By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The ascent toward the top appeared rather steep. Armed with the challenge of reversing a slumping program that had five wins and three draws in the last two years combined seemed lofty. For the feat to be accomplished in the distant future would have been one thing, but having it happen immediately, equipped with a slew of school records, conference accolades, and playoff recognition is what made the 2015 Tennessee Tech soccer season one for the books.

"When we started this journey almost two years ago, we were confident that the team would improve," TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe claimed, giving insight to the roots of Tech's rapid rise after taking over the program's reigns prior to the start of the 2014 season. "But to have the type of success that we had this season probably wasn't expected until a little bit later in the future."

Evidently, the future took shape in the form of 2015 as the Golden Eagles enjoyed the type of success that you read about.

* Most conference wins in one season in school history.

* Second place OVC finish, the highest in 15 years.

* A regular season winning record for the first time in over a decade.

* First postseason appearance in six years, culminating in a trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals.

* Fewest amount of goals allowed in one season in school history.

* Three All-Conference award winners highlighted by the league's Defensive Player of the Year honor.

* Four OVC Player of the Week award winners.

* A victory over an SEC school, the first in program history.

"Those things listed are of course great talking points and represent some real positive moments for our team," Springthorpe said. "From an internal team perspective, it certainly put a lot of smiles on people's faces and has created a great deal of excitement. Most importantly, it has also created a desire to continue to build on this type of success and do even more than what was accomplished this season."

Fittingly enough, in the program's first season of lights at Tech Soccer Field, the play on the field shined brightest.

The Golden Eagles surrendered a measly 17 goals in 19 regular season matches, the lowest in one season in program history, punctuated by seven shutouts, the highest total in nearly 15 years. Offensively, Tech doubled its goal total from last year and frequented the back of the net most often since 2011.

"Considering that last season ended with only two wins and two ties, and 2013 had just three wins and one tie, this year was a real positive step for our program to come away with eight wins and four ties," Springthorpe noted. "I hope what this means for our team is that we have turned a corner and will have the chance to continue to compete for an OVC championship in the near future. We have now begun to set a standard of play and built some internal pride for our program, and in order to have pride in a program, one must feel and experience success that will in turn help develop a pride that will drive us to be even more successful."

Now for the simple question of how? And how so fast?

"We had to defend better," Springthorpe simply put. "I can tell you that for myself as the head coach, I lost a lot of sleep over the amount of goals we gave up last season. I consider myself as a defensiveminded coach and have always preached defend first. To give up 53 goals in a 19-game schedule was just not acceptable. A change had to be made."

"A back to basics type of training needed to be put into place," Springthorpe continued. "A focus on defending had to be the norm for everyday practice. In order for those things to happen, you have to have players that buy into that mentality and I am thankful that they did that. They worked hard at becoming better players both technically and tactically. We had a number of them that changed their roles and positions to help us become a better defensive team. They embraced their new positions and embraced the style of play, which was without a doubt the most important difference for us."

Tech topped the OVC in goals allowed (17) and goals against average (0.83). In conference play, TTU's seven scores surrendered and 0.68 goals against average in 10 matches was also the gold standard, a mark of excellence that could not be denied and eventually was recognized as such. Freshman goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann was honored as the OVC Defensive Player of the Year, the first Golden Eagle to hoist the prestigious title in 15 years.

With her first team selection, Naerdemann was also one of three Tech players to secure All-Conference accolades, joining junior Abi Gearing on the first team, and sophomore Karigan Owens, who was recognized as a second teamer. Naerdemann and Gearing became the first Golden Eagles to take home first team honors since 2009.

"It is exciting for the team to have players recognized by the conference and the three that earned All- Conference honors are of course excited that they were able to receive those awards," Springthorpe said. "That being said, they know that it is the team's overall success that allowed them to be recognized. Without the team as a whole winning games and performing well, they would not get that sort of recognition. I think what it means for the program is that we are seeing the fruits of our labor and that with success comes unexpected recognition that brings positive notoriety for our team."

Every story needs its origin. An introduction that grabs the attention of an audience, propelling those interested to keep on following the tale. Well for the 24 cast in the purple and gold, the starting point came in the final days of August, specifically on a balmy Sunday evening in Cookeville where it was made abundantly clear that things would be different.

Very different.

Following three narrow one-goal losses to begin the year, the Golden Eagles welcomed in a school from the vaunted Southeastern Conference…the University of Alabama.

Having never won a match against a school from the SEC, not even as much as a tie with an 0-11 mark against one of the nation's premier conferences, Tennessee Tech proved that the past is the past and the future is now.

A Golden Eagle score in the 17th minute set the tone. An Alabama goal in the 53rd minute temporarily settled the record-setting crowd of 961 in what was just the second ever night match in the history of Tech Soccer Field. 10 minutes later, the place was up for grabs.

In the 63rd minute, the Golden Eagles zipped one into the back of the net to reclaim the lead, one that they would not relinquish as the final 27 minutes whittled down to nothing but zeros. History had been seized.

"It was absolutely a great moment for our current team and of course for the program," Springthorpe said. "It certainly created a buzz about the team here in the local community, and it even did so nationally in some respect."

"Moreover it started a streak of games where we went 5-1-3, following three tough losses to begin the year," Springthorpe added. "The team believed we were better and could see that we had a chance to do something that had not been done in years. Confidence was growing and that's a powerful thing. We still had a lot of work to do, and still do, but I was glad we were able to sustain a high level of play for the remainder of the season."

The momentum carried Tech all the way to its most conference wins ever in one season and a berth to the OVC Tournament semifinals, a place of rarified air that the program has now seen only twice in the last 13 years. With a group that saw the departure of only four seniors and returns 20, this could very well just be the beginning.

"I hope what this season says about us is that we have turned the corner and that this group of seniors and players have now set a standard for us to live by and follow going into future years," Springthorpe asserted. "I cannot stress enough that the players have made the biggest change through all of this. We had wonderful upperclassmen leadership and a desire from the players to improve themselves and be the best athletes they can be. Throw in the tremendous work from our administration and support staff to help our team have the best facilities to play and train in, while creating a professional atmosphere for us to thrive in, and wow things look really bright for the direction of Tech soccer."