EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE women's soccer was eliminated from the Ohio Valley Conference Championships at Korte Stadium Sunday in a thriller that ended with penalty kicks.
After the game ended in a 1-1 overtime tie, seventh-seeded Southeast Missouri advanced to the OVC semifinals over third-seeded SIUE with a 5-4 edge in penalty kicks.
"The game can be cruel. It's emotional and today is an example of just how much our athletes go through," said SIUE Head Coach
Derek Burton. "I feel for them, because they gave everything today and are ending the year with broken hearts. But our team is full of people with drive and heart and we will get back on our feet before too long."
SIUE, which finished the season 5-6-6, opened the scoring at 3:59 when
Sidney Christopher started and finished a play for an early goal. Christopher took a corner kick and moved in toward the goal. She passed on the wing to
Matea Diekema and then
Taryn Moore, who fed Christopher from eight yards out and an open shot.
Both teams battled a wet and cold afternoon at Korte Stadium. The final shot tally was 10-9 SIUE, but Southeast Missouri's biggest shot in regulation came from Alayna Jakul, who scored from eight yards out at 87:38. Neither team scored in overtime, which sent the game to penalty kicks.
Southeast Missouri advanced on PKs 5-4 in the sixth round with Emma Tucker providing the big moment for the Redhawks.
"Our seniors that are moving on are incredible people, outstanding teammates and future leaders that I could not be anymore proud of to be honest," said Burton. "We will miss them as they leave us as three time champions.
