Southeast roundup: Late goals lift SEMO soccer to victory in season opener

~ The Redhawks scored goals 27 seconds apart in a 2-0 victory over UMSL

It took until the 74th minute of its season-opening contest against the University of Missouri-St. Louis Friday night for the Southeast Missouri State soccer team to score.

But once the Redhawks put one in the back of the net it took just 27 seconds for them to tally their second goal in a 2-0 victory against the Tritons.

Senior midfielder Torey Byrd scored on a penalty kick after being taken down in the box 73 minutes, 10 seconds into the game.

Byrd then assisted sophomore forward Natasha Minor on a goal a mere 27 seconds later.

"When we talked at halftime, we thought that our possession had been pretty good in the game and we had created some opportunities but weren't quite calm enough in the final third," Southeast coach Heather Nelson said in a news release.

"I think the girls did a better job when we came out in the second half to try and maintain that intensity but create better goal-scoring chances, and I think we did."

Southeast had 12 shots -- four on goal. The Redhawks' defense held UMSL to just one shot in the game, which freshman goalkeeper Kindra Lierz saved, who also recorded her first career shutout.

The Redhawks compete in the Air Force Academy Tournament in Colorado next weekend. They play UC Davis at 4 p.m. Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Northern Colorado at 1 p.m. Sept. 7 in Greeley, Colorado.

Volleyball opens season at tournament

The Southeast volleyball team started off its season with a win over Memphis before losing its final three games to Alabama, Saint Louis University and Northern Iowa in the Marcia E. Hamilton Classic hosted by SLU.

"We will work on being more in system this week in practice and getting more hitters involved," Southeast coach Julie Yankus said in a release. "Overall, we saw a lot of good things from the weekend. It was a tough tournament scheduling-wise. It makes us better to compete against these really good teams and even if we get a loss but compete well, we're putting ourselves in a good position as we approach the conference season."

The Redhawks beat the Tigers in four sets on Friday, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23 and 25-16.

Senior outside hitter Andrea Baylin led the Redhawks with 12 kills in the match. She also had a career-high 23 digs.

Sophomore right side hitter Madalyn Werths contributed 10 kills, including five in the first set and the match point in the close third set.

In the fourth set, Southeast was able to capitalize on seven aces to handily win it. Senior right side hitter Meredith Stranges had five aces, which tied the record at Chaifetz Arena.

Sophomore setter Katarina Rotta had 31 assists against Memphis.

The Redhawks took a 25-19 victory in the first set of their final game on Friday before the Crimson Tide swept the final three sets 25-21, 25-23, 25-16.

Baylin and junior middle blocker Taylor Masterson, who redshirted at Alabama as a freshman, tied for a team-high eight kills against the Crimson Tide.

Southeast and Alabama each had eight serve errors in the match.

The host Billikens beat Southeast in three sets, 25-20, 28-26, 25-22.

Southeast led by three points late in the first set before the Billikens rattled off eight consecutive points to win it.

The Redhawks used an eight-point run of their own in the second set to take a 19-18 lead. The game was tied five times after that before the Billikens won 28-26.

The Redhawks held a small lead throughout most of the third set, but SLU tied it at 17-all and took the lead for good after a Southeast attack error gave the Billikens the one-point advantage.

Baylin, who was named to the all-tournament team, had 20 kills and 11 digs in the match against SLU.

Southeast rebounded from being swept by SLU with a 28-26 victory against Northern Iowa in the first set, but the Redhawks never led in the final three sets against the Panthers.

Northern Iowa won the final three sets of the match 25-19, 25-19, 25-21.

The Redhawks trailed 24-18 in the final set and scored three times on match point, but a Southeast attack error ended it.

Baylin had 13 kills and 14 digs against Northern Iowa while Masterson added 11 kills.

The Redhawks (1-3) will compete in the Indiana Invitational on Friday and Saturday in Bloomington, Indiana.

Women's cross country team debuts with win

Southeast's women's cross country team took first place as a team and the men came in second at their first meet of the season -- the Gabby Reuveni Early Bird hosted by Washington University at Forest Park in St. Louis.

The Redhawks' were led by seniors Rebekah Lawson and Gloria Westlake on the women's side. Lawson and Westlake finished fourth in 14 minutes, 47 seconds and fifth in 14:52, respectively, in the 4K race.

Junior Shane Brown won the men's 6K race with a time of 19:23 for Southeast and was closely followed by sophomore Marc Maton, who took third in 19:28.

Sophomores Angela Sumner and Megan Parks finished seventh and eighth. Sumner crossed the line in 15:06 and Parks was just two seconds behind. Central graduate and senior Mary Dohogne took 13th in 15:27.

The men's team had five runners finished in the top 15 -- Brown and Maton as well as freshmen Nathan Cook (11th in 19:55), Dan Plunkett (14th in 19:59) and senior Colten Strotheide (15th in 19:59).

"On the women's side, we came and did exactly what we needed to do. Rebekah and Gloria executed the plan perfectly and had solid outings today," Southeast coach Ryan Lane said in a release. "Shane and Marc ran perfect and did exactly what we asked. Looking at where they were today compared to last season at this time, they are so far ahead and will be top contenders at conference."

The Redhawks' next meet is set for Sept. 12 at the Forest Park Cross Country Festival hosted by SLU.