EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.  -  With a spot in the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament already in hand, SIUE women's soccer dropped a 2-1 decision to Jacksonville State on Tuesday afternoon.

"Jacksonville State has a good team and hats off to them for a very good performance," said SIUE Head Coach Derek Burton following the match. "They outplayed us early today and made it difficult to get back into it. But we did."

The Gamecocks got out to an early lead, scoring in the 12th minute. JSU would hold that lead into the halftime break, but the Cougars stormed back off the boot of Lily Schnieders. Schnieders took passes from MacKenzie Litzsinger and Kayla Klipsch to net her fifth goal of the season. However, a 77th minute strike from the hosts would end up as the deciding goal and would give the Gamecocks their fourth win of the Spring 2021 season.

"We dug in and fought back, but to allow a goal against the run of play when we had momentum and chance after chance, it's disappointing to say the least," said Burton. "You can't play to not make mistakes, but you can't decrease the risks you take that put us in that situation. It's obviously an area where we need to mature and improve. So that's what we aim to do as we prepare for the OVC Tournament."

SIUE has already secured one of the four spots in the upcoming OVC Tournament. The Cougars will occupy either the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on results from tonight's other OVC matches. Details regarding the Tournament, including opponent, time, and other information, will be made available as soon as possible.

"The upside is nothing from today or any game so far this spring has an impact on our next one," added Burton. "No points, no standings. Just win the game in front of you."