By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – A Chloe Smith goal in the waning moments of regulation paved the way for the purple and gold, as the Tennessee Tech soccer team split the pipes in the 88th minute on the way to a 1-0 win Tuesday afternoon at Morehead State.
Coupled with a 1-0 nod at Austin Peay in the season opener on Mar. 2, the Golden Eagles are now 2-0-0 during the spring, marking the first time since 2016 in which Tech has claimed victories in its first two OVC affairs.
"I'm just so excited for our team and their ability to respond late in what was another tough one on the road," Golden Eagle head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "Similar to what we faced last week at Austin Peay, it's always a tough battle whenever we come up to Morehead. They are a great opponent that always plays hard and competes, so for us to find a way to get a goal in the last few minutes was exciting and I'm proud of our team. To start 2-0 after two hard-fought road games is awesome."
With the prospects of overtime looming, the Golden Eagles hastily dispelled the notion of an extra session thanks to TTU's offense kicking into high gear late in regulation. A series of quick, crisp passes put the ball at the shoe tops of sophomore Emily Carlevato, who directed a feed to fellow sophomore Bailey Taylor. Taylor then guided a left-side give to Chloe Smith, who after maneuvering her way into the box, angled a near-side, bending drive over the leaping try of Morehead keeper Michelle Jerantowski to break the 0-0 knot.
Smith's score marked the junior's third career goal, while Taylor's connection earned the Powell, Tenn. product her first career assist.
Defensively, Tech's unit held Morehead State (0-3-0) to eight total shots, the second-consecutive contest in which the Golden Eagles held the opposition to single-digit attempts after seven tries in the opener at Austin Peay. That match with the Govs featured only one Isabelle Austin save, while Tuesday's tilt with Morehead saw a much busier Austin behind six stops to give the Sylvania, Ohio native her fifth career clean sheet.
Austin's final halt occurred late in the 88th minute with a clutch stop on a Katie Quinn equalizing effort. The save marked the second in the tilt's last 10 minutes after Austin kept the match scoreless with a diving cutoff in the 82nd minute on a Colleen Swift try.
"Izzie played an awesome game today," Springthorpe said. "I told her afterwards that I thought today might have been her best performance since she has been here. She showed a lot of leadership in the way that a senior should and did everything expected of a goalkeeper. She made a number of key saves, handled the ball well and her distribution was fantastic.
"At the same time a lot of credit has to go to our entire team, our whole defensive effort was great," Springthorpe continued. "From our forwards pressing, to our midfielders winning 50-50 balls, to our back line and their ability to keep Morehead into longer and more wider-range shots. I'm proud of our effort out there and to start the season with two shutouts in a row is a great feat."
Cassidy Bereda was responsible for four of Tech's 10 shots, tying Smith for the most TTU attempts on-goal with a pair. Sarah Block, Carlevato, Gabby Garcia and Meredith Nye all tallied a shot as well, with Garcia, Carlevato and Nye all putting their tries on-goal.
Swift, Eva Kiper and Kate Larbes led Morehead with two shots each. Eagle keeper Michelle Jerantowski notched six saves in the contest.
"There's still a lot of games left, but I told the team after today that we have now found a way to pick up a couple of wins in places that are typically tough challenges for us," Springthorpe said. "I think both of these matches have shown our ability to scrap and claw and just find a way to gut out a win even if we haven't always been playing our best.
"We are looking forward to getting back home and facing a team in EIU that frankly has had our number the last few years," Springthorpe added. "They ended our season in 2019 in the OVC Tournament and did the same thing back in 2018 when we needed to get a win against them on the last day of the regular season at home. We are excited about getting back on our own pitch in front of our own fans come Friday."
The Golden Eagles lock up with Eastern Illinois on Friday, Mar. 12 at 4 p.m. CT in the home opener at Tech Soccer Field.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
