By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the official start of the 2023 soccer season sitting a mere week away, the Ohio Valley Conference released its predicted order of finish Thursday morning as well as the conference's Player to Watch list.
Following a vote from the league's head coaches and sports information personnel, the Tennessee Tech soccer team was selected to win the OVC, garnering 12 of a possible 20 first-place votes as part of a league-best 156 points in the 10-team preseason poll. SIUE, the defending OVC Tournament champion, secured a second-place finish in the predicted order of finish after registering the other eight first-place votes.
Tech's top spot on the poll marks the highest preseason ranking in the Steve Springthorpe era (since 2014). TTU was chosen to finish third in the predicted order of finish in 2022, 2018 and 2016 for the program's highest spot on the list under the 10th-year head coach.
The Golden Eagles are coming off a storied 2022 campaign that featured the program's second-ever OVC regular-season championship and first since 1998. Tech put together the league's first undefeated conference campaign since UT Martin in 2018 en route to earning OVC Tournament semifinal and championship match hosting responsibilities for the first time in school history.
Tech's 2022 fall culminated in its first OVC Tournament championship match appearance since 2009.
Yao Giada Zhou's pick as TTU's Player to Watch is well deserving after the senior midfielder enjoyed a star-studded junior season that saw her become the first Golden Eagle to ever take home the OVC Midfielder of the Year award.
Giada Zhou finished second in conference with six assists, tied for ninth in the league with 10 points and tied for seventh in the OVC with 34 total shots in 2022. The San Michele al Tagliamento, Italy native found the back of the net twice last year, both game-winning strikes behind a goal in a 3-1 victory at Middle Tennessee on Sept. 8 as well as a score in a crucial 2-0 win over SIUE on Oct. 6.
Having just completed their first exhibition affair on Wednesday, the Golden Eagles will travel to Belmont on Sunday for the club's final exhibition get-together. The regular season officially gets underway on Aug. 17 at WKU, before the purple and gold entertain Chattanooga on Aug. 20 in the squad's home opener.
Admission to all regular season matches at Tech Soccer Field is free of charge.
Photo by Jim Dillon
