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MOREHEAD, Ky. -- Morehead State Soccer is set to face Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Ill. Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Morehead State finished the regular season 6-11-1, 1-5-1 in conference. The Eagles finished as the eighth seed and will battle the fifth seed (SIUE).
"I felt very early on in the season that we were gonna be a tournament team based on how we've performed in our non-conference schedule," said Head Coach
Paul Cox. "We have a very large chip on our shoulder and we plan to stay in Saint Louis for the weekend."
THE SERIES
Record vs. SIUE: 4-13-2
First Meeting: 10/14/2011 SIUE won 1-0
Last Meeting: 10/4/2026 SIUE won 4-0
Eagles' Record in Morehead, Ky.: 1-4-2
Eagles' Record in Edwardsville, Ill.: 3-6
Neutral Record: 0-3
Streak: SIUE W1
The Eagles put together a successful non-conference season, posting a 5-6 record heading into conference play.
The Eagles first win came against Brescia (Ky.), tying the school record for shots in a game (41).
Following the win against Brescia, MSU picked up two key wins against schools the Eagles had fallen to in the previous season, Northern Kentucky and Cleveland State.
MSU also stacked two more wins in their non-conference efforts, taking down Mercyhurst at home and Alabama A&M on the road.
The Eagles had a tough start to conference play, dropping their first three games. But, in their final four games, they picked up a draw against UT Martin (who won the OVC) and a win against Western Illinois.
Unfortunately, MSU lost its final regular season game against Southern Indiana with hopes to host a playoff game, but the squad is focused on the task ahead.
Morehead State last met SIUE in Morehead, Ky., falling 4-0 in early October.
The Cougars filled the stat sheet, scoring two goals in each half, all from different goal scorers.
SIUE leads the OVC in scoring average, scoring 1.53 goals per game on an average of 13.6 shots. On the contrast, the Cougars are the second worst defensive team in the OVC, allowing 1.73 goals per contest on 10.4 shots.
Morehead finished fifth in the conference in scoring average, averaging 0.89 goals per game on 12.5 shots, while also finishing fifth in defensive average. The Eagles are allowing 1.33 goals per contest on 14.2 shots.
NOTABLE
- Ashton Lynam earned All-OVC Second Team and All-Newcomer Team honors in her first season in the Blue and Gold.
- Amira Hendrick was named OVC Co-Goalkeeper of the Week following her season defining save and performance against Western Illinois.
- Hendrick recorded the second shutout of her career in just her third career start, becoming the first Morehead State Eagle to accomplish the feat since Erin Gibbs in 2022. Gibbs also recorded two shutouts in her first three starts, blanking Southern Indiana and Eastern Illinois.
- On top of her shutout against WIU, she made seven saves, lifting her total to 18 in games she has started. She also became the first Morehead State Eagle to save 18 of the first 19 shots on goal that she faced when starting, since Erin Gibbs saved 23 of the first 24 shots on goal that she faced when starting in 2022.
- Jade Walton recorded five shots on goal against Eastern Illinois, marking the first time a Morehead State Eagle has reached that mark since Dani Wilson did so against SIUE on Oct. 26, 2018.
- Walton finished second in the OVC for shots on goal (23).
- 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.
- The Eagles scored 16 goals this season from 10 different goal scorers.
- Eight of the Eagles 10 who scored during the season scored their first collegiate goal.
- Charlotte 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.
