In a thrilling back-and-forth match, the Morehead State soccer team fell to Murray State, 2-1, in the semifinals of the OVC tournament.
The Eagles and Racers played a physical match, eyeing a potential overtime, but with 30 seconds to go, sophomore forward and OVC Offensive Player of the Year, Harriet Withers, broke free and scored the game winning goal, giving the Racers a 2-1 win.
"We knew we were coming into a game where they had a very powerful attacking team," said head coach Warren Lipka. "We did a great job of fighting, but the final goal was just one of those balls where it deflects off of a player, it finds a seam, and a player runs in to it."
The match remained scoreless until early in the second half, when the Racers took a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute as sophomore forward Aaron Lankaster assisted Withers for the first of her two goals on the afternoon.
From the 57th minute on, the Eagles went on the attack, searching for opportunities. In the 77th minute it was a senior-to-freshman connection that provided the equalizer for Morehead State. Senior defender Teig Palmateer took a free kick from 30 yards out, locating freshman forward Samantha Damante in the box, who knocked in the game-tying goal.
The loss to the Racers (15-4) ends the season for the Eagles (9-11-2), but Lipka believes that his team overcame many obstacles to stand toe-to-toe with Murray State in an elimination game.
"This team stepped up and did a lot of things that many didn't expect them to do. Our seniors brought us to this point. We stuck together and these seniors groomed the younger players to play and compete at this level," he said.
Before Friday afternoon's contest, three Eagles received All-OVC honors. Freshman forward Abby Timm was named the OVC Freshman of the Year, as well as being named to the All-OVC First Team and the All-OVC Newcomer Team. Freshman forward Dani Wilson was named to the All-OVC Second Team and the All-OVC Newcomer Team. Palmateer was named to the All-OVC Second Team.
The OVC All-Tournament Team will be announced on Sunday afternoon after the OVC championship between No.1 Murray State and No. 6 Southeast Missouri.
