Rachel Essner
Staff Writer
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Murray State continued their promising season with back-to-back wins against the Florida Atlantic University Owls and the Florida International University Panthers on Friday, Sept. 3 and Sunday, Sept. 5.

The Racers opened the weekend with a 1-0 win against the Owls with a goal from sophomore midfielder Lauren Payne. They followed with a 2-1 win over the Panthers to improve their record to 4-1 on the season. 

Game One

The Murray State soccer team traveled to Boca Raton, Florida, on Friday, Sept. 3 to compete against Florida Atlantic, where the Racers took the win 1-0 and increased their record to 3-1.

A very challenging game left both teams scoreless at the end of the 90 minutes, causing the game to go into overtime. 

Payne scored the lone goal of the game four minutes into the extra time assisted by freshman defender Morgan Bodker, ending the game at 94:39. Payne scored her third goal in three straight games while Bodker tallied her second assist of the season. 

The Owls outshot the Racers 15-9 but were not able to make any hit the net. Junior goalkeeper Jenna Villacres finished the game with three saves for the Racers. 

Payne, graduate defender Izzy Heckman and sophomore forward Chloe Barnthouse each had two shots while graduate forward Rebecca Kubin, sophomore defender Camille Barber and sophomore midfielder Hailey Cole ended with one shot apiece. 

Game Two

From one city in Florida to another, the Murray State soccer team traveled from Boca Raton to Miami to take on Florida International, where the Racers added another win to their record. 

Only seven minutes into the first half, sophomore midfielder Audrey Henry found the net for the first time this season assisted by sophomore midfielder Hailey Cole to give the Racers a 1-0 lead. 

It wasn’t until two minutes into the second half that the Panthers responded, putting the ball in the goal to tie the score 1-1. However, 12 minutes later senior midfielder Symone Cooper scored the game-winning goal for the Racers with another assist from Cole, making the final score 2-1. 

The Panthers outshot the Racers 19-11 with 11 shots on goal while the Racers only tallied five. Junior goalkeeper Jenna Villacres ended the game with 10 saves while FIU counted three. Cole earned her third assist of the season. 

With the two wins over the weekend, Murray State’s record improved to 4-1 this season. The Racers will continue on the road to Bloomington, Indiana, to take on Indiana University on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 7 p.m.