Southeast soccer

Earlier this month the Southeast Missouri State University soccer team's season ended with a tough 2-1 loss to Morehead State in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

The Redhawks were the OVC regular-season champion and hosted the six-team league tournament -- yet another big event over a weekend that saw the state's high school volleyball championships also held in Cape Girardeau.

Senior forward Jessie Crabtree scored the lone goal for the Redhawks in the first half. Morehead State tied the game in the final period and netted the game-winning goal with less than a minute left in regulation play.

Morehead State lost to UT-Martin in the tournament's championship game. The Skyhawks, making their first trip to the NCAA tournament, went on to lose in the opening round to No. 4 ranked Memphis.

Among those selected to the nine-player OVC tournament team were Southeast senior defender Shona Goodwin and junior defender Hayley Abbott.

The seniors who played in their final soccer game for Southeast learned valuable lessons on the field during their collegiate careers. Traits exhibited in soccer -- hard work, perseverance and commitment, among others -- will help shape their decisions and success going forward in life.

Though the Redhawks season stopped short of what players, coaches and fans had hoped, Southeast should be proud of its success this year. We certainly are.