JACKSONVILLE – UT Martin proved why it is the front runner in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 4-1 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday at the JSU Soccer Field.

The Skyhawks, riding momentum from a key home win over defending OVC Champion, Murray State on Friday night, remained atop the league standings at 5-0-1 with the win and moved to 10-2-1 overall.  Jax State's record dropped to 3-9-2 on the year and 1-5 after the midway point of the OVC slate.

UTM struck early with a goal inside the first 10 minutes of the contest as Samantha Kelly took a feed from Skylor Keane on the right side of the goal for the first result of the game.  The Skyhawks added their second goal of the opening half in the 25th minute with Amy McGivern's shot from the top of the box.

The Gamecocks looked to have survived the first half onslaught by UTM with a momentum shift in the final minutes of the opening half.  Sophomore Chloe Doherty netted her third goal of the season and her first against an OVC foe after winning a 1-v-1 situation in the 42nd minute to cut the UTM lead in half at 2-1.

"I thought we played well in big parts of the game and we have individual mental errors that are costing us and we have to work those out.  We have to get to a point where we are not putting in a great 75 minutes, but we are putting together a great 90 minutes," said head coach Neil Macdonald.

UTM thwarted Jax State's momentum in the closing minutes of the first half with two quick goals in the 65th and 66th minute of the game.  Danae Kaldardou connected on a goal from the left side that ricocheted off JSU goal keeper Morgan Lerch.  The Skyhawks capped off the scoring with a penalty kick by Kamryn Chappell.

"I think UT Martin is a very quality club and the best team I have seen in the OVC in the last few years," added Macdonald.

The Skyhawks finished with a 17-9 advantage in total shots and had eight corner kick situations.   Redshirt freshman Abigail Martinez, who had the assist on Doherty's scoring play, led JSU in shots with three off the bench.  Martinez now leads the club in assists with three on the season.  Senior Madison Carruthers added two shots.  Lerch finished with seven stops on the afternoon.

"I think at one point we were down to 15 players and it was pure exhaustion since we cannot make any substitutions and we were running on empty.  That is a big issue we are having, but the girls have to pick themselves up and we have to go again hard this week because we have four games left."

JSU returns to action next weekend with a trip to the Commonwealth of Kentucky.  The Gamecocks will begin the weekend in Richmond, Kentucky on Friday, October 12 against Eastern Kentucky before moving on to Morehead, Kentucky on Sunday to face Morehead State.  Match time for the EKU contest is set for 3 p.m.