The Murray State soccer team kept OVC playoff hopes alive when they defeated Jacksonville State Friday afternoon but suffered a crushing defeat two days later, ending their shot at an OVC Tournament berth.
The Racers (4-11-0, 2-6-0 OVC) scored early in the second half Friday afternoon against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks (10-6-2, 3-4-1 OVC) to break the tie. Freshman forward Megg Hudson scored her third goal of the season in the 49th minute when she headed freshman forward Racheal Foxley’s pass into the back of the net.
The lead wouldn’t last however as Jacksonville State turned up the offensive pressure and scored with three minutes left in the game to send it into overtime.
Murray State battled back however and senior defender Veronika Pribyslavsk sent the Gamecocks packing, scoring her seventh goal of the season with only a minute left in the first overtime period and giving the Racers a thrilling victory.
“It was kind of hectic in front of the goal,” Pribyslavsk said. “I got kind of lucky but it doesn’t matter how you score the goal, as long as it goes in.”
The Racers moved on to play Tennessee Tech (5-10-1, 3-5-0 OVC) Sunday afternoon in a must win game. Sophomore midfielder Julie Mooney put Murray State on the board first in the 22nd minute with an unassisted goal.
The lead wouldn’t last long though as the Golden Eagles tied the game up again just two minutes later. They would take the lead just seconds before the second half and wouldn’t relinquish it.
Murray State outshot Tennessee Tech 15-9 and had a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks but couldn’t finish their offensive opportunities, eventually losing to the Golden Eagles ending their hopes of postseason soccer.
The Racers return to Cutchin Field for the last two games of the season at 3 p.m. Friday to face Eastern Kentucky and 1 p.m. Sunday to play Morehead State for senior day.
Nick Dolan, Staff Writer