SEMO soccer suffers first conference loss

The SEMO women’s soccer team fell to fellow Ohio Valley Conference member Eastern Illinois by a score of 0-2 on Sunday at Houck Stadium. With the loss, the Redhawks are now 4-3-1 overall and 0-1-1 in the OVC after drawing with Western Illinois last week.

Southeast head coach Heather Nelson was not pleased with how the team played considering how well the non-conference schedule went.

“It was a disappointing performance for us compared to how we had been playing non-conference,” Nelson said.

The first half was seemingly all SEMO if one were to look at just the stats, the Redhawks outshot the Panthers 6-1, forced the EIU goalkeeper to save more shots on goal, had one more corner kick than the Panthers and fouled less than the opposition. Although SEMO had plenty of chances they just could not find the back of the net. Nelson said the Redhawks as a whole made the game hard on themselves but remains optimistic as the season keeps rolling.

“Just get back to work, we need to take care of the little things and we need to make sure that we grind right through to the finish of games,” Nelson said.

The second half remained in SEMO’s favor as their numbers remained better than Eastern Illinois but the Panthers were able to find enough gaps to score their two goals. The first came in the 65th minute when Redhawks sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink collided with a Panthers forward which resulted in a foul on Southeast and in turn gave EIU a penalty kick.

Elfrink had to return to the sideline due to a head injury, however she would later return, so freshman goalkeeper Madison Geisler came in for the PK but Panthers sophomore Cami Lummus was able to put it by her for the 1-0 lead.

The second came in the 77th minute when EIU freshman Alex Tetteh took a shot from about 40 yards out and was able to put it over Elfrink’s head into the net for the 2-0 victory.

Despite the loss, there was some happiness as the team was able to honor former Redhawks player Meg Herndon. Meg Herndon was a left defender from Fenton, Missouri who was involved in a car accident on her way to campus during her senior year in 2012. Meg, unfortunately, passed away after an 11-day fight in the hospital but was able to give the ultimate gift in the form of organ and tissue donation.

Each year Meg’s family and the SEMO women’s soccer team give out the Meghan Herndon Memorial Scholarship, which goes to a member of the team each year. To be eligible, the student must have a GPA of 3.5, a commitment to earn a nursing or health sciences degree and demonstrate community service. Coach Nelson is always very proud that the team is able to do this to keep Meg’s memory and legacy alive.

“This is one of my favorite days of our season to be able to remember her honor, her memory and get to spend quality time with her family,” Nelson said.

SEMO will head on a two-game road trip to take on both Lindenwood and SIUE before returning to Houck Stadium on Oct. 5 to take on Little Rock at 6 p.m.