By Dylan Vazzano, Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Believe it or not the 2016 has arrived for the Tennessee Tech soccer team as the Golden Eagles are ready to hit the road to christen their upcoming campaign in North Carolina. TTU will have its sights set on a two-match road swing to begin the year, flocking to UNC Asheville on Friday at 6 p.m. CT, before ending its stay in the Tar Heel State Sunday at UNC Greensboro. Kickoff is slated for noon CT.
Anticipation continues to stir for the unveiling of this year's campaign after the Golden Eagles turned heads with one of their most successful seasons in program history in 2015. Despite being picked 10th in last year's OVC preseason predicted order of finish, Tech enjoyed a rapid ascent towards the top of the conference standings with a second-place finish, the highest in 15 years, behind the most conference wins in a season in program history. The Golden Eagles wrapped up the regular season with a winning record for the first time in over a decade en route to earning their first postseason appearance in six years that ended with a trip to the OVC Tournament semifinals.
TTU was recently picked third in the conference's predicted order of finish as voted on by the league's 11 head coaches and sports information directors, earning 147 total points in the poll that included a first-place vote for the Golden Eagles. Defending regular season and tournament champion Murray State took down the top spot in the preseason rankings, while Southeast Missouri secured the No. 2 slot, garnering just three more points than TTU.
Tech's roster features an intriguing blend of hungry newcomers and experienced returners, including a trio of Golden Eagles that took home some prestigious postseason hardware last year. Sophomore goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann was named the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year, the first Golden Eagle to win the honor since Kelli McCoy back in 2000. Naerdmann joined senior Abi Gearing on the All-OVC first team, while junior Karigan Owens was named to the All-OVC second team.
Naerdemann anchored one of the league's stingiest defenses a season ago, helping pace Tech to an OVC-best 17 goals allowed and a conference-leading 0.83 goals against average. The 17 goals yielded were also the lowest in one season in program history, punctuated by seven shutouts, the highest total in nearly 15 years. The Golden Eagles are hopeful for similar production in 2016 as Tech returns 10 of 11 starters from last year's squad.
Offensively, Tech doubled its goal total from 2014 and frequented the back of the net most often since 2011, led by Abi Gearing's four scores and club-best 11 points. Karigan Owens sat atop the Golden Eagle leader board with five assists in 2015.
From a newcomer perspective, TTU welcomes eight new student-athletes into the mix, spanning the globe with arrivals from Spain (Julia Rebollo), Hungary (Nora Vicsek) and Canada (Kaitie Shipley). The other five newcomers hail from four different states as the Golden Eagles bring aboard Isabelle Austin and Victoria Breeden from Ohio, Dani Shartouny from Georgia, Rachel Blow from Florida and Kelly Allen from Tennessee.
UNC Asheville welcomes TTU into town for the season-opener after wrapping up 2015 with an 11-9-0 overall record, going 4-6-0 in Big South Conference action. The Bulldogs were ranked in a tie for fifth in the conference's preseason coaches' poll after ending last season in a tie for sixth in the 11-team league.
UNCA brings back its top two goal-scorers from a year ago in the form of junior Caroline Houser and senior Paige Trent, who each split the pipes seven times in 2015. Houser also led the Bulldog charge with nine assists and 23 points.
UNC Asheville leads the all-time series with TTU, 7-5, with the last meeting coming back in 2011, a 4-1 Tech victory.
Before saying hello to the Golden Eagles on Sunday, UNC Greensboro will host its season opener against High Point Friday evening. The Spartans were picked to finish third in the Southern Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll following a third-place finish in last year's league standings. UNCG went 9-9-3 overall, posting a 6-2-1 mark in conference play in 2015.
Senior defender Georgia Brown was the only Spartan to earn a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team after the Queenstown, New Zealand native took home first-team honors and all-tournament team honors a season ago.
Sunday's meeting will mark the first in the all-time series between the Golden Eagles and Spartans.
