Just like that, the Saluki women’s soccer’s cinderella season ends in heartbreak against #8-seeded Murray State (7-11-3, 5-5-2 MVC) with a 2-1 final score. The upset loss ends an eventful record-breaking season for the Salukis that saw them rise into one of the premier Missouri Valley Conference Teams as well as appearing in the first conference tournament game in school history.

The Salukis were headed on offense by senior Kaitlin Ducharme, scoring SIU’s only goal of the game off a pass from graduate student Lara Barbieri da Silva who tallied an assist off the play. Senior Emma Spotak led the dawgs in shots on the day with four, but none of them ended up being on goal.

On defense, it was senior Maddy Alaluf in the net as the goalkeeper. In 110 minutes, she faced twelve total shots from the Racer’s offense, allowing only one goal and tallying three total saves up until the final minute of the second overtime.

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A back-and-forth affair fueled up in the 30th minute when a corner kick for SIU led to Da Silva finding Ducharme to send one to the back of the net. With a 1-0 lead, the Salukis held onto that without even allowing a shot from the Racers heading into the break.

In the second period, the tension and pressure rose with the Salukis trying to seal the deal by doubling their lead and the Racers just trying to survive. However, in the 79th minute, the Racers finally found the back of the net to tie the game up 1-1 late to get them back in the game. 

From there, it was a slugfest, with five different fouls occurring after the goal across both teams before the end of regulation. Two late shots by the Racers were saved by Alaluf, preserving SIU’s chances at moving on to the next round.

In the first overtime, the Dawgs were trying to get out in a hurry, with a shot by Spotak in the first 52 seconds of the frame. However, that would remain the Salukis’ only chance at the lead as the Racers kept them limited to just one shot in overtime number 1.

Getting past the 100-minute mark in overtime #2, tension quickly rose into a yellow card for junior Ashlyn Henrie in the 107th minute. Within two minutes, the Racers scored what would be the game-winning goal with only 52 seconds left of overtime. Senior Alyssa Fallon came up with one last chance to save the Salukis’ season with a shot into the bottom right of the goal but was saved off the hands of Murray State’s goalie, all but ending SIU’s season with a 2-1 final score.

The Dawgs fought diligently all season, but their resurgent season ends in Carbondale at the hands of underdog Murray State. The Salukis will now enter a concerning, but confident offseason, as they look for a new head coach to continue the winning ways the franchise had found themselves in this season. The Dawgs will return to the soccer field for the fall 2023 season.

Sports editor Joseph Bernard can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Jojobernard2001. 

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