Click here for entire 2016 Tennessee Tech soccer schedule
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the anticipation beginning to mount for the start of another Tennessee Tech soccer season, the Golden Eagles and head coach Steve Springthorpe peel back the curtain as to what's in store for the upcoming campaign with the release of the 2016 schedule. TTU has 20 matches in the mix, including an exhibition tilt at home against Chattanooga on Aug. 12 to unofficially kick off the year, one of 10 home matches on the docket for the Golden Eagles.
"The schedule sets itself up nicely this year in terms of us playing quality teams and having a good balance of home and away," third-year head coach Steve Springthorpe claimed. "The schedule is relatively similar in respect to some of the teams we have played the past two years because we had to fill out those contracts, but that being said, I think it's a good schedule and we are excited about it."
Fresh off a riveting 2015 season that proved to be one of the best in school history, this year's Tech squad will be tested throughout the non-conference campaign, before maneuvering into the OVC portion of the slate that has the potential to set up nicely for the Golden Eagles. TTU will see its conference action bookend at home with the first two OVC tilts in Cookeville, and three of the final five at Tech Soccer Field as well.
"From a conference perspective, we are definitely happy about it," Springthorpe noted. "Of course the conference schedule is always dictated by the OVC, but you always like to start home so that is a positive for us. And then the fact that we can finish out the regular season with three of the last five at home, when those are going to become critical games, could be significant for us."
Tech's first conference match is Sep. 23 at home against Jacksonville State, a 3 p.m. CT start time, before welcoming in-state foe Belmont two days later on Sep. 25 for the first conference affair under the lights with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Steering the conversation towards the non-conference part of the upcoming slate, the Golden Eagles will be challenged with an array of quality opponents as they gear up for the OVC sector. Of the nine non-conference schools Tech will connect with, eight had a .500 or better record last year. Furthermore, a fair share of grudge matches make up the non-conference aspect of the schedule with six battles between schools TTU played within the last two years.
"I think from the first non-conference game to our last one, we will be challenged," Springthorpe said. "They are quality teams that are playing in mid-major conferences like we are playing in, and as a matter of fact, I'd imagine there are a lot of OVC schools that are playing some of these teams so we should be able to get a good feel as to how they are playing against those schools and how we compare. Overall, I think it's really competitive and it will prepare us for our conference matches."
The first of the nine non-conference affairs will be played Aug. 19 at UNC Asheville, the first of a two-leg North Carolina swing to christen the regular season. On Aug. 21, the Golden Eagles will scoot over to UNC Greensboro, the second of three matches in the Tar Heel State as Tech will also travel to Western Carolina University on Sep. 18 following a Sep. 16 meeting at Radford.
TTU's first regular season match in Cookeville is under the lights on Aug. 26 against Wright State, the beginning of a three-match home stand for the Golden Eagles. Mercer comes to Tech Soccer Field on Aug. 28, before Louisiana Tech wraps up the trio of home contests with a Sep. 4 meeting in Cookeville.
Some in-state flavor touches down on the Golden Eagles during a stretch in early September that will see Tech travel to Murfreesboro to lock up with Middle Tennessee on Sep. 9, before coming back to Cookeville to square up with ETSU on Sep. 11.
The final home match of the regular season is on Oct. 23 against Eastern Illinois, just prior to the Golden Eagles flocking to Eastern Kentucky on Oct. 27 for the regular-season finale. The OVC Tournament starts on Oct. 30 with first-round action. The semifinals are on Nov. 4 and the championship match is scheduled for Nov. 6.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a historical 2015 campaign that saw the team capture its most conference wins in one season in school history, a second place OVC finish, the highest in 15 years, a regular season winning record for the first time in over a decade, and the first postseason appearance in six years, culminating in a trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals.
