By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A thin week of action is in the cards for the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as the Golden Eagles will play just once this week behind a Sunday afternoon get-together against Eastern Illinois at Tech Soccer Field. Kickoff with the Panthers is slated for 1 p.m. CT.
Admission is free of charge. 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 (3-4-3, 2-0-0 OVC) welcome Eastern Illinois to town after a recent surge that has featured a four-match unbeaten streak for the purple and gold. Tech's quartet of unblemished contests has seen the Golden Eagles outscore their opponents 15-3, highlighted by a combined 10-0 showing in the pair of OVC affairs with victories over Lindenwood and Southern Indiana.
In Sunday's conference home-opening triumph over USI, Tech tied a school record with seven goals, a feat that has now been accomplish five times in program history. The Golden Eagles also put seven scores on the board on Sept. 4, 2009 vs. Alabama State, Sept. 11, 2002 against UNC Asheville, Oct. 6, 2001 vs. Morehead State and Oct. 1, 2000 against UT Martin.
Yao Giada Zhou secured her own place in the TTU record book thanks to a school-record tying seven points, an individual total that had only happened two previous times for the Golden Eagles. Chloe Smith posted seven points in last year's OVC Tournament semifinal win over Lindenwood and TTU Hall of Famer Jill Burns tallied seven points against Murray State on Oct. 24, 2003.
Giada Zhou, who was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Tuesday, has helped lead a Golden Eagle offense that leads the league with 19 goals in 10 matches, five more than the next closest school (Little Rock with 14 goals in 11 matches). Bailey Taylor sits atop the OVC leaderboard with 12 points thanks to four goals and four assists this season. The senior out of Powell, Tenn. has had four three-point matches in her last six affairs.
Neve Renwick, the conference leader in shots with 30, is tied with Taylor, Little Rock's Karina De Paoli and Morehead State's Colleen Swift for the most goals in the OVC with four scores apiece. Katie Toney leads the league in assists with five helpers.
Selma Askildsen, who is one of two Golden Eagles that have played each and every minute this year (Macy Carter), was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after helping guide the Golden Eagles to a pair of clean sheets in wins over Lindenwood and Southern Indiana. The senior out of Oslo, Norway also picked up her first career goal in Sunday's nod over the Screaming Eagles en route to her fourth career weekly honor.
Junior goalkeeper Maggie Conrad paces the conference in save percentage at .818 and is second in the league in saves behind 54.
Tech's two OVC triumphs have moved the purple and gold's unbeaten streak in conference regular-season matches to 16, dating back to the beginning of October 2021.
A look at Eastern Illinois
Unlike the Golden Eagles who did not play on Thursday, the Panthers (2-5-3, 1-1-1 OVC) are coming off a captivating comeback in Thursday's match with Morehead State that ended in a 1-1 draw in Charleston, Ill. Trailing 1-0 in the final minute of regulation, Ella Onstott scored her first goal of the season with just 26 seconds left to force the eventual deadlock. The sophomore midfielder split the pipes on a header that was made possible on an Abby Reinl cross that netted the Reinl her team-leading third assist of 2023.
The 5-foot-5 freshman out Sheboygan, Wis. also leads EIU with seven points thanks to two scores as well. Zenaya Barnes and Alex Tetteh are tied with Reinl atop the Panther leaderboard with a pair of goals.
After not winning an OVC match in 2022 behind an 0-4-4 league ledger, Eastern Illinois picked up their first conference victory of the year with a 2-0 nod at SEMO on Sunday. The club's other conference result was a 1-0 loss at SIUE on Sept. 25.
Three Panthers have spent in time between the pipes this season, with Ashlyn Hoover, Ella Kratochvil and Lexi Prusow all appearing in at least 180 minutes on the year. Kratochvil has started all three OVC matches and has allowed two goals in the trio of contests. The freshman from Wind Lake, Wis. has combined for 19 stops in the three tilts.
Inside the series
Sunday's clash will be the 35th meeting in the all-time series. EIU holds a 19-8-7 edge, but Tech has rolled off four straight victories in the set. Last year's matchup in Charleston saw Taylor Rhodes break a scoreless knot with a goal in the 77th minute, propelling the purple and gold to a 1-0 victory.
The Golden Eagles and Panthers met twice in 2021, with Tech claiming both affairs thanks to 1-0 triumphs. TTU ended EIU's season with a 1-0 win in the first round of the OVC Tournament, scoring on a Gabby Garcia goal in the 55th minute in Murray, Ky. The regular-season meeting in Cookeville featured a Chloe Smith penalty-kick goal in double overtime to give the Golden Eagles a 1-0 victory in the last Tech Soccer Field matchup.
Photo by Jim Dillon
