SKYHAWKS SET TO TAKE ON MURRAY STATE IN OVC SOCCER TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH ON SUNDAY

ESPN3 Live Stats

MARTIN, Tenn. – An Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth are on the line on Sunday, Nov. 4 as the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team squares off against Murray State at Skyhawk Field. Admission is free for the 2 p.m. match.

The top two seeds in the OVC collide as both teams won a pair of one-goal decisions on Friday evening. The No. 1 seed Skyhawks notched three second-half goals in a 3-2 victory over Eastern Kentucky while the No. 2 seed Racers made a goal in the 14^th minute hold up in a 1-0 triumph over Eastern Illinois.

These two programs vying for the 2018 OVC championship will continue a recent trend of league dominance. Either UT Martin or Murray State has won/shared the OVC's regular season championship in six of the last seven years while the Skyhawks and Racers have combined to win four of the past seven OVC Tournament titles. UT Martin is chasing after its third OVC Tournament championship (first since 2012) while Murray State will look for its fourth OVC Tournament title, having won two of the last three crowns.

This will be the third time that the Skyhawks and Racers meet in the OVC Tournament, as Murray State won 4-3 in 2000 and also managed a 1-0 victory in 2009. UT Martin is 10-11-2 all-time in the OVC Tournament while the Racers are 11-8-2 in the postseason event. Although Murray State leads the all-time series between the two schools by a 13-5-3 margin, the series has been nearly even since 2011 (the Racers have gone 4-3-1 over that stretch).

UT Martin (15-2-1) won its fourth OVC regular season championship in 2018, carrying a 13-match unbeaten streak and a perfect 10-0 home record into Sunday's showdown. The Skyhawks went 9-0-1 in league play this fall and established a program record for most single-season victories, points (126), goals (48) and shots (388) during their win on Friday. Ranked No. 65 in the NCAA RPI poll, UT Martin leads the OVC in shots (21.56 per match), points (7.00 per match), goals (2.67 per match), assists (1.67 per match) and least goals allowed (0.83 per match). In his ninth year at the helm, Phil McNamara won 2018 OVC Coach of the Year honors and boasted six all-conference honorees – including Offensive Player of the Year McGivern (14 goals, six game-winners) and Defensive Player of the Year Kaci Mitchell (1,376 minutes played, part of a defensive unit that allows 7.1 shot attempts per match).

Murray State has won 86 percent of its regular season OVC matchups since 2015, posting a 32-3-5 record in that span. After four seasons as the Racers' top assistant, Matt Lodge went 12-4-1 (7-3 OVC) is in his first season as head coach of Murray State while seeing the Racers to a No. 76 NCAA RPI ranking. He oversaw four All-OVC recipients in 2018, including 2017 OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player Miyah Watford (OVC-best 5.06 shots per match) and 2018 OVC Freshman of the Year Abby Jones (league-high eight assists).

The Skyhawks emerged victorious in the lone regular season matchup between these two teams, tallying a 3-1 home victory on Oct. 5. Skylor Keane and Danae Kaldaridou each recorded first-half goals to give UT Martin a 2-0 lead at the break. Following a goal by Murray State's Kayla Travis in the 48^th minute, McGivern knocked in a goal in the 83^rd minute while Erica Myers locked down four saves to ensure the victory.

The OVC championship match will be streamed live on ESPN3. That link - as well as a link for live stats - can be found at the top of the webpage.

SKYHAWKS SET TO TAKE ON MURRAY STATE IN OVC SOCCER TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH ON SUNDAY

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Danae Kaldaridou

Skylor Keane

Kaci Mitchell

Erica Myers