Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports

Eastern earned a late bid to the OVC tournament as the Southeast Missouri Redhawks failed to defeat Murray State.

The Colonel's postseason chances had hinged on SEMO's season finale, where a draw would be enough to knock Eastern out of contention.

SEMO and Eastern (5-10-3, 2-3-3 OVC) finished the season both totaling nine points, but the Colonels retained the upper hand thanks to the head-to-head advantage.

Eastern beat the Redhawks in a late 1-0 win at home. Though it was Eastern's final game of the season, SEMO had played one fewer game and could have clinched the final spot with a tie or a win over Murray State (8-8-2, 5-2-1 OVC).

The Colonels enter the tournament as the sixth seed, but have fared well against tougher conference opponents.

During the regular season, Eastern held Murray State to a 0-0 draw, but lost 2-0 to UT Martin in a competitive match.

The Colonels have been paired with Murray State for the first round and could face Martin (9-6, 6-2 OVC) in the semifinals.

"It's going to be major test," Head Coach Lindsay Basalyga said. "We've progressed since then."

Eastern is led by a veteran back line, which has allowed just five goals in nearly 800 minutes of play.

Goalkeeper Stephanie Lynch leads the conference with six shutouts.

The Colonels are ranked second to last in conference scoring, however, with a mere three goals in eight conference games. It was only last week when Carly Muller ended the team's five-game goal drought with a game-winning strike against SEMO.

"We've had good build-up play," Basalyga said. "I trust them to score."

In last season's tournament, Eastern narrowly missed out on the finals, losing a penalty shootout with Martin.

This year's tournament will take place at Jayne Stadium in Morehead, which may haunt the Colonels. Eastern is winless this season in neutral and away game sites.

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