Nov. 3, 2003

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - Southeast travels to Tennessee-Martin tomorrow, Nov. 4, to face the Skyhawks for an OVC tournament first round game. The two teams will compete for one of the final two spots in the OVC tournament semi-finals.

OVC newcomer Samford University clenched the OVC regular season championship last week with a 1-0 win over Jacksonville State. The team posted a 7-1-0 record in conference regular season play and received an automatic bid to the tournament semi-finals. Eastern Illinois came in second with a conference record of 6-0-2, also claiming an automatic bid. The other two semi-final spots will be determined by two play-in games which will be played tomorrow. No. 3 Jacksonville State (4-1-3 OVC) will host No. 6 Tennessee Tech (3-5-0 OVC), while No. 4 Tennessee-Martin (4-2-2 OVC) will host No. 5 Southeast Missouri State (4-3-1 OVC). Kick-off for the Southeast vs. Tennessee-Martin game will be at 2:00 p.m. in Martin, Tenn.

This will mark the second meeting of the two teams this season. Southeast downed UT Martin 2-1 in their earlier decision. Most of the first half remained scoreless, as both teams' defenses dominated the field. Skyhawk sophomore Dani Myrick came up with the first goal of the game, and the last goal that UT Martin would score for the day. Defender Heather Reding and midfielder Marla Gianino were the story of the game. Gianino placed two powerful corner kicks just right for Reding to record two goals, sinking Tennessee-Martin.

The Skyhawks clinched the right to host the first-round match with a 5-0 win over Morehead State last Friday. Two-time OVC Player of the Week, Katie Jackson, scored two goals in the match. With the two goals, Jackson tied her teammate, Dani Myrick's, single season scoring record with 16 goals. Jackson is leading the team in points with 35 and shots on goal with 62, while both her and Myrick have four game-winning goals. The Otahkian defense, led by Amanda Wrzos and Heather Reding, will have to shut-down these two offensive sparks.

Southeast is coming off a 2-1 victory over Tennessee Tech, ending their two game losing streak. Senior Valerie Henderson also ended the squad's two-game scoreless streak as she converted a one-on-one breakaway in the 48th minute, to record the first goal of the game. Forward Erin Slattery followed Henderson's lead as she scored off a corner kick from teammate Marla Gianino. The goal was Slattery's fourth on the season as she moves to the team-leader position in goals scored. Gianino is leading the team in assists with six, in part due to her strong leg and the ability to place corner kicks in scoring position for her teammates.

If the Otahkians win Tuesday's first-round match, they will advance to the tournament semifinals hosted by Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Southeast would play Samford, the OVC's regular season champion at 7 p.m., Friday, Nov. 7.