By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A chance to capture the program's second-consecutive conference crown will be on the line Thursday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech soccer team travels to Morehead State for a pivotal battle between the league's top two teams. Kickoff in Kentucky is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
The Golden Eagles can clinch their third-ever OVC regular-season championship with a win or draw. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles march to Morehead as the league's last remaining undefeated team, and will head into the last road match of the regular season on an overall nine-match unbeaten streak, tied with the 2017 club for the longest unblemished stretch in program history. Tech (7-4-4, 6-0-1) will also bring a 21-match undefeated streak in OVC regular-season contests, which is tied with Samford (2005-07) for the second-longest in conference history. Murray State holds the record behind a 33-match span from 2014-18.
TTU is fresh off a 1-0 Sunday triumph at Southeast Missouri for the program's first victory in Cape Girardeau since 1999. Scoreless early into the second half, Neve Renwick split the pipes in the 56th minute to give the Golden Eagles their lone goal of the afternoon. The winning score came off of a Yao Giada Zhou corner that landed off the lid of Renwick and into the back of the net. Giada Zhou's helper was her OVC-leading sixth of the season, while Renwick's goal tied Bailey Taylor for the second-most in the conference. Giada Zhou leads the league with six scores this season.
Renwick still paces the conference with 57 total shots, which includes a career-high 10 attempts in Tech's 3-2 home win over UT Martin on Oct. 12 for the most tries in a single match by any player in the OVC this year. Katie Toney has the second-most bids in the league thanks to 36 tries to go along with five assists, four goals and 13 points.
Defensively, not only have the Golden Eagles posted five shutouts in seven OVC matches, but the purple and gold have been particularly stingy in the first half of contests this year, having not yielded a score in a first stanza 10-straight matches.
Maggie Conrad leads the league in save percentage behind a .833 mark as well as total stops with 75 denials this year. Tech's defense is second in the OVC with a 1.13 goals against average.
A look at Morehead State
The second-place Eagles (5-5-5, 4-1-2 OVC) entertain TTU on the heels of back-to-back clean sheets thanks to a 1-0 victory over SEMO on Oct. 8 and a 2-0 nod against Lindenwood on Sunday. The consecutive triumphs featured only four combined shots on-goal against Morehead's defense, with sophomore keeper Erin Gibbs responsible for fending off the quartet of attempts. The Mesa, Ariz. native is currently tied for second in the OVC with five shutouts.
Offensively, Colleen Swift and Hedda Ornberg have frequented the back of the net most often for Morehead behind four goals apiece. The duo is tied for fourth in the OVC with the four scores. Erin Fite leads the team and is tied with Bailey Taylor for third in the conference with four assists, while Nicole Fiantaco, who scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 victory against SEMO, has had a strong fifth-year campaign with two goals and three assists.
Morehead's lone OVC loss this year was a 2-1 defeat at Southern Indiana on Oct. 1. The club also picked up conference shutout wins over Little Rock and UT Martin to go along with a 0-0 draw vs. Western Illinois and a 1-1 deadlock at Eastern Illinois.
Inside the series
Thursday's tangle will mark the 28th meeting in the all-time set, with Tech currently on top 13-10-4. Last year's clash in Cookeville was among the most important get-togethers in the series, with the Golden Eagles clinching the program's second-ever OVC regular-season title thanks to a 1-0 victory on Oct. 20. Bailey Taylor scored in the 74th minute to break the scoreless deadlock and ultimately send TTU to its first conference crown since 1998.
The last matchup in Morehead was an Eagle 1-0 nod on Sept. 30, 2021 for Tech's last defeat to an OVC foe in a regular-season match.
Photo by Jim Dillon
