HIGH POINT, N.C. – Following an opening weekend that left them with both win and a loss, the Tennessee Tech soccer team fought to 1-1 tie with the Panthers of High Point Friday night under the lights of Vert Stadium.
"I was very happy and excited with the game tonight," said head coach Daniel Brizard. "I think last year that was a game we would have lost in overtime or towards the end of the game, but our girls hung tough. They played really well tonight. They showed a lot of character."
The Golden Eagles got off to a quick start, scoring within the first six minutes of the match for the second straight game. Senior defender Leigh Heffner nailed a shot into the back of the net off of a free kick from midfield.
High Point answered the Heffner goal in the 34th minute off the foot of Becca Hemby, the Panthers leading scorer on the season.
The defense played great during the contest forcing 16 of High Point's 25 shots away from the goal completely. Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown, who played the entire match, made eight saves in the match, a career high.
Tech put up five shots-on-goal during the contest, including two from sophomore Amanda Koch.
Heffner, who received votes earlier this week for OVC Defensive Player of the Week, logged a staggering 110 minutes in the contest while playing the entire game including both overtime periods. The minutes she logged in the contest were enough to catapult her to eight on the TTU all-time list for career minutes played with 5,147.
The Golden Eagles return to action on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. CT contest against the Wildcats of Davidson in Davidson, N. C. The match will mark the first time Tech soccer has taken on Davidson.
"This year is a whole different team," said Brizard. "Going into Sunday we're looking to build on this momentum. We'll look to rest up on Saturday and come out strong against another good team in Davidson. I think Davidson is going to be quality. This is not an easy weekend, so to get a positive result tonight and carry that into Sunday is fantastic."
