By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
MURRAY, Ky. – A trio of second half scores sent the Tennessee Tech soccer team to an unhappy finish in its Ohio Valley Conference opener, as Murray State got the better of the Golden Eagles with a 3-0 win in Tech's (2-8-0, 0-1-0) fifth straight road contest. The Racers (5-5-0, 1-0-0) have now won four straight, outscoring their opponents 11-2 in the process.
Scoreless through 51 minutes of play, Murray State broke through in the defensive struggle behind a Julie Mooney goal, the senior forward's OVC leading eighth of the year. The St. Peters, Mo. native wrangled in a pass from sophomore Kelsey Smith, before depositing it into the back of the net from inside the 18. Smith was credited with an assist on the play.
The goal was one of 24 Racer shots in the tilt, as Murray continuously peppered Tech's defense with 11 shots on-goal, eight of which were nabbed by Golden Eagle senior goalkeeper Rebecca Toler.
Down 1-0, TTU applied pressure in its own right with three second-half corner kicks, one of which occurring in the 70th minute as the Golden Eagles searched for the equalizer.
Ultimately the equalizer never came and thanks to a pair of late scores, the Racers pulled away in the affair. In the 73rd minute, freshman Harriet Withers split the pipes for the third time this season, scoring on a fast break on the right side after receiving a pass from senior Rebecca Bjorkvall, who was awarded with an assist on the goal.
Bjorkvall would tally a second assist in the 86th minute, connecting with sophomore Lyssie Wright for a final Murray goal to cap off the scoring at 3-0.
Tech totaled six shots on the afternoon, three of which were on-goal that were all gobbled up by freshman keeper Shelby Haworth to earn the shutout victory. TTU junior Taylor Blazei led the Golden Eagles with three shots.
Tech will look to even its OVC mark at 1-1 on Sunday, traveling to UT Martin for a 2 p.m. CT start against the Skyhawks.
