COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After a weekend of tough matches against High Point and Davidson that ended with a 0-1-1 record, the Tennessee Tech soccer team will look rebound this weekend as it hosts Northern Kentucky and travels to face #10/#18 ranked Missouri.
The Golden Eagles host their second home match of the season when Northern Kentucky, new to the Division I scene this year, comes to town on Friday for a 3 p.m. CT showdown. Following the match, the team will travel to Columbia, Missouri to take on the Missouri Tigers on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Tech soccer team wrapped up a three-game road-trip spanning over the last two weekends. The team finished 1-1-1 in the three contests, the final two of which took place in North Carolina last weekend.
Tech played the High Point Panthers to a 1-1 draw after two overtime periods last Friday. Senior defender Leigh Heffner, who has played every minute this season, put the Golden Eagles ahead in the sixth minute of the contest, scoring her first goal of the season with a shot from the mid-line. High Point would later tie the match in the first half.
Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown played the entire 110 minute match, making a then career-high eight saves.
The Golden Eagles followed up the tie with a 2-0 loss to Davidson on Sunday. Davidson, which hadn't played that weekend, put up 23 shots during the match, including 11 on goal. Brown made a career-best nine saves in the match, and allowed just three goals in 20 shots-on-goal faced the entire weekend.
"I think they'll be some good matches," said head coach Daniel Brizard. "Hopefully we can go into Mizzou 2-2-1, which would be a good start for us. There's no push-over games on our schedule from here on out and there haven't been all season."
Scouting Northern Kentucky
- The Norse are moving up from Division II this season and are currently 1-2 against Division I opponents.
- NKU went 0-2 last weekend, losing 2-1 to both Ball State and Western Kentucky.
- This will mark the first meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Norse.
- Four different players have scored goals for the Norse this season with junior forward/midfielder Megan Frye leading the team with three points.
Daniel Brizard on the Norse:
"Northern Kentucky just made the jump from Division II. I think anytime you have a strong Division II team moving up to Division I, they're moving up for a reason. They're a quality team and a hard-working team so we'll have a test. They're going to be a tough team."
Scouting Missouri
- Missouri is ranked #18 in both the NCAA Coaches Poll and the NSCAA Poll.
- The Tigers are ranked #10 according to Soccer America.
- Mizzou is 3-0 this season with wins over Memphis, UC Santa Barbara and #15 California.
- The Tigers and Golden Eagles will meet for the first time on Sunday.
- Senior forward Taiwo Adeshigbin and junior forward Alyssa Diggs lead the Tigers with three goals apiece.
- Goalkeeper McKenzie Sauerwein has recorded 11 saves and allowed three goals in 270 minutes played over the three wins.
Daniel Brizard on the Tigers:
"Missouri is a very direct team. They're going to pressure us all over the field. I think it'll be a really good test for our girls to just see that different level and what it takes to be an SEC team. Do I think we can hang with them? Yeah. I think we can hang with any team in the country given the right circumstances. Obviously it's a road-trip. They're playing at home. But to me, that doesn't matter. They're still a team. It's still 11 players versus 11 players. If we do the things we're supposed to, we'll make a match of it."
