SIUE (5-0-0, 5-0-0 OVC) at Southeast Missouri (5-0-0, 5-0-0 OVC)
Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2021
First Kick: 6 p.m., CT
Location: Houck Field, Cape Girardeau, Missouri
All-Time Series: SEMO leads 8-4-1
Last Meeting: Nov. 8, 2019 (W 2-1) | OVC Tournament Semifinals | Houck Field
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game Notes: Game Notes
BATTLE OF THE UNBEATENS
The Southeast Missouri Redhawks are entering Tuesday's contest at 5-0-0, joining SIUE as the only two undefeated teams in the
Ohio Valley Conference. SEMO finished the 2019 season with a 11-5-1 record, going 8-1-1 in OVC play. The Redhawks won the 2019 OVC Regular Season Championship.
SIUE and SEMO will meet for the 15th time on Tuesday. The Redhawks hold a 8-4-2 lead in the all-time series. Last season, SIUE and the Redhawks split the series, with SEMO taking the regular season meeting and the Cougars taking down No. 1 seed SEMO, 2-1, in the 2019 OVC Tournament.
THREE'S COMPANY
Goalkeeper
Taylor Spiller and the Cougar backline have been nothing short of formidable during SIUE's last three matches, as neither squad could muster a goal against the Red & White. In total, the Cougars have outscored their opponents 10-0 over the last two weeks of OVC play.
TOP OF THE TABLE
The Cougars have continued their outstanding run of form through the opening half of the Spring 2021 season, standing alongside Southeast Missouri (5-0) as the only two programs that are unbeaten heading into Tuesday's contest.
A LOOK BACK
The Cougars enter the Spring 2021 season coming off a 10-5-5 season in 2019, including a 5-2-3 record in Ohio Valley Conference play. SIUE's success in the regular season earned them a spot in the OVC Tournament, where they fell to Belmont in a heartbreaking penalty shootout to decide the conference championship.
RETURNING TALENT
A number of key contributors from last season will be returning in 2021, including OVC Player to Watch and the Cougars' leading goal scorer in 2019, MacKenzie Litzsinger. Also returning will be goalkeeper Jensen Schoch and midfielder Andrea Frerker, who boasted the team's third-highest points total last season.
FRESH FACES
The program will also welcome four newcomers to the squad:
- Sidney Christopher, a forward/midfielder from New Baden, Illinois, who played at O'Fallon High School and Saint Louis Scott Gallagher prior to arriving at SIUE
- Matea Diekema, a midfielder from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and younger sister of Cougar senior Myah Diekema
- Jay Viola, a forward/midfielder from St. Peter's, Missouri, who led Francis Howell Central High School with 21 points and 10 goals scored as a senior, including three game-winning goals
- Mary Wessel, a defender from Waterloo, Illinois, who tallied seven points on three goals and an assist as a senior at Althoff Catholic High School in nearby Belleville, Illinois
THE SEASON AHEAD
The OVC announced that women's soccer teams would play a 10-match conference-only schedule in Spring 2021, followed by a four-team tournament to determine the OVC champion. The schedule will use a round-robin format in which teams will play against every other team in the conference once.
