JACKSONVILLE – Murray State proved early in the contest why it is the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champion and on track to claim the title again with a 3-0 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday afternoon at the JSU Soccer Field.
JSU, who was idle on Friday, dropped its fourth consecutive match with the league setback and fell to 0-3 in the OVC. The Sunday result moved JSU's overall mark to 3-6-2 overall. The Racers bounced back after a draw on Friday against Tennessee Tech and improved to 7-1-1 on the season. MSU remained unbeaten against league foes with a 2-0-1 mark.
The Racers took control of the match within the first 10 minutes of the match with two goals that were separated by four minutes. The first of two first half goals came in the fourth minute by Rebecca Kubin. After a Racer strike was blocked by JSU's
Caroline Robinson, the ball ricocheted to Kubin for the netted ball.
MSU stuck quickly after the first goal as Harriett Withers registered her ninth goal of the season with a touch from the top of the box on the right side and sent the ball to the left corner pocket. Kubin tallied her third point of the match with an assist on the play. Withers and Kubin combined for 10 of MSU's 17 total shots. The Racers turned in eight shots in the opening half and added nine in the final 45 minutes. MSU limited the Gamecocks to one shot in the first half before the home club added nine in the second half. JSU senior
Kayla Thompson came off the bench to lead the Red and White with four attempts.
The Racers struck quickly after halftime for the third goal of the day with Miyah Watford's goal in the 48th minute. Watford finished off a set piece off of a Racer corner kick by Withers.
Jax State had four shots on goal in the second half, but could not finish in the box, including a pair of saves by MSU's Alex Steigerwald. Thompson had a pair on goal along with
Alicia Pallister and
Emma Meadows.
The Gamecocks remain on the home pitch next Friday as they host Austin Peay. The match will get underway at 7 p.m. JSU will honor its pair of seniors prior to the match.
