CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Two overtimes and 110 minutes of play were not enough to decide a victor at Houck Stadium this evening, as The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team tied Southeast Missouri 1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both squads.
With tonight’s result, the Skyhawks (3-4-3) keep their unbeaten streak alive at four matches, having not lost since Sept. 7.
UT Martin outshot Southeast Missouri by a 19-11 margin this evening, putting 13 of its attempts on goal. Kendyl Wilson continued her spectacular senior campaign with her team-high fifth goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Credited with the assist on the play was Dominika Conc, who tied a team-high with her third helper of the 2012 campaign.
Mariah Klenke made four stops tonight in all 110 minutes in goal for UT Martin. The stellar performance lowered her season Goals Against Average to 1.41.
Southeast Missouri got on the scoreboard first, netting a goal on the first shot attempt of the match. Courtney Luehmann scored off a Redhawks’ corner kick opportunity just 1:43 into the match to give Southeast Missouri an early 1-0 lead.
Midori Sera (match-high five shot attempts, four on goal) fired a shot on goal at the 11:06 mark that resulted in the first of 12 saves on the night by Southeast Missouri goalkeeper Renee Kertz.
Klenke came up with a clutch play in the 13th minute, saving a penalty kick attempt by the Redhawks to keep the score at 1-0.
UT Martin’s Hannah McGowen and Conc each kept the pressure on Kertz, putting shots on goals in the 15th and 25th minute, respectively. Klenke was also active early, as she picked up her second save of the evening at the 21:17 mark.
The Skyhawks evened the score at the 32:32 mark, when Wilson found the back of the net for her 11th career goal, which ranks seventh all-time in UT Martin soccer history.
The offensive pace slowed down until the latter stages of the first half when Skyhawk junior Abi Sanvee put on a shot on goal that was saved by Kertz with 1:06 remaining before the break.
In the second half, Kertz accounted for a pair of saves in a span of 27 seconds, with Sanvee and Amy Maksimowicz each generating shots on goal. Sera then placed two straight shots on goal in just under five minutes but Kertz snared both attempts.
Southeast Missouri did not attempt its first shot of the second half until the 73rd minute. A little over three minutes later, Alyssa Curtis found an open space and fired a shot on goal but Kertz was there for the save.
Klenke faced another shot on goal attempt with eight minutes remaining in regulation but she tallied a clutch save to send the match into overtime.
Sera (92nd minute) and Wilson (100th minute) nearly ended the match with shot on goal attempts in the first overtime period but Kertz snared two more saves.
UT Martin junior Mary Thompson fired a shot on goal just 2:09 into the second overtime stanza but Kertz earned the save. Less than 30 seconds later, Klenke corralled a shot attempt from Luehmann for her final stop of the evening. Neither side attempted a shot on goal the rest of the way.
The Skyhawks return home for a pair of OVC matchups this weekend. UT Martin will take on Austin Peay (Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m.) and Murray State (Sunday, Sept. 30 at 2 p.m.) as part of Alumni Weekend for the Skyhawk soccer program.