Story by Gage Johnson
Sports Editor
A 90-minute thriller at Cutchin Field ended with the Murray State soccer team unable to avenge its 2018 loss to the University of Mississippi, falling 5-4 thanks to a penalty goal in the 62nd minute.
It didn’t take long for the Racers to find the back of the net, as senior forward Miyah Watford found senior forward Emma Heise with a cross in the box for her first goal of the season.
Murray State put another in the books in the 17th minute when Watford gave them a 2-0 lead with a goal off the lower left post.
However, when it seemed that the Racers had all the momentum early on, Ole Miss had other ideas.
Less than a minute later, junior forward and Murray native Channing Foster scored on a penalty kick to make it a 2-1 Racer lead. The Rebels struck again with a goal from junior forward Maddison Pezzino, knotting things up at 2-2.
Murray State responded almost immediately, as Watford scored her second goal of the game with a second shot attempt after her first shot attempt on goal was saved. This put the Racers up 3-2 in the 29th minute of the game.
This offensive output from Watford is nothing new, as this marks her sixth goal in just as many games this season. Head Coach Matt Lodge knows that Watford is going to give her all out on the field game in and game out.
“She’s going to do that week in and week out,” Watford said. “We can allow her to do that. If we defend the right way, she can win us games.”
The back-and-forth affair continued in the 31st, as senior midfielder Julia Phillips found the left side of the net with a header off of an Ole Miss corner kick to tie things up at 3.
Shortly before halftime, the intensity of the game picked up and it continued into the second half. The physical playing style from both sides led to another penalty kick for the Racers in the 56th minute, and sophomore forward Abby Jones took advantage for her second goal of the season.
The Racers held their 4-3 for all of six minutes, as Phillips notched her second goal of the game in the 60th minute and sophomore midfielder Haleigh Stackpole gave the Rebels a 5-4 lead with a penalty kick goal.
Murray State fired off five more shots in the second half of play, but was unable to match Ole Miss before time expired. This 5-4 loss put the Racers at 2-4 and marks the end of the toughest two-game stretch on their schedule.
While it wasn’t the outcome they wanted, Lodge knows that this toe-to-toe battle with a talented SEC team like Ole Miss will pay off as the season progresses.
“The two teams we played this weekend are beyond anything in our conference athletically,” Lodge said. “I know to lose two of these games so closely is kind of disappointing, but I know we’re in a good spot. I believe in my squad still and we’re going to get ready for next weekend.”
Murray State will begin to wrap up its non-conference portion of the schedule at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sep. 13, against Arkansas State at Cutchin Field.
