OTAHKIAN SOCCER LOOKS TO BUILD ON FIRST VICTORY

Southeast Missouri State University's first-year women's soccer team will look to remain undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend.

Fresh off recording their first-ever victory, the Otahkians will host Tennessee Tech at 1 p.m. Sunday at Houck Stadium.

The Otahkians, 1-5-1 overall and 1-0-1 in OVC play, are in second place in the league standings. Tennessee Tech, 2-11 overall, is 1-2 in OVC play, good for fourth place in the six-team league.

Eastern Illinois leads the OVC with a 3-0 mark.

In an earlier non-conference match at Tennessee Tech, the Otahkians lost 2-0.

"The match at Tennessee Tech was our worst performance of the year," said Southeast coach Heather Nelson. "The team is very excited about playing at Houck Stadium and I know they want another shot at Tech.

"It should be a good match. It is exciting to be in a conference race in our first year as a team."

Southeast beat Morehead State 2-1 last Sunday as freshman Courtney Britt scored both goals. Britt was selected as the OVC co-soccer player of the week for that performance.

Former Cape Girardeau Central High School standout Nichole Thiele assisted on one of the goals against Morehead State and she ranks second in OVC scoring with an average of 1.33 points per game.

Otahkian goalkeeper Beth Guccione leads the OVC in saves per game with 9.17, which ranks her eighth nationally in NCAA Division I.

Cross country in St. Louis

The Southeast women's cross country team, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division I Midwest Region, will compete Saturday in the All Missouri/Border States Championship at Forest Park in St. Louis.

More than 30 teams are expected to participate in the 5,000-meter race that begins at 10 a.m.

Southeast coach Joey Haines expects the Otahkians and Southern Illinois-Carbondale to battle for the team title. SIU is ranked sixth in the Midwest Region.

Last week, the Otahkians finished fourth in the Saluki Invitational that was won by host SIU.

"SIU has a very good team, but we will take another shot at them this week," said Haines.

Saturday's meet, hosted by Washington University, will include most of Missouri's Division II schools. Other Division I teams in the meet will be DePaul and St. Louis.

Softball nabs academic award

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association has recognized the Southeast softball team as one of the top Division I academic squads in the nation, naming the Otahkians as one of ten NFCA All-Academic teams.

The NFCA recognizes the top All-Academic teams based on the cumulative team grade-point averages submitted by NFCA member head coaches for the 1998-99 school year.

Southeast ranked 10th with a 3.299 GPA. Belmont is first at 3.523. Another Ohio Valley Conference squad, Morehead State, is eighth at 3.320.

Last season, the Otahkians went 31-17, winning both the OVC regular-season and tournament championships and advancing to the NCAA regionals.