Aug. 31, 2007

Box Score

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Freshman forward Ashley Runion (St. Peters, MO/Ft. Zumwalt South) tallied her first collegiate goal as Southeast Missouri State soccer (1-0) captured its seventh consecutive season opener after defeating Northwestern State (0-1), 1-0, tonight at Houck Stadium.

Despite holding a 7-4 shooting advantage, the Redhawks and the Demons had several missed scoring chances in the first half, but the score remained in a 0-0 tie heading into intermission. The score stayed the same during the second half until the 72nd minute when Runion hit the back of the net on a cross from the right side off the foot of senior forward Alaina Lacopo (Troy, IL/Triad). Also assisting on the goal was senior defender Blair Schuppan (St. Louis, MO/Nerinx Hall).

"We were excited to come out with a win tonight. We had a little bit of trouble in the beginning and ended up working it around to end up scoring the goal," stated Runion.

Southeast held on in the final minutes of the match behind its defense and the play of senior goalkeeper Lindsay Pickering (St. Charles, MO/St. Charles West). Pickering posted four saves to earn the shutout, the 21st of her career. Runion tallied a game-high six shots and sophomore forward Courtney Alexander (Liberty, MO/Liberty) contributed five shot attempts. The Redhawks finished with a 16-5 duke in shots and a 5-0 advantage in corner kicks.

"I was very happy with our team's performance tonight. I thought our speed of play was top notch," Redhawks head coach Heather Nelson said. "We involved a lot of player all over the field and we also defended well. I was pleased to have both sides of the game come together for us."

Southeast heads to Springfield, Mo., for a non-conference contest Sunday afternoon at Missouri State with a start time of 1 p.m.