By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – 504 days proved to be worth the wait for the Tennessee Tech soccer team.
In the club's first home action since Oct. 25, 2019, the Golden Eagles gave their fans more than a fair share of dramatics, as freshman Gabby Garcia scored four minutes into overtime to push Tech to a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois Friday evening.
Garcia's first career goal lifted the purple and gold to a 3-0-0 start, marking the first time since 2015 in which Tech has started OVC play with three consecutive wins and the first time since 2004 that TTU has started a season 3-0-0. The Golden Eagles have won all three matches by 1-0 margins to remain the only team in the conference yet to yield a goal this spring and it's also the first time in program history that Tech has started a year with three straight shutouts.
"Tonight was without a doubt an exciting one," Tech head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "Anytime you win on a golden goal, it's always huge, and then to start the season 3-0 behind three shutouts is something we are proud of. I think our team is just grinding and finding ways to win games. It's a good feeling right now and hopefully when Tuesday rolls around we are still feeling good, still training hard and will be ready for Belmont to come in."
After a series of attempts on-goal went begging, Tech's relentless attack showed that the 10th time was the charm early into the extra session. Yao Giada Zhou pushed a quick pass to the shoe tops of Garcia, who had more than enough space to let loose on a missile well outside the box. Garcia's blast from the right went upper-90 into the back left side of the net to smack an exclamation point on the end of the 2021 home opener.
"I'm going to have to go and watch it again because next thing you know Gabby is hitting a drive into the back of the net and the game is over," Springthorpe said. "She has that capability. We see it in practice. We saw it when we were recruiting her and tonight lightning struck for her when we needed it. At halftime we were encouraging our players to shoot more and she took her chance and did an amazing job. I'm happy for Gabby, I know she is super excited about the goal."
The Golden Eagles peppered a number of attempts on-point with nine during the course of regulation, including a number of serious threats to dent the scoreboard. A Sarah Block corner in the 28th minute led to a deflection that caused EIU keeper Daniela Bermeo to move out of position. Despite heavy Tech traffic in front of the net, and Bermeo out of her normal spot, the Golden Eagles were not able to get a shot off until a Selma Askildsen attempt was eventually gobbled up by Bermeo, who made her way back in front of the net.
In the 34th minute Chloe Smith found herself with space on the left side of the box, but Smith's low liner ricocheted off Bermeo's shoe tops to keep the match scoreless.
In the 55th minute, a Cassidy Bereda shot was directed off Bermeo and into the left post before the carom trickled to Smith who had her shot halted by Bermeo. The ensuing deflection went right back to Smith, but her second attempt was off the mark.
EIU's biggest chance came a minute later, courtesy of a Haylee Renick breakaway in the 56th minute. The 5-foot-6 senior slid past Tech's back line and found herself all alone with just the keeper to beat, but Isabelle Austin aggressively charged forward and halted Renick's bid at breaking the 0-0 knot.
Austin's most challenging save was one of three for the Tech senior that led her to her sixth career shutout and third clean sheet this season. Bermeo matched a career-high with nine saves across the way.
"First from somewhat of a negative point of view, we have to be able to score more goals," Springthorpe noted. "We had some opportunities tonight, and give credit to their goalkeeper who made some last second saves and scooped it out of the net once or twice, but we have to find a way to finish a little more. On the positive side, you can't say enough about our defensive effort. You look again at our back line, which has new players playing on it, some with little experience, but they are starting to come together and are really playing well.
"We always say it doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be effective," Springthorpe added. "We like it to be pretty, but pretty doesn't always work. Winning is what it's all about and it's certainly a great feeling to be in this position at 3-0."
EIU attempted just seven shots in the match, the third consecutive affair in which the opposition has had single-digit attempts against Tech. Chloe Smith led the Golden Eagle charge with five of the squad's 13 total shots. The Cincinnati, Ohio product produced a team-best four shots on-goal.
With the season's first two weeks in the rearview mirror, TTU will set its sights on Belmont, who comes to town for a Tuesday night, in-state showdown at Tech Soccer Field. First kick with the Bruins is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.
File photo by Morehead State Athletics
