By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Coming off an unblemished home stand, the Tennessee Tech soccer team is ready to hit the road for start of the club's longest road stretch of the season. The Golden Eagles jump into the first of a three-match away swing with a Thursday evening matchup at Chattanooga. Kickoff with the Mocs is set for 5 p.m. CT.
The match will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles (1-2-1) are fresh off an undefeated home stand that featured a 4-1 nod over Furman on Aug. 25 and a 1-1 draw with WKU on Sunday. Tech's triumph over the Paladins marked TTU's largest goal output since a 4-0 victory at Purdue Fort Wane on Sept. 2018. The club's Cookeville quartet of scores marked the most goals by the purple and gold in a tilt at Tech Soccer Field since a 4-1 win over Chattanooga on Sept. 6, 2007.
Chloe Smith put together a monster match that saw the Cincinnati, Ohio product notch a career-best two goals and a career-high five points. Bailey Taylor tallied a goal and an assist for a three-point affair, while Yao Giada Zhou racked up three assists, the second-most in a match by a Golden Eagle in program history.
The Golden Eagles needed a touch of late-match dramatics in Sunday's deadlock with the Lady Toppers, erasing a 1-0 deficit thanks to a Katie Toney goal in the 81st minute serving as the equalizer. The McMinnville, Tenn. native found the back of the net for the first time in her collegiate career, becoming the second Golden Eagle in as many matches with that distinction after Allison Lee accomplished the feat in the win over Furman.
Maggie Conrad has started all four matches in between the pipes this season for the purple and gold and has appeared in 345 of a possible 360 minutes. The 5-foot-7 sophomore picked up her first career victory in the match with the Paladins and ended up securing a combined five saves in the pair of weekend affairs in Cookeville.
Selma Askildsen and Macy Carter have appeared in all 360 minutes this year and Emily Carlevato's 345 minutes of action rounds out Tech's trio of field players with over 300 minutes tabbed in 2022.
A look at Chattanooga
UTC's tangle with Tech will mark the club's second home match of the year after falling 2-1 to EKU on Aug. 21. The Mocs (1-2-1) are right off their first win of the year behind a 3-0 triumph at Austin Peay on Sunday. The club has also registered a 1-1 tie at Georgia State on Aug. 25 and a 1-0 loss at UAB in the season opener on Aug. 18 to round out the team's ledger.
UTC tallied three goals after intermission in Sunday's victory in Clarksville, with Birna Johannsdottir, Kelly Tuerff and Mackenzie Smith all collecting goals. The trio joins Maggie Shaw and Clarissa Salinas as the five Mocs with scores this season.
Freshman Caroline Ekern captured a clean sheet in Sunday's tilt at Austin Peay for her first collegiate nod. The 5-foot-8 rookie out of Knoxville was forced into just one stop in the shutout and has seven saves in three matches this year.
Chattanooga was picked to finish fifth in the 10-team Southern Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Senior defender Maggie Shaw reserved a spot on the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Inside the series
Thursday's tilt will mark the 21st meeting in the all-time series. Chattanooga holds a 13-6-1 edge in the set, which includes a 1-0 overtime win in Cookeville in the last get-together on Aug. 29, 2021.
Tech's tangle in the Scenic City will mark the second of three clashes with clubs from the Southern Conference during the regular season. The Golden Eagles topped Furman 4-1 on Aug. 25 and will host Samford on Sept. 15.
Photo by Jim Dillon
