COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team will make its way north this weekend for a pair of Ohio Valley Conference match-ups and look to bounce back from a tough 3-2 OT loss to Eastern Illinois on senior day this past Sunday.
The Golden Eagles will start things off with a 6 p.m. CT tilt under the lights at Morehead State on Friday. The team will then travel over to Eastern Kentucky for a Sunday match at 12 p.m.
Tech is coming off a weekend that saw it earn its first OVC win of the season on Friday, a 1-0 shutout of SIU Edwardsville. Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown had a career-best 14 saves in the match, leading the defensive effort for the Golden Eagles.
Senior Sarah Gawthrop added the lone goal of the game off of an Ellie Iaciofano shot that ricocheted of the crossbar right to Gawthrop's zone. Iaciofano was credited with the assist.
On Friday, the Golden Eagles jumped out to an 2-0 lead with two Iaciofano goals. EIU fought it's way back, forcing an overtime period and eventually knocking in the game-winner in the 96th minute.
Brown recorded nine more saves in the contest, giving her 23 saves for the weekend and propelling her to second in the OVC in saves and first in saves per game. She now sits just one behind the league leader and has climbed to 16th in the nation in saves.
Iaciofano moved her goals total up to eight on the season, good for first in the OVC. She also brought her points total up to 18 on the year, also good for a first place ranking in the OVC. She ranks in the top 50 of the nation in both goals and points.
"We're sitting right in the thick of things," said head coach Daniel Brizard. "There's about six teams all sitting two to three points apart right now. Going into the weekend, we're looking to grab six points with a couple of victories. It's going to be hard. Both teams are quality and are coming off successful weekends. We're going to look to bring some strong soccer into those places and come back with a couple of wins."
Scouting Morehead State
- Morehead is 1-8-1 in 2012, picking up its first victory last
weekend in Belmont.
- The Eagles are 1-1 in the OVC this season, including a 2-1
overtime loss to EKU.
- Friday's match will mark the 17th meeting between TTU and
Morehead, with the Golden Eagles holding an 8-6-2 advantage.
- Kimberly Golden and Macy Cobb both lead the Eagles with two
goals apiece this season.
- Elizabeth Floyd and Hannah Seeman have split time in goal this
season, with Floyd starting seven matches and gathering the lone
win for the Eagles this season.
Daniel Brizard on the Eagles
"Morehead is 1-8-1, but that's not a true testament to
their playing ability. They're going to be strong and will look to
take advantage of corners during the match. We know this and we
just have to play to the best of our abilities and take our chances
when we have them. They're tough to play at home on turf under the
lights. They just grabbed their first win of the season and are
looking to gain off that momentum."
Scouting Eastern Kentucky
- Eastern Kentucky enters Sunday's match with a 5-4-2 record.
- The Colonels are 1-0-1 in conference play this season, including
a 1-1 tie on Friday to Belmont.
- EKU owns a 4-0-1 record at home this season, fairing well
against those who make the trip to Richmond.
- Eastern Kentucky owns a slight advantage coming into the eighth
match-up in the series, a 4-3-0 tilt.
- Nikki Donnelly leads the Colonels in scoring this season,
racking up five goals and an assist in 11 games.
- Goalkeeper Erika Wolfer has allowed 14 goals this year while
stopping 42 attempts.
Daniel Brizard on the Colonels
"EKU is probably one of the more aggressive and physical
teams we will play this season. The team is very defensive minded
and will look to counter quickly and play some long balls. We're
looking to apply some pressure with our front line and not allow
them to play too many long balls."