By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team begins its final week of non-conference competition with its last road non-conference clash on Thursday at Middle Tennessee. Kickoff with the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro is set for 7 p.m. CT.
The match will be livestreamed on ESPN+. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
Tech's Thursday tangle with Middle will mark the first time this season the Golden Eagles will participate in back-to-back road matches after playing Kennesaw State to a scoreless draw on Sunday down in Georgia. The nil-nil tie marked the club's third draw over the last four affairs following an 0-4 start to the year for the purple and gold.
Senior keeper Maggie Conrad notched her 18th career clean sheet in the scoreless knot with the Owls behind five stops in the contest. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native has collected 36 saves this season to move her career total to 282 denials, which puts her in fourth place on the program's all-time list.
Prior to Tech's deadlock with KSU, the Golden Eagles (0-5-3) played Chattanooga to a 2-2 draw in the club's last home match on Sept. 4. The two-score output was a season high for the purple and gold and saw goals from Tori Soutuyo for her fourth-career goal and Natalie Howard for her first-career score. Howard also added an assist for a three-point evening.
Howard and Soutuyo join Ebba Melin as the trio of Golden Eagles to find the back of the net this season, while Howard, Claire Palya and Melina Hamm have accounted for the squad's three assists this year.
The matchup with Middle will also mark the fifth-straight Thursday that Tech will clash with an-state opponent. The Golden Eagles have already locked up with Lipscomb, Vanderbilt, ETSU and Chattanooga throughout the non-conference portion of their campaign.
A look at Middle Tennessee
The match in Murfreesboro will be the final home non-conference affair for the Blue Raiders (4-3-1). The club heads into the contest having dropped back-to-back tilts for the first time this season in 1-0 losses at Lipscomb on Sept. 4 and at No. 25 Vanderbilt on Sept. 7. Middle Tennessee's other loss this season was a 4-0 defeat at South Alabama on Aug. 28, an opponent Tech also played and fell to this year.
The club's four wins have come against Belmont, Jackson State, Alabama A&M and West Georgia, while MTSU's lone tie this season was a 2-2 draw against Indiana State on Aug. 24.
Taijah Fraser leads the team with three goals. The senior forward is one of three Blue Raiders with more than one score this season, joining Emma Pettersen and Alli Craig who have each split the pipes twice. Pettersen leads the club with three assists and is tied with Fraser with a team-leading seven points.
Demi Gronauer has played in seven-of-eight matches in between the pipes this year. The Las Vegas, Nev. native has surrendered nine goals to go along with 20 stops for a 1.29 goals against average and a .690 save percentage.
Inside the series
Sunday's in-state showdown will mark the 22nd meeting in the all-time set. Middle Tennessee leads the series 16-4-1, which includes a 3-2 win last year in Murfreesboro in the last gathering of the set. The Golden Eagles are 2-1-1 in the last four get-togethers with the Blue Raiders.
Photo: Jeff Bowe, TTU Media Relations