By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Two goals less than a minute apart were the deciding factors in Tennessee Tech's annual Ohio Valley Conference match-up with Morehead State Friday evening, as the Eagles from the north used their turf field to their advantage to defeat the Golden Eagle soccer team (6-7-1, 2-4-1), 2-0.
The two sides fought to a stalemate in the first half, with Morehead State (4-11-0, 3-4-0) holding a 6-4 advantage on shots. Golden Eagle goalkeeper Kari Naerdemann made two saves in the stanza to keep the home team off the scoreboard.
A couple of tough bounces off the springy playing surface helped provide the damage for Morehead State in the second half.
In the 54th minute, Eagle midfielder Samantha Damante gathered up a loose ball off a front-flip throw-in from forward Colleen Swift to push in the first goal of the match. The ball cleared a mass of people just to the right center of the box, bouncing once and falling to Damante. She fired a shot into the top right corner to post the 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute later, a long Morehead State dump into the Golden Eagle zone skipped along just past the sprinting back line of the Tech defense. Swift corralled the ball, and blasted a low line drive to the back left corner for the 2-0 lead.
Both goals proved enough as Tech was limited to one shot on goal by senior Molly Kafader, a header attempt in the second half. Naerdemann made four more saves in a livelier second half that saw the Eagles take a total of 11 shots and the Golden Eagles tally seven.
Tech returns to the pitch Sunday for a tilt with Eastern Kentucky in Richmond, Ky. First kick is scheduled for a noon CT start. The Golden Eagles return to Cookeville the following weekend for the final two matches of the regular season.
Photo by Thomas Corhern