By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Another week and another honor bestowed upon the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as senior Emily Carlevato was awarded as the OVC's Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday afternoon for TTU's second-consecutive weekly accolade.
After Taylor Rhodes captured the club's first such honor in being named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 20 behind a game-winning goal in the league opener at Eastern Illinois, Carlevato makes it a second-straight distinction thanks to her role in helping lead a lights-out defensive effort for the purple and gold.
The Knoxville, Tenn. native secured her first career weekly honor after not leaving the pitch at any point in Tech's pair of affairs, notching 180 minutes of action and guiding a Golden Eagle defensive unit that tallied back-to-back shutouts with clean sheets at Southern Indiana on Sept. 22 and Lindenwood on Sept. 25. Not only did Carlevato play her part in navigating Tech to two blankings, but the 5-foot-8 senior also assisted a TTU defense that limited the Screaming Eagles and Lions to only a combined five shots, and just two on-goal, in the duo of contests.
Carlevato also picked up her first goal of the season, and second of her career, in Thursday's 4-0 victory at Southern Indiana, scoring in the 71st minute to bump the Tech lead to 3-0. The fourth-year Golden Eagle capitalized on a Yao Giada Zhou free kick that saw Carlevato gain control in the box before blasting one through the pipes for TTU's third goal of the evening.
Carlevto and company followed up Thursday's stout defensive effort with a shutout of Lindenwood on Sunday that featured only one total shot against the purple and gold, the lowest number of attempts in a match all season long. The Golden Eagles and Lions played to a scoreless draw.
Nearly halfway through Tech's eight-match conference slate, the Golden Eagles are sporting a 2-0-1 league ledger and are the only team in the OVC yet to yield a goal during conference action. Tech will head to UT Martin for the club's next contest, a Sunday, Oct. 2 meeting with the Skyhawks at 1 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
