BOX SCORE

RICHMOND, Ky. – The Eastern Kentucky University women’s soccer team fell to top-ranked Murray State on Sunday afternoon, 3-1. The Colonels (6-8-2, 4-3 OVC) allowed all three goals in the first half before holding the Racers (9-5-2, 5-1 OVC) scoreless in the second while battling to within two goals thanks to a late score by junior Maddy Shumaker.

“The goal at the end shows this team’s work rate and that they never quit. It says a lot about their character,” head coach Lindsay Basalyga said. “There’s a reason Murray State is at the top of the league, but this was not a 3-1 match. It was much closer than that.”

Murray State forward Veronica Pribyslavska opened the Murray State scoring in just the eighth minute with a score from about 15 yards out. In the 29th minute, Katie Wilson made it 2-0 when she lofted a shot from about 20 yards away over the head of EKU goalkeeper Stephanie Lynch's head. Finally, Laken Dirkes fired one in from about seven yards out that pushed the Racers’ lead to 3-0.

EKU finally came to life in the second half. The Colonels outshot the Racers in the last 45 minutes, 8-7, and finally capitalized on one of those shots in the 86th minute when, off a corner kick, Shumaker emerged from a mix up in front of the net and scored from about a yard away. It was the first goal of the season for Shumaker and the second of her career.

Lynch played the first half, allowing three goals while making three saves. Freshman keeper Amanda Carta came on in the second half to shutout the Racers and make four stops in the process.

“Carta stepped in and basically got a shutout in the second half,” Basalyga said. “It was just another character-revealing moment of this game.”

The Colonels return to action on Friday, Oct. 24, when they host SIU-Edwardsville at 4:00 p.m.

“We really need to work on having more people in our attacking third,” senior midfielder Alison Gajus said. “And we need to finish on our opportunities when they’re there.”