CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. -- A goal in the 70th minute proved to be the match-winner as Southeast Missouri took down Morehead State, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at Houck Stadium.

The Ohio Valley Conference loss dropped MSU to 1-11-2 overall and 1-4-1 in league action, while the Skyhawks improved to 4-9-3 and 3-3-1 in the OVC.

Sophomore Elizabeth McSparin led the Eagles with one goal and two shots on goal.

MSU outshot the Redhawks, 14-8, in the contest, while SEMO had the 2-1 edge in corners.

“This was a vast improvement from our match on Friday,” Head Coach Warren Lipka said. “We were unlucky and battled but didn’t get the result.”

The Eagles’ persistent offense in the first half paid off when sophomore Paige Weber found herself with the ball off a free kick from freshman Kelsey Gomez. Weber gained possession, turned and found McSparin waiting at the top of the 18-yard box. After a quick touch, McSparin split several defenders with a shot and found the inside of the post for her second goal of the season.

It didn’t take long for the Redhawks to respond, however. Junior Jacey Boyko played a dangerous ball into the box that forced freshman goalkeeper Elizabeth Floyd off her line. After a collision at the top of the box, freshman Storm French found herself in front of an open goal and converted on a shot from about 10 yards out.

The second half started in the Redhawk’s favor when they struck 25 minutes in. A cross from the right side found the head of Sophomore Torey Byrd and was placed inside the far post, for the go-ahead goal.

Despite, once again, having the edge in shots, MSU could not mount a comeback.

“Our team seems to make one or two mistakes and not get away with it,” Lipka added. “Other teams make three or four and they come away with the result. We should have been rewarded today, but there’s still plenty of season left and we have to learn how to win.”

Morehead State returns to Jayne Stadium next weekend for a pair of OVC matches. On Friday, the Eagles host Eastern Illinois for a 7 p.m. ET kick-off, and finish the weekend on Sunday against SIU Edwardsville at 1 p.m. Visit MSUEagles.com for live stats of both matches and OVCDigitalNetwork.com for a live stream of Sunday’s match.
 

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