A second half-outburst, in which four different players scored goals for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, lifted the Cougars to a 5-2 win over Murray State Friday in Ohio Valley Conference women’s soccer at Cutchin Field.
SIUE improved to 8-3-3 overall and 2-2-1 in the OVC. Murray State fell to 4-7-1 overall and 1-4-0 in the OVC.
Murray State led 2-1 at halftime, before an unfortunate turn helped to spark the Cougars. Senior Sarah Doggendorf went down with a right knee injury and didn’t return to the game.
“It’s kind of weird how things go,” SIUE Head Coach Derek Burton said. “The spark kind of happened before (Sarah) left. And she was a big part of it. She was putting pressure on their back line.”
Minutes after Doggendorf went out, Erin DiGiovanni tied the score with her second goal of the season at the 62:05 mark. DiGiovanni got her head on a pass from Kourtney Price, who took a free kick from 40 yards away and served the long pass into the center of the penalty area.
Just 24 seconds later, Tory Pitts found Marissa Delgado with a throw-in from the right side. The sophomore finished for the first goal of her career to make it 3-2 SIUE.
Price made it a two-goal cushion for the Cougars in the 68th minute with another free kick. This time Price buried the kick from five yard inside SIUE’s offensive end, driving a shot over Murray State goalkeeper Savanmah Haberman.
Pitts netted her own goal, her third of the year, in the 79th minute on an assist from Alexandra Johnson.
“We talked today and we’ve talked about it in the past,” Burton said. “We bounced back after they scored one goal, and certainly in the final 45 minutes. We got rewarded for sticking with plays today.”
In a first half that featured 21 shots, it was the Racers who grabbed an early advantage.
Murray State took the lead in the 19th minute thanks to a goal by Lauren Frazier. Lyssie Wright assisted on the goal with a through pass to Frazier, who slipped in behind the SIUE defense. Frazier scored past SIUE goalkeeper Jennifer Pelley with a shot to Pelley’s left.
It was Doggendorf who netted the equalizer for the SIUE just over four minutes later.
Michelle Auer got the ball out wide on the right wing. Auer then crossed the ball into Doggendorf, who buried the shot from the top of the box. The goal was the first of the year for the Cougar forward, and the second of her career.
Julie Mooney put the Racers back on top in the 29th minute. Mooney’s original shot was saved by Pelley, who popped it up in the air in front of the goal. With no one else in the area, Mooney was able to follow the shot and tap in the go ahead-score from just outside the goal. Kenzie Downey assisted on the goal for the Racers.
Pelley finished with six saves and earned her eighth win of the year. For the game, the Cougars outshot the Racers 25-14.
SIUE remains on the road to take on Austin Peay, who owns the best overall record in the OVC. The Lady Govs were 8-1-2 entering the weekend.
“Hopefully today is a sign of things to come,” Burton added. “We certainly have a good feeling going into Sunday against a very good Austin Peay team.”
