Oct. 30, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State soccer players Molli Beard (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) and Casey Kraft (St. Louis, MO/Nerinx Hall) were recognized by the Ohio Valley Conference today for their contributions in helping the Redhawks finish 2-0 at home last weekend and claim their first OVC regular season title in five years.

Beard was named Offensive Player of the Week after breaking a two-year scoreless streak with a pair of game-winning goals last weekend. She opened the weekend by scoring the lone goal against Jacksonville State in the 21st minute before recording the game-winning tally two days later in the 102nd minute in double overtime against Samford.

Kraft paced a Southeast defensive unit that posted a pair of shutout wins en route to earning Defensive Player of the Week accolades. She led the Redhawks in holding Jacksonville State to just three shot attempts to begin the weekend. Kraft then guided Southeast two days later against Samford in which they held the Bulldogs to only one shot on goal in 12 shot attempts.

The Redhawks will be the top seed and receive a first-round bye in next week's OVC Tournament. They will face fourth-seeded Tennessee-Martin or fifth-seeded Morehead State in a semifinal contest on Nov. 9 at Houck Stadium.