SEMO women’s soccer stuns SIUE behind Emily Baker’s last-second goal

No matter how many games Emily Baker plays for SEMO, it will be hard for her to top what she did against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Thursday night.

Entering the game in search of their first win of the season, Baker received a cross pass from Cayla Koerner in open space and sent home the game-winning goal with one second left for an epic 2-1 victory at Houck Stadium.

“This season has been a ride,” Baker said. “And to come out with one of our OVC rivals and put up a fight like that, and for me to put two in the back for the night, it honestly feels so unreal… We’ve been going day in and day out, fighting, putting our bodies on the line. It’s unreal.”

While it’s been a bumpy road for the Redhawks this season, 26th-year head coach Heather Nelson’s squad finally got the win they deserved.

“I just thought they were locked in,” Nelson said. “They've been working so, so hard. They deserve this.”

Four minutes after letting a 1-0 lead slip away when SIUE’s Grace Ferguson netted a goal for the equalizer, the Redhawks found a crease in the Cougar backline. Koerner raced down the near sideline in open space before swiftly crossing it over to a wide-open Baker, who was 10 yards out from the frame.

All Koerner could do then was watch and hope. Baker did not disappoint.

“I just knew CK beat the girl and it was just me and her 2-v-1,” Baker said. “I told her, ‘I’ll give you two options: you can go take it yourself and finish it, or you got me.’ And when she passed it to me, honestly, no idea what happened.”

The emphatic score was Baker’s second of the night and the entire season. The sophomore out of Alton, Ill. scored on a penalty kick in the 58th minute to break the ice in the contest.

SEMO entered the night with just three goals against conference opponents all season before Baker netted two herself. Her breakout performance is a testament to SEMO’s suffocating offense in the game on Thursday.

“These past few weeks in training, we've been working a lot with our attacking unit, and really just working together,” Baker said. “We've been needing a goal for a long time. So, I think our attacking was special tonight because it's been there, but we just have to fix the little things and we did tonight. That's what made us come out with the 2-1 victory.”

Defensively, SEMO’s backline continued to perform at a high level after shutting out OVC big guns Lindenwood and Little Rock in the previous two games. SIUE had 11 shots (seven shots-on-goal) in the contest with just one goal to show for it.

While it’s been an uphill climb trying to overcome this season's struggles — one that has seen the Redhawks riddled with injuries and depth shortages — the last-second victory was a full circle moment for a SEMO (1-9-3, 1-3-3 OVC) team who has dealt with numerous tough-to-stomach losses this fall.

“We have a shorter bench and we have more injuries than we've ever had,” Nelson said. “So, to be very honest, the players that we have that are actually stepping on the field right now are so fast because we haven't had hardly any reserve players to pull from. We needed time to grow into some positions and we have done that. Some younger players have stepped up, which has allowed us to change our formation and move some players into positions that I think now better suit the entire team, but we just we need some growing time.”

And though it’s too late for a spectacular turnaround, SEMO can continue to bow out of the season on a high note as two regular season games remain on the calendar.

“The most important thing for them is to keep believing in themselves,” Nelson said. “Stepping out and playing with confidence. They're fighting for each other. I think this season will end up being a life lesson for them about never rolling over and never quitting. Believing in the process and leaning into the strengths that we have.

“I just couldn't be happier for them because I think we're playing some very good soccer right now.”

SEMO will look to keep the late-season momentum building against Morehead State this Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. It will be the Redhawks’ final home game of the 2024 campaign.