For the first time in a decade, Morehead State Soccer has been crowned Ohio Valley Conference champions. The second-seeded Eagles defeated host and top seed Tennessee Tech 1-0 in the full 110-minute double-overtime match Sunday to win the OVC Tournament title.
MSU (9-5-5) earned the OVC's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, the first berth for MSU since 2013 and the fourth overall tournament championship since 2008. The NCAA selection show, where MSU's first-round opponent will be revealed, is at 4 p.m. ET Monday on NCAA.com.
Freshman Michelle Hochstadt's first career goal proved to be monumental and the match winner. After the teams battled to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes of regulation, Hochstadt scored at 92:32. The defense then held TTU, the OVC's top scoring team out of the net for the final 17+ minutes of overtime.
MSU handed the Golden Eagles their only two losses to conference opponents in 2023, defeating TTU 2-1 in Morehead two weeks ago. The Eagles finished the season with six consecutive victories, the longest success streak since winning seven in a row in 2010.
Fifth-year midfielder Kate Larbes, who scored the match winner versus SEMO Thursday, was voted Most Valuable Player of the tournament, the fourth Eagle all-time to be named MVP. MSU also had three others on the all-tournament team with Anna Lohrer, Avery Redmon and Erin Gibbs.
In a physical match, the OVC's top teams were whistled for a combined 30 fouls. TTU held a slight edge in shots 16-14. But Gibbs stopped five Golden Eagle attempts for her ninth shutout of the season, which is ranked second on the program single-season chart.