COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team offense may need to be registered as a lethal weapon following the Golden Eagles 3-2 win over Northern Kentucky Friday evening.
"I think it's great we got a win," said head coach Daniel Brizard. "We were at home, it's the first week of school, and we had a great crowd out there. We loved the support."
With 23 shots, including nine on goal, the Tech offense exploded for three goals in the contest, pushing the Golden Eagles' record on the 2012 season to 2-2-1. Eight different players recorded a shot-on-goal in the contest.
"You're not going to score if you don't shoot," said Brizard. "We're making strides forward and that's what you want to see out of your team. Although it's a lot of the same girls from last year, I think this group is a better team and a different team."
Junior forward Ellie Iaciofano kicked off the scoring for Tech, scoring in the 26th minute off a beautiful shot from the right side of the box, landing it just under the crossbar in the upper left corner of the goal. Fellow junior, Amanda Koch nabbed her second assist of the season on the goal.
Northern Kentucky would answer back with less than three minutes left in the first half, tying the match at 1-1 off a Martha Staab goal.
Senior midfielder Sarah Gawthrop put Tech back on top in the 72nd minute with an absolute perfect corner kick, bending it into the far left corner of the goal. It marked Gawthrop's first goal of the season and gave the Golden Eagles some much needed momentum.
Just a minute and a half later, Iaciofano added her second goal of the game, and third of the season, off a fantastic pair of passes from senior midfielders Kris Cambron and Kerri Reid. The goal would prove to be the game-winner, Iaciofano's first of the season. She now leads the Golden Eagles with three goals and seven total points on the season. The junior forward matched a season-high with three goals and scored her first career multi-goal game.
The Norse would add a goal late in the second half, but the Golden Eagle lead would prove to be too insurmountable to overcome.
Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown made four saves in the match and wasn't really challenged until late in the game. She made an incredible diving save with less than 30 second to play to earn her second career win.
Kris Cambron moved into a tie for eighth on the Tennessee Tech all-time list for career assists with eight. Brown forced a tie for tenth on the Tech all-time list for career saves with 31, despite being just a freshman. Senior defender Leigh Heffner, who played every minute of the match for the fifth time in five games this season, climbed to seventh on the TTU all-time list for career minutes played with 5,327.
