest.
Honoring The Four MSU Seniors:
Hannah Burke: OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025-26) … Two-time OVC "Player to Watch" (2025, 2026) … All-OVC Second Team in 2024 … OVC All-Newcomer Team in 2023 … One career defensive save … A 4-year starter on defense who has helped the Eagles record 24 shutouts in her career. … Has played in 68 games, starting 56, with one goal, nine assists, 11 points and 24 shots, scoring against Eastern Illinois at home her sophomore year … Sits ninth on MSU career assists list and fourth in career minutes played.
Hannah Carter: OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025-26) … College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District in 2025 … Transferred to Morehead State after two years at Murray State … Has played in every game since transferring (spring and fall), starting all but one fall game (33 fall games, 32 starts in fall games) … Second on the team in minutes this season. … A two-year team co-captain … One goal, two points and 17 shots in her career … Scored lone career goal against Marshall to begin the 2026 season.
Gwen Ladd: OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2023-24) … Named to the MSU Dean's List in multiple semesters … Played in six regular-season games as well as several spring seasons … She has the fourth-best winning percentage among current players ... Works at the MSU farm and has volunteered as a youth league soccer assistant coach in Morehead.
Molly Tapak: OVC Medal of Honor & OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll (2025-26) … Transferred to MSU after two years at Southern Illinois … A Two-year team co-captain … Played 29 games, starting 11, with one assist and 12 shots … Credited with her first career assist in the Mercyhurst game this fall … Took a career-best two shots against Marshall (2026) and Southeast Missouri (2025) … Known for her long throw-ins.
NOTABLE:
- Hannah Burke is now 4th in minutes played in Morehead State history, recording 4,174 minutes played across her four seasons at MSU.
- Ashton Lynam has scored the last three goals for Morehead State, becoming the first Eagle to do so since Hedda Ornberg scored in four straight games in Oct.-Nov. of 2024.
- Amira Hendrick became the first Eagle goalkeeper to earn a shutout in her first collegiate start (with a 0-0 tie at UT Martin on Thursday) since Erin Gibbs did so against Southern Indiana in a 1-0 home victory on Sept. 18, 2022.
- Natalie Lentine was named OVC Offensive Player of the Week following her first career goal (against Mercyhurst) and first career assist (against Chattanooga) on September 8th.
- Morehead State scored in 10 of the first 11 games, marking the first time in which its accomplished that since 2015, when the Eagles also scored in 10 of the first 11 games.
- Burke notched her ninth career assist as an Eagle on Sept. 3, against Merchyhurst, putting her in sole possession of ninth place in program history.
- Charlotte Lee is tied for third in the OVC in assists (3).
- Walton is third in the OVC for shots on goal (13).
- The Eagles have scored 15 goals this season from 10 different goal scorers.
- Eight of the Eagles 10 who have score this season have scored their first collegiate goal.
- Lee's seven points in the first six games of the season was the first time a Morehead State Eagle has accomplished that feat since Ashley Ritchie in the first six games, 10 years ago in 2016.
- Allie Lammers' 18 combined saves against Eastern and Northern Kentucky are the most saves in a two-game span since Kayla Landman recorded 21 (14 and 7) against Purdue Fort Wayne and Murray State on 9/29/2019 and 10/4/2019.
- MSU scored in each of its first four games of the season, the first time it has accomplished the feat since 2015.
- Lee recorded four points through the first three games, becoming the first Eagle to do so since Hedda Ornberg did it from October 20-November 3 in 2024.
- The Eagles held Brescia (Ky.) without a shot in their 2-0 victory on Aug. 16, marking the first time MSU has held an opponent without a shot for an entire game since defeating North Alabama, 2-0, in the 2021 season/home opener.
