SEMO Soccer lost 1-0 to the SIU Salukis on Thursday, August 22nd.
The first half was characterized by a battle for possession in midfield, accompanied by physical confrontations, as there were six fouls and two yellow cards in the first half.
With 20 minutes left in the first half, the Salukis had a chance to score. They shot the ball inside the 16-yard box, but the shot bounced off the crossbar, so the score remained goalless until the second half.
The second half began largely like the first: both teams fought for possession of the ball and created scoring opportunities.
The Salukis made their breakthrough with 25 minutes left in the second half. After the Redhawks failed to clear a cross into the box, the ball fell to the feet of a Salukis striker who put it into the net.
Nevertheless, the Redhawks continued to push forward and looked for an opportunity to equalize. They created chances with a mixture of build-up play and through balls.
With 21 minutes left in the second half, SEMO had a chance to equalize. A through ball over the defense was played to midfielder Justi Nelson, who rounded the goalkeeper and shot, but her shot was cleared off the line by a defender, giving the Salukis a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, the Redhawks had another shot on goal when senior midfielder Elizabeth Rater fired a shot from outside the 16-yard box that the goalkeeper saved.
Despite increasing pressure from the Redhawks, the Salukis defense was able to secure a 1-0 win.
Although the Redhawks lost, head coach Heather Nelson was not disappointed with her team’s performance, but rather encouraged.
“It was a marked improvement from our first two games. It shows we have a lot to build on. We’re still very young, we’ve lost half of our starting players and we’re three games in, so it’s going to be a process. We’ve got to embrace it and maybe learn the hard way,” Nelson said.
Junior forward and player of the game Cayla Koerner echoed coach Nelson’s sentiments, saying this game was a step in the right direction and just needed some finishing touches.
“I think we held up really well in midfield, but we just didn’t manage to do it up front. We were really close a few times, we had three shots on goal, we just had to take advantage of those shots and capitalize,” said Koerner.
Veteran midfielder Elizabeth Rater mentioned that the Redhawks could improve in certain areas to better prepare for their next game.
“(We could) definitely still work on changing the pitch, especially getting our forwards to check back and be able to get through all the thirds, not just them in the final third, and take advantage of our opportunities,” Rater said.
The Redhawks’ next game is on Sunday, September 1st at 1 p.m. against the Indiana State University Sycamores.
