Murray State University Athletics
Murray State
Southeast Missouri
Racers Begin Quest for Fifth OVC Tournament Crown
4/14/2021 9:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer
MSU hosts the four-team tournament as the #1 seed after winning the OVC regular-season title
Date: Thursday, April 15th, 2021 – 11 AM
Site (Venue): Murray, Ky. (Cutchin Field)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Coverage Links: goracers.com/coverage
Murray State Record (Streak): 9-1 (Won 4)
Southeast Missouri Record (Streak): 6-3-1 (Lost 2)
Racers All-Time vs. Southeast Missouri: 13-11-1
Murray State women's soccer will begin the quest for its fifth OVC Tournament crown on Thursday when they host Southeast Missouri at Cutchin Field in the tournament's seminal. The match will stream live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available at goracers.com. Spectators are welcome to attend the event, but social distancing measures and masks are required at the facility. Kickoff is slated for 11:00 a.m. in Murray, Kentucky.
All-Time Series:
The Racers and Redhawks have met 25 times entering Thursday's match, with Murray State holding a 13-11-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Racers are unbeaten in the last eight clashes with the Redhawks, and have earned seven victories over those matches. MSU also emerged victorious in this year's regular-season meeting – a 3-1 contest on the road in Cape Girardeau. SEMO last beat Murray State on Oct. 5, 2014, 2-1, on its home turf at Houck Field.
A Look at the Racers:
Led by 2020-21 OVC Coach of the Year Matt Lodge, Murray State enters the weekend at the tournament's #1 seed after earning an outright regular-season OVC title with a 9-1 record on the year. After losing their only match of the season on March 19th in a 2-1 contest against Jacksonville State, the Racers have rattled off four-straight wins heading into the postseason.
Averaging 2.3 goals per game, the Racers are tied with SIUE for the highest scoring attack in the OVC. Their 16.6 shots per contest also rank second in the league. The Racers have averaged 6.7 points per game and 2.1 assists per game, both of which are currently single-season program records. Leading the way offensively is freshman Chloe Barnthouse, whose seven goals are tied for the most in the OVC. The All-OVC First Team selection has also collected 15 points (seven goals, one assist) which are fourth-most in the league. The Racers have also gotten four goals apiece from both Rebecca Kubin and Lilly Strader, while Abby Jones and Kubin have dished out three assists to lead the Racers in that category.
The Murray State defense has also been stingy in 2020-21, as the Racers have only conceded nine times (0.90/game), which is the third-fewest in the league. The Racer defense is led by four 2020-21 All-OVC selections, with Izzy Heckman setting the tone as this year's Defender of the Year. Center back Saraya Young (All-OVC 2nd Team) and All-Newcomer selections Audrey Henry (center back) and Jenna Villacres (goalkeeper) highlight a back line that has recorded three clean sheets on the season.
Scouting the Redhawks:
The 2019 OVC regular-season champs started the year 5-0-1, but enter the weekend as the tournament's #4 seed after losing tree of the last four outings. The Redhawks are averaging 1.5 goals per game (5th in OVC) while conceding 1.27 on average. Offensively, they are paced by OVC First Team selection Lauren Welker, who has produced 14 points on five goals and four assists.
Defensively SEMO is guided by goalkeeper Bailey Redden, whose five clean sheets are most in the OVC. She also ranks third in saves with 52 in the campaign.
Notes:
· Freshman Chloe Barnthouse recorded the 12th hat trick in program history and the first since Julie Mooney accomplished the feat on October 10th, 2014 when the West Bloomfield, Michigan native found the net three times in Murray State's 4-0 victory over Eastern Illinois in the regular-season finale last Tuesday.
· While the order of seeding is slightly different, the OVC's preseason poll correctly predicted the top-four teams in Murray State, SIUE, UT Martin, and SEMO that make up this year's conference tournament field. Murray State received the #1 seed after being voted preseason #1.
· The All-OVC awards, which were announced by the league on Wednesday, saw Murray State land two players on the All-OVC First Team, two players on the All-OVC Second Team, and three players on the league's All-Newcomer Team. The seven total player selections are tied for the most in program history (2008 & 2017), while the six unique individuals that make up those awards are tied with the 2017 team for the second-most in Racer history behind only the 2008 squad that featured eight unique players on the All-OVC teams.
· Izzy Heckman became just the second player in program history to earn the distinction of OVC Defender of the Year with Tara Isbell's 2008 honor being the only other occasion.
· Lodge became just the third coach in program history to don the title of OVC Coach of the Year, joining Beth Acreman (2008) and Jeremy Groves (2015, 2017) as the only Racer coaches to accomplish the feat. The third-year skipper has compiled a 33-14-1 overall record at Murray State, and a 24-6 mark in the OVC to accompany a 2018 OVC Tournament championship and a 2020-21 OVC regular-season title.
· The Racers have won ten-straight matches against OVC opponents at home, turning in a perfect conference home record for the second-straight season. The last time they fell at home came In a 1-0 defeat to Eastern Kentucky on October 21st, 2018
· Senior Rebecca Kubin's goal against Southeast Missouri on April 2nd was her 26th in a Racer uniform as she takes over sole possession of the #5 spot on Murray State's all-time scoring list. She passed Jackie Thomas' (2000-03) 25 to break into the top five.
· For the Racers, this year's OVC title is their fifth (2008, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020-21) regular-season crown in program history. They are also chasing their fifth tournament crown, having won the tournament in 2009, 2015, 2017, and 2018. This year marks their 16th OVC Tournament appearance, and they hold a 12-9-2 record in conference tournament games.
· Sophomore Lauren Payne is now 2-2 from the penalty spot on the season after converting for the game-winning goal on March 23rd against Tennessee Tech. Only two players in program history have made more than two penalty kicks in a season, with Theresa Reedy and Abby Jones each recording three apiece in 2004 and 2018 respectively.
· Eight different Racers, including two true freshmen, have scored a goal this season for Murray State.
· The Racers reached a program-record 20th in the nation in the NCAA's RPI rankings on April 5th.
· Dating back to last season, the Racers have scored a goal in 15 consecutive matches.
· Racers have gotten nine combined goals from two true freshmen this season. Chloe Barnthouse has a conference-leading seven on the year, while Hailey Cole has found the net twice.
· Chloe Barnthouse and Lilly Strader have come up clutch in big moments for the Racers this season, as they have combined for five game-winning goals in 2021. Strader delivered the overtime winner against UT Martin on March 9th, and again put away the decisive goals on April 2nd over Southeast Missouri. For Barnthouse, the freshman buried the goal that put the Racers clear of Morehead State in the season opener, locked up three points for her side in a crucial 2-1 road victory over SIUE with her 72nd minute score on March 26th, and then again put the Racers in front with her hat-trick performance in the season finale against Eastern Illinois.
· Abby Jones, who became the Racers' all-time assist leader on March 9th against UT Martin, distanced herself from the #2 spot with two more in the Racers' 3-1 win against Belmont earlier in the year as the junior from Powell, Ohio recorded the 23rd and 24th assists of her career.
