By Dylan Vazzano, Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the 2014 non-conference season in the rear view mirror, the Tennessee Tech soccer team unwraps its Ohio Valley Conference slate, traveling to both Murray State and UT Martin over the weekend to christen its OVC campaign. The Golden Eagles (2-7-0) will lock up with the Racers (4-5-0) on Friday at 3 p.m. CT, before scooting over to UT Martin (6-3-0) to clash with the Skyhawks Sunday at 2 p.m.
In addition to starting on the right foot toward its chase at a spot in the conference postseason tournament, Tech will also be looking to put past a tough weekend in which the Golden Eagles were outscored 12-0 in losses to Wright State and Evansville in their last two times out.
"It's a new opportunity," TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe claimed on virtually wiping the slate clean with the start of conference play. "We've talked about it with the team over the last few days, it's a fresh start. We are 0-0 and are ready to see what we can do within our conference and potentially put ourselves in a position to be better than we were last year and try to put ourselves in a place where we can make a conference tournament."
If Tech is to come out of the OVC gates strong, Springthorpe noted that it starts with defense, especially against a solid Murray State club that comes into the matchup having won its last three matches, outscoring its opponents 8-2 in the process after netting just one goal in the previous four tilts.
"We have to defend better, that's just a constant theme," Springthorpe said. "Part of Murray State's attack is aggressive and athletic, and at times direct. So for us we have to be able to deal with that. We've spent some time working on it and it comes down to us believing in the formation we play, believing in our abilities, and believing in each other as a group."
An All-OVC first teamer last year, Murray senior Julie Mooney is tied with Morehead State's Jade Flory for the most goals in the OVC with seven, tied for second with 15 points as well. A Tech victory would even up the all-time series at 8-8-1 overall after the Races captured last season's meeting, a 3-0 win in Cookeville.
UT Martin, regular season champions of the OVC with an 8-2 conference mark a year ago, will host the Golden Eagles after a trip to Jacksonville State on Friday. With the exception of the season opener, a 3-2 overtime win against St. Louis, every Skyhawk match has been a shutout with UTM coming out on top in five of the eight affairs, including the last two with wins over Kennesaw State and Georgia State.
Senior goalkeeper Mariah Klenke has tallied all 814 minutes in net this season for the Skyhawks, allowing a mere five goals in nine matches, while making 46 saves in the process.
The Golden Eagles nearly won a thriller last year at Tech Soccer Field over Martin, scoring with just eight seconds left in regulation to tie the match at 1-1, before ultimately losing near the end of the second overtime. The win gave the Skyhawks a narrow edge in the all-time series, currently leading 9-8-1.
"We continue to work on finding better ways to put ourselves in a position to be successful," Springthorpe's final sentiments heading into the weekend. "It's been an overall learning process for all of us as a new staff, and seeing our team play and the players trying to put into action the things that the staff is expecting them to."
