The University of Evansville women’s soccer team dropped its regular season opener to Southeast Missouri State University, 2-0, on Friday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
The Purple Aces were able to stymie SEMO in the first half as the Redhawks fired six shots with a pair of them on-goal that freshman goalkeeper Michaela Till saved.
SEMOÂ posed its first threat in the seventh minute as Esmie Gonzalez looped a free kick from the top of the box over the wall. Till jumped and tipped the ball just over the crossbar to preserve the scoreless tie.
Early in the second half, SEMO found its breakthrough in the 52nd minute as Paige Blankenheim took a shot just beyond the top of the box and slipped it into the back of the net to give the Redhawks a 1-0 advantage.
The Aces threatened in the 73rd minute when senior Montana Portenier took a shot from distance that was saved by Redhawks goalkeeper Kindra Lierz. Just four and a half minutes later, SEMOÂ gained some breathing room as Maddy Cornell scored from the top left corner of the box to provide the Redhawks with a 2-0 lead.
In the match, SEMO out-shot the Aces 13-3 with a 6-1 advantage on shots on goal.
“We had effort. Which is what we were talking about, trying to fight and organize things and just make sure we pressured them and I think we did that for the most part,” said Aces head coach Krista McKendree. “We still have to find a way to keep (the ball) a little bit more whenever we do win it, but obviously we’re learning in the back and that’s what we’re working on.”
