Otahkians deposit late penalty kick for 1-0 win

After Southeast Missouri State University's soccer team had trouble finding the net for most of Friday night's game, Molli Beard made sure she didn't miss.

Beard, a sophomore, scored on a penalty kick with 12:40 remaining in the second half to lift the Otahkians past Tennessee-Martin 1-0 in front of about 125 fans at Houck Stadium. It was Beard's third goal of the season.

The Otahkians improved to 8-3-2 overall and 3-1-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Skyhawks fell to 2-9-2 and 0-5.

"I just try to do the same thing every time on a penalty kick," said Beard, who put a low shot into the right corner of the net. "I usually go to that side."

Beard was taken down in the penalty box after trying to direct a free kick by Heather Reding.

Southeast dominated most of the action and had a 14-2 edge in shots. Keeper Amanda Wrzos was credited with one save in her third shutout of the season.

"It was an important win for us," Southeast coach Heather Nelson said.

The Otahkians host Murray State at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Volleyball falls in five

Southeast's volleyball team saw its three-match winning streak end as visiting Jacksonville State squeezed out a 25-30, 30-25, 30-18, 26-30, 16-14 victory.

Jessica Koeper, Brittany Hastings and Brenna Schlader all had 12 kills for Southeast (4-13, 3-4 OVC). Lauren Scannell led in digs with 21, followed by Jill Miller (17) and Koeper (15). Jamie Baumstark had 41 assists and five aces.

Suzi Terrell led JSU (14-4, 5-2) with 25 kills and Shari Weyer added 18.

Trailing 13-10 in the decisive fifth game, Southeast rallied for a 14-14 tie before JSU scored the next two points.

Southeast hosts Samford at 1 p.m. today.