ATHENS, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer program wrote a perfect ending to its preseason Saturday as the team exploded for eight goals in a shutout of the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan.

While only an exhibition match, the dynamite performance by the entire team bodes as an encouraging sign for the upcoming season. The Golden Eagles scored three goals in the first half before turning up the burners to add five more in the last 30 minutes of play.

"I think it was fantastic," said head coach Daniel Brizard.  "I think we did everything we wanted to do. We accomplished our goals. Obviously when you play you always want to win the game and we did that. But we also won it by playing the way we wanted to play. The first ten minutes were a little shaky. I think the girls just had some jitters because it's the first game. But that's the great thing about an exhibition. You can have some jitters and get away with it. Next week will be our first real true test, but if we play like we did today it will be a competitive match and I think we will serve ourselves well."

Tech was impressively efficient during the contest, scoring eight goals with 12 shots on goal. The team added six assists to the performance as well.

Leading the Golden Eagles to victory were senior forward Sarah Gawthrop and junior forward Ellie Iaciofano with two goals apiece. Gawthrop also added an assist.

"It feels really good," remarked Gawthrop. "We had a great win and it's a great start to our season. I'm really looking forward to what we can do. We started off a little rough, but we cleaned it up and played well as a team."

"It feels good," added Iaciofano. "It's a good omen for the season to come. I think this is going to be a good year for all of us and we're all excited. This was a great beginning."

Also scoring goals for TTU were seniors Leigh Heffner and Kerri Reid, sophomore Kelsey McGohan, and freshman Taylor Sutton. Reid and Sutton also added assists along with senior Julie Thompson and juniors Shannon Rountree and Jessica Wilson.

Earning the win for the Golden Eagles was freshman goalie Jordan Brown. Brown split time in the net with freshman Allison Barlow, who had two saves against the Bulldogs.

The Tech soccer team will open the regular season on Friday, Aug. 17, with a home match against East Tennessee State beginning at 3 p.m. CT.