SEMO soccer draws Little Rock

The SEMO women’s soccer team fought for a 1-1 draw against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Thursday at Houck Stadium. This result brings the Redhawks to 6-3-3 overall and 2-1-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play and into a tie with Morehead State for second place in the standings.

The game was a tooth-and-nail fight until the end, with the teams being neck-and-neck in almost every statistic. Redhawks sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink was forced to make more saves than the Trojans keeper, but for the most part did a good of job of keeping the scorecard clean.

The Redhawks' goal was scored in the 19th minute when sophomore forward/midfielder Cayla Koerner crossed the middle of the field, through the defense and into the box before shooting the ball past the keeper with her left foot. Koerner said the goal was worked hard for by the entire team so it was nice to see it go in.

“When I first scored it, I just thought of all the effort it took all the way from the back to the front,” Koerner said. “It was just awesome because everyone was involved in that goal.”

The second half was more of the same, neither team able to further their lead or tie for 35 of the 45 minutes. The Trojans were able to break through for the tie in the 80th minute when junior forward Abbie Smith scored off the assist by junior defender Mykena Turner. SEMO head coach Heather Nelson was pleased with the way her team played, even if it was not the best result possible.

“I thought we had a really solid performance tonight and I thought we were locked in and defending as a team, pressurizing as a team and created a number of dangerous opportunities,” Nelson said. “I just wish the goalposts had been on our side tonight.”

The Redhawks will be back in action on Sunday at Morehead State University in Kentucky to take on the Eagles at 12 p.m.