Morehead State Soccer advanced to the semifinals of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament with a 4-2 victory over UT Martin at Skyhawk field Sunday afternoon.
MSU (9-10-2) played comeback early against the Skyhawks (7-11-1), but a resilient senior-led team guided the Eagles to four goals and highlight reel saves throughout the match.
"Everyone contributed today, and I mean everyone. It was a big difference for us," said Head Coach Warren Lipka. "Our defenders stepped up, our attackers played great, our midfield contributed in a big way and everyone played a role today. Because of it, we get to rest and get ready for Murray State."
Perhaps the defining moment of the match came in the 56th minute. With the contest tied at two, the freshmen striking tandem of Abby Timm and Dani Wilson came up big once again for the Eagles. Timm beat the defense with a slicing a pass between two defenders, finding an open Wilson who knocked in her eighth goal of the season. For Timm, it was her fourth assist to go along with her team-high nine goals.
In the 80th minute, the Eagles added an insurance tally from senior defender Teig Palmateer. Off a free kick from twenty-five yards out, Palmateer launched a missile from her right foot.
"There were seven defenders lined up in front of me, and everyone was yelling for me to kick for the goal," said Palmateer. "I looked over at coach, and he gave me the nod to go for it. I did, and it felt great to score in a tournament match."
Palmateer wasn't the only upperclassman to get in the mix, as the Eagles turned to a pair of seniors for their first goal. In the 26th minute, defender Kelsey Gomez drilled a high lead pass to midfielder Kim Golden right in front of the goalkeeper. The 5-foot-11 Golden leaped in the air and struck the ball to her left for a header and an equalizer to tie the contest 1-1.
In the 32nd minute, MSU took the lead from the Skyhawks. Sophomore Taylor Stivers collected a rebound on the left side of the goalkeeper's box. She struck with a furious kick, depositing the ball in the left corner of the net for her first career goal.
UTM got on the board early with a corner kick from freshman midfielder Maggie Burkett in the third minute. From the right corner, she delivered a ball to freshman midfilder Amy McGivern, who placed the ball in the back of the net off a header. The Skyhawks gave up two unanswered goals in the first half, but made it interesting in the second half. Junior forward Saphy Coombs- James evened the contest at the beginning of the second half, knocking a deflection back into the goal in the 49th minute.
With the win, Lipka's Morehead State teams remained undefeated in quarterfinal matches in the OVC tournament. The Eagles will now prepare for No. 1 seed Murray State. The Eagles and Racers will play Friday afternoon at Murray with a start time of 3 p.m. ET.