By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The OVC home opener saw the Tennessee Tech soccer team check the draw column for the first time in its conference campaign, as the Golden Eagles played Lindenwood to a scoreless knot in the first-ever meeting between the two clubs Sunday afternoon at Tech Soccer Field.
TTU (4-4-3, 2-0-1) dominated the shot discrepancy to the tune of a 27-1 advantage, including an 8-1 edge in shots on-goal, for the most overall attempts taken by the purple and gold in a match since 32 tries on Oct. 11, 2014 in a 2-2 draw against Eastern Illinois. Lindenwood's one attempt, a try by Lily Sutter 20 seconds into the second half, marked the lowest shots taken against the Golden Eagles in a contest this season.
Tech has limited its last two opponents to just five combined attempts after stalling Southern Indiana to only four shots in Thursday's 4-0 win. The Golden Eagles hold a 62-17 shot advantage over the first three OVC affairs, all of which have been Tennessee Tech clean sheets to mark the first time since the first three matches of the 2020-21 spring campaign in which the Golden Eagles have collected three consecutive shutouts.
Maggie Conrad halted the only bid that came her way after stopping Sutter's kick early in the second stanza for her third blanking of the year. Senior keeper Sam Blazek recorded eight stops en route to the shutout, halting six Tech opportunities in the first half alone to lead the Lions (4-6-2, 1-1-1 OVC) to their league-leading sixth clean sheet of the season.
Chloe Smith tied a career-high with a match-leading six shots, three of which were on-point, also the most in the affair. Allison Lee produced a career-high five attempts, while Yao Giada Zhou and Taylor Rhodes each tallied four tries. Giada Zhou had Tech's most serious threat midway through the second half, creating a chance that saw the San Michele al Tagliamento, Italy native blast one off the left post in the 62nd minute that kept the tilt scoreless.
Tech will now turn its attention to its second-to-last road affair of the regular season, as the Golden Eagles will travel to UT Martin on Sunday, Oct. 2 for the club's next contest. Kickoff in Martin, Tenn. is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
