Racers Celebrate Senior Day In Style With Victory Over Panthers

Sunday, October 27

Cutchin Field

1 P.M.

Murray State

11-7-0, 8-2-0

Eastern Illinois

3-9-4, 2-5-3

Eastern Ill.

Murray St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers Celebrate Senior Day In Style With Victory Over Panthers

10/27/2019 6:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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Murray State women's soccer celebrated Senior Day in in style on Sunday, defeating Eastern Illinois 1-0 to extend their winning streak to three games as they concluded the regular season schedule. Abby Jones would be responsible for the lone goal in an outing that saw the Racers outshoot EIU 26-6 as Murray State stayed perfect at home against OVC competition in 2019 with a perfect 5-0 record at Cutchin Field in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers came out strong offensively, with Miyah Watford, Arianna Mendez, and Rebecca Kubin creating promising chances within the first ten minutes of action.

Extending her scoring streak to three-straight contests, it would be Abby Jones who put the Racers on the score sheet, doing so in the 28^th minute when she split a pair of Panther defenders before tucking the ball in the lower corner to give her side a 1-0 lead.

The Racers owned a significant advantage on the stat sheet with 15 first-half shots to the Panther's two, while also holding a slight edge in the possession battle with 51% of the ball through the first 45 minutes of the game as the match entered halftime.

Murray State continued to press in the attack during the early stages of the second half, as they generated four more scoring chances within the first 15 minutes out of the break. However, the Racer lead remained at just a single goal as the match drew closer to the final whistle at Cutchin Field.

While Eastern Illinois scrambled to scrape together an equalizer in the closing moments, the Racer back line effectively dealt with services and calmly managed the game through the final seconds to secure a 1-0 victory in front of an energetic home crowd in Murray, Kentucky.

"We stayed disciplined in possession. EIU moved the ball around really well and, if we were going to go in and chase, we were going to get picked off, so just a really disciplined defensive performance today. I thought we created a bunch of chances but just didn't quite finish. At the back we looked solid, and the midfield worked really hard too so it was just a really good performance for us on both sides of the ball," said MSU head coach Matt Lodge.

For Abby Jones, her 28^th minute goal brings her season point total to 22 on six goals and a team-leading ten assists. As a team, the Racers outshot the Panthers 26-6 overall (11-2 on target), earning nine corners in the process while conceding just two corners defensively.

The Racers (11-7, 8-2 OVC) finish the regular season in second place within the OVC table, and have earned a semifinal berth in this year's conference tournament. They will return to action on November 8^th at 3:00 p.m. when they begin postseason play in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.