Murray State had an eventful Labor Day weekend as they played against Austin Peay on Aug. 29 and UT Martin on Sept. 1.
Aug. 29 vs Austin Peay
Murray State ran four goals past Austin Peay on their way to a 4-1 victory over the Governors. The Racers have scored one four-goal game in each of the past eight seasons. That puts the Racers on an 11-match unbeaten streak against the Governors and being victorious against them in seven straight.
The scoring got started for the Racers in the 33rd minute as graduate midfielder Hailey Cole placed a nicely weighted through ball to junior Megan Wilson who rifled a shot past the Austin Peay goalkeeper, Lauryn Berry, off the left post and in. It was Wilson’s first goal of the season and second of her career. She would also score the second goal of the game and grab her first career brace (two goals) in the 36th minute, courtesy of an assist from freshman Abbey MacDonald.
Austin Peay would score courtesy of sophomore Alana Owens in the 53rd minute to make it 2-1. A corner sent into the penalty box by the Governors found its way to Owens’ feet and she turned it in from close range.
Murray State would get back into the scoring column in the 73rd minute thanks to junior Sydney Etter floating a shot over the Berry’s head to make it 3-1. MacDonald would get her second assist of the game.
The fourth and final goal for the Racers came from freshman Mackenzie Tucker after Sydney Etter lobbed a ball over the top of the defense to her. Tucker may have slightly mishit the ball, but it made it past Berry for Tucker’s first goal as a Racer.
Sept. 1 vs UT Martin
Murray State’s strong attack carried over from Thursday’s contest against Austin Peay as they scored six goals against UT Martin. Four of the six Racer goals came in the first half. That was the first time Murray State has done that since 2022, when the Racers beat Illinois State 7-3. That match was also the last time the Racers scored six goals in a match.
Sydney Etter picked up right where she left off by scoring in the 6th minute to give the Racers the advantage early. A missed clearance opportunity by a Skyhawk defender left Etter wide open to start the game’s scoring.
The Skyhawks didn’t take long to respond as senior Brooke Kala would level the game 1-1 in the 7th minute thanks to an assist from senior Makayla Robinson.
Another goal wouldn’t be scored until the 27th minute. Murray State junior Mary Hardy made it 2-1 with a header from sophomore Kate Stordy’s corner kick. That goal was Hardy’s first of the season.
Senior Morgan Bodker would score her second goal of the season to put the Racers up 3-1 in the 40th minute. Skyhawk keeper Mac Titus attempted to punch the ball clear of the penalty area, but only sent it higher in the air. Bodker was able to jump and head it in while Titus was out of position.
The final goal of the first half took the Racer lead to 4-1 courtesy of graduate midfielder Morgan Parker. Sophomore forward Ava Roberson delivered a short pass to Parker who fired a shot into the top left corner of the net.
The Racers would keep all the momentum going in the second half.
In the 69th minute, Mary Hardy would bag her brace off of yet another Kate Stordy corner leading to a header goal. The Racer lead would be extended to four.
Mackenzie Tucker would score the sixth Racer goal off of a low cross through the box from freshman Breese Bass.
Head coach Matt Lodge said scoring 10 goals over two games was “fantastic stuff” and that these past two games will have the team ready to go against Kentucky.
“It should give us some confidence, because some of the soccer we played today is some of the best I’ve seen in a long time,” Lodge said. “We got it down, we possessed, we passed, some of the ideas, the movement—you know, I think we did a very good job. Six goals are great, but I’m more proud of the way we played and the way we attacked the game. We moved it around so well. Kentucky is a high-pressing team, [so] if we can move it like that [then] we’ll have some success. I still think we’ve got to do a much better job of dealing with the long ball, stopping it from bouncing—and that’s probably what we’ll work on this week. But on the soccer side of things, we’re in a great spot.”
The Racers travel to Lexington to play the Kentucky Wildcats at 6:30 p.m on Thursday, Sept. 5 and look to grab a third straight win.
