Redhawks fight off bus lag

~ Southeast defeated Western Kentucky 2-0 after returning from a long road trip

Southeast Missouri State soccer coach Heather Nelson found it understandable that the Redhawks came out somewhat sluggish for Sunday afternoon's game.

About 30 hours earlier, the Redhawks had returned to Cape Girardeau following a bus ride of nearly 600 miles from Friday night's match at Northwestern (La.) State.

"We were on the bus 11 hours," Nelson said. "We got back at 8 a.m. [Saturday]."

The Redhawks shook off their sluggish start Sunday, pulling away from a scoreless halftime tie to beat visiting Western Kentucky 2-0.

"We were a little bit tired, but we got our energy back [in the second half] and played well," said freshman midfielder Ali Bauer, who scored one of Southeast's goals.

Southeast, bouncing back from Friday's 2-0 loss, improved to 5-3. Western Kentucky fell to 4-2.

"They're a very good squad, and it's a great win for us," Nelson said. "It's even better when you consider all that time on the bus.

"I told them it's a real opportunity to show the kind of character we have."

Neither side created strong scoring chances in the first half, but Southeast began to press the action in the final period and had by far the best opportunities.

Nelson said that's a credit to the Redhawks' fitness level. She believes they wore down the Hilltoppers.

"I just think we're a pretty fit group," Nelson said. "We took better care of the ball [in the second half] and our pressure was fairly high."

Southeast finally broke through with 19 minutes, 41 seconds left as junior midfielder Mabel Velarde scored her third goal of the season, unassisted.

Velarde made a nice move to beat a defender near the right corner. It appeared she was at a bad angle, but Velarde managed to put the ball into the net.

"I was very excited about the goal," said Velarde, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference's all-newcomer team last year.

Of Southeast's strong second half, Velarde said: "I think we played as a team."

Nelson said Velarde "strikes the ball as well as anybody on our team."

The Redhawks added a highlight-reel insurance goal with just 2:03 remaining.

Freshman midfielder Kelly Goehring made a run down the left side, then crossed the ball into the center of the field.

Fellow freshman Bauer, racing in, timed her header perfectly and found the net.

"The header was great by both players," Nelson said.

It was Bauer's second goal of the season, while Goehring recorded her second assist.

"[Goehring] played a great ball through," Bauer said. "I was just trying to get a piece of it. I'm happy it turned out the way it did."

Freshman goalkeeper Kristen Starkey needed to make only one save in her third shutout of the year. The final shot total was even at 9-9.

The Redhawks will have nearly two weeks off before their next game, Sept. 25 at Washington University in St. Louis. Southeast then begins OVC play Sept. 27 at home against Eastern Illinois.

"We told them essentially we have two weeks off and they need to give us everything they have," Nelson said. "We're pretty banged up, so the layoff will be good for us."