Morehead, Ky. – After winning a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title, the Morehead State soccer team enter this weekend’s OVC tournament as the top overall seed as well as the defending tournament champions. MSU will host the tournament with all games being played at Jayne Stadium. The Eagles await the winner of Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois and will play Friday at 5 pm. TTU and EIU open the tournament when they battle Thursday at 5.
THE OVC RACE: Morehead State (5-0-3) and UT Martin (6-2) finished the regular season tied atop the OVC standings, both earning 18 points on the year. MSU defeated UT Martin in the regular season matchup, which earned them the number one overall seed in this weekend’s tournament. Both the Eagles and the Skyhawks earned first round buys. Murray State finished the season in third place with 16 points and was followed by Tennessee Tech and Eastern Illinois, in fourth and fifth respectively. Eastern Kentucky finished the season in sixth to claim the final spot in the OVC tournament.
HOMECOOKIN’: By earning a share of the OVC regular season title and claiming the top seed, MSU will have the home field advantage for this weekend’s tournament. All the games will be played at Jayne Stadium. Morehead State holds a record of 5-3-3 at home this season, including a 2-0-2 mark in OVC matches.
TOURNEY SCHEDULE: The 2009 OVC Soccer Tournament kicks off on Thursday evening when fourth seeded Tennessee Tech battles fifth seeded Eastern Illinois at 5 p.m. Third seeded Murray State will face sixth seeded Eastern Kentucky at 8 p.m. MSU will face the winner of the TTU-EIU matchup at 5 p.m. on Friday, while UT Martin will play the winner of the Murray State-EKU game at 8 p.m. on Friday. The championship game will be Sunday at 1 p.m.
TOURNEY COVERAGE: All five of this weekend’s tournament games will be streamed live on ovcsports.tv. They will also be covered through live stats and the links to all coverage as well as other tournament information can be found on the OVC Tournament Central webpage: http://www.msueagles.com/sports/2009/11/2/OVCSoccer.aspx?id=30
MSU IN THE OVC TOURNAMENT: This is the sixth time Morehead State has qualified for the OVC soccer tournament. After winning the championship last season, MSU’s all-time OVC tournament record stands at 5-5.
ABOUT THE EAGLES: Morehead State enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-6-4 and an OVC record of 5-0-3. The Eagles have not played since they tied SEMO 1-1 on Oct. 23 and defeated Eastern Illinois 1-0 in overtime on Oct. 25. MSU is led by All-OVC first team midfielder
Lindsay Stefanini (0 goals, 1 assist, 20 shots) and second teamers
Lily Meisner (5 shoutouts) at goalkeeper and
Bethany Davidson (3 goals, 4 assists) at midfielder. Freshman forward
Courtney Moriarty was named to the all-newcomer team (1 goal, 1 assist). MSU will also look from offensive contributions from sophomores
Devan Jordan (5 goals, 2 assists),
Jillian Birchmeier (5 goals, 1 assist) and
Sarah Phillip (2 goals, 2 assists). Defensively, junior
Micaela Hornstein and sophomores
Brittany Kiracofe and
Brittany MacLennan have been mainstays in the Eagle’s backline.
BACK OF THE OLD ONIONBAG: The sophomore tandem of Devan Jordan and Jillian Birchmeier has been filling up the nets this year. Jordan and Birchmeier have scored five goals each to lead MSU. Jordan also leads the team in points, adding two assists to total 12 points on the year.
THE WALL: Junior Lily Meisner has been the mainstay in net this season for Morehead State. Meisner has played all but 16 minutes in net for the Eagles on the year. She has racked up five shutouts and has recorded 64 saves. Meisner has been named the OVC Goalkeeper of the Week twice this season (9-15, 10-13). She was named to the All-OVC Second Team for her play this season.
DISHING DAVIDSON: Senior Bethany Davidson has been handing out the helpers this season. She has recorded four assists to lead the Eagles. Davidson also netted three goals for 10 points on the season. She earned All-OVC Second-Team honors for her efforts.
WAY TO GO COACH: Head coach
Warren Lipka was named OVC Coach of the Year Wednesday night at the OVC Awards Reception. In his first year on the sidelines at MSU, Lipka has led the Eagles to an 8-6-4 record and a 5-0-3 mark in the OVC. Both records are program bests. Under Lipka's direction, the Eagles also earned the first OVC regular season title in program history.
POUNDING THE BOOKS: Junior goalkeeper Lily Meisner and sophomore forward Jillian Birchmeier have been not only getting it done on the field this season, but have also excelled in the classroom. The teammates were named CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Third Team Academic All-District IV this past week for their achievements both on the field and in the classroom.