EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer had its 2024 season come to an end Sunday afternoon at Strassweg Field following a 2-1 loss to Morehead State University in the Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament quarterfinals.
Sunday’s battle was an electrifying, competitive match between the fifth-seeded Morehead State Eagles (9-6-5, 4-3-2 OVC) and the fourth-seeded Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles (5-9-5, 4-2-3 OVC). USI drew Morehead State in the quarterfinal matchup after Morehead State defeated No. 8 seed University of Tennessee at Martin, 1-0, in the first round on Thursday.
Southern Indiana struck for an early goal as they did a week ago against Western Illinois University. The high pressure by USI forced a Morehead State turnover. Junior midfielder Peyton Murphy was able to get a tap onto the ball up to redshirt freshman Eva Boer. Boer took it the rest of the way and put the ball into the net to give USI a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute. It was Boer’s third goal of the season to tie for the team lead.
Just past the 20-minute mark of the first half, Morehead State pushed into the attacking third and had a series of corner kicks. The USI defense remained solid with a few blocks and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland snagged three saves during the stretch. The game remained 1-0 USI into the late stretch of the opening half.
With less than two minutes until halftime, junior forward Peyton Seymour almost doubled USI’s lead with a quality opportunity. Seymour received the ball in the box and turned toward the net, but her shot missed just to the left of the goal. Southern Indiana’s 1-0 advantage carried into the intermission.
Morehead State came out of the break with pressure into the attacking third. The visiting Eagles capitalized on a shot from the top of the box that snuck under the crossbar for the game-tying goal in the 55th minute to knot the match at 1-1.
Later in the second half, Southern Indiana had a run with breakaway opportunities, but three offsides in a five-minute span halted those chances. While Morehead State’s goalkeeper smothered a pair of other chances in one-on-one situations, USI nearly had a prime opportunity in the 84th minute when Boer received a cross about 12 yards into the box. However, Morehead State’s defense made it difficult for Boer to make a clean turn and put enough power behind a shot, leading to a keeper save.
Morehead State scored the game-winning goal and took the 2-1 lead with two and a half minutes left on a header off a corner kick. USI looked to respond with one last attempt to even the match again when another breakaway chance resulted in a wide shot and ending the match with the final whistle.
With Sunday’s result, Morehead State advanced to the OVC tournament semifinals to face No. 1 seed Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee Thursday afternoon.
Statistically, Southern Indiana had 10 shots with five on goal Sunday afternoon. Morehead State totaled 15 shots with nine on target. Morehead State also had an 11-2 advantage in corner kicks. Individually, Boer and junior midfielder Emerson Grafton led USI with three shots and two on goal in the contest. Between the posts, Markland corralled seven saves.
The Screaming Eagles finished year three of their D-I transition with their third straight appearance in the OVC tournament and a second consecutive season as a quarterfinal host as the No. 4 seed. USI also set new program marks in its D-I era with four OVC wins, 15 points in the conference season, and 20 goals scored this season.
Next, USI Women’s Soccer will turn its attention to preparing for the 2025 season. USI fans can stay up-to-date with the latest at usiscreamingeagles.com or follow USI Athletics on social media.
