Keeper Aubuchon breaks Southeast record for saves

Senior night for the Southeast Missouri State soccer team couldn't have gone much better.

The Redhawks posted a 1-0 victory over SIU Edwardsville at Houck Stadium Friday and also clinched a berth in next month's Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Southeast, which won its third straight during a four-game homestand, improved to 7-5-3 overall and 5-1-2 in OVC play.

The Redhawks, 7-1-2 in their last 10 matches, remained fourth in the 11-team conference with two games remaining. The top six finishers qualify for the league tournament.

Seniors Ashton Aubuchon, Jacey Boyko, Stephanie Palmer and Amy Ward were recognized prior to the match. All four started and were on the field for more than 30 minutes Friday, have been key performers for the Redhawks the past several years.

Aubuchon had an especially eventful night as she broke assistant coach Lindsay Pickering's career saves record by making five stops. Aubuchon has 232 career saves.

"Overall it was a nice bonus for Southeast Missouri when Ashton committed to play for us and graduated early [from Hazelwood West High School in St. Louis] to do so," Southeast coach Heather Nelson said in a release. "She was the youngest player in NCAA soccer when she came on campus as a freshman. She earned all-conference honors and had an excellent career.

"It's fitting for her to leave with a place in the record books and to break this record on senior night."

After a scoreless first half, Southeast finally got the game's lone goal with 15 minutes, 48 seconds remaining when St. Vincent graduate Storm French scored on an assist from junior Breana Beine and Jennifer Antonacci.

It was the second goal of the season for French.

"That was a really pretty play," Nelson said. "Jenny's left-footed ball was the most difficult part of the play and she hit her spot. Bre was shot out of a cannon and made a nice pass to Storm."

The Cougars (10-4-3, 4-3-1) finished with a 13-6 advantage in shots, but just a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.

"The team put together a strong performance tonight," Nelson said. "We were performing at our best by the time the second half rolled around. There were a number of opportunities that weren't shots that we could've scored on as well."

Aubuchon notched her sixth shutout of the season and 21st of her career, second all-time at Southeast behind Pickering's 28.

Southeast plays its final regular-season home match today at 1 p.m. when second-place Eastern Illinois visits.

Volleyball

Southeast came close Friday night but failed to end visiting Morehead State's long conference winning streak.

The Redhawks rallied from a two-set deficit before the Eagles pulled out a 25-19, 25-17, 22-25, 15-25, 15-6 victory.

Three-time defending OVC regular-season champion Morehead State posted its 31st consecutive league victory for the nation's longest active conference winning streak. That streak was extended to 32 Saturday with a victory at Tennessee-Martin.

The Eagles are 19-6 overall and 10-0 in OVC play while Southeast fell to 13-12 and 5-5.

Senior Colleen Yarber and junior Andrea Baylin each had 10 kills for Southeast. Senior Berkley Idel led in digs with 21 while Baylin added 16.

Southeast returns to action Tuesday, visiting nonconference opponent Missouri State. The Redhawks' next OVC match is Friday at SIU Edwardsville.

-- From staff reports