By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team remained unbeaten in OVC play, as the Golden Eagles put one on the board in the first half on the way to a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in Tech's first-ever meeting with the Leathernecks.
Sunday's afternoon's triumph pushes Tech to a seven-match unbeaten streak dating back to Sept. 10 and keeps the purple and gold in first place in the OVC as still the league's only unblemished club. TTU's victory now makes it 19 straight OVC regular-season matches without a loss, dating back to the beginning of October 2021.
"Winning is what it's all about when it comes to conference matches and that is what we were able to accomplish this afternoon," Tech head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "It doesn't matter how it looks or how many goals you score, other than at least getting that one and not allowing any which is exactly what we did today. Credit has to go to Western Illinois. They play a tough style of soccer and can find a way to possess the ball, which can make things difficult. We did what we needed to do today in getting three points and getting out with a 1-0 win."
The Golden Eagles (5-4-4, 4-0-1 OVC) found the back of the net late in the first half for the tilt's lone score, using a Katie Toney goal in the 36th minute to jump out in front. Yao Giada Zhou started the go-ahead score with a through ball that found the shoe tops of the sophomore before Toney took care of the rest with her fourth goal of the season. The McMinnville, Tenn. native's goal ties her with Giada Zhou, Neve Renwick, Bailey Taylor, Morehead State's Colleen Swift, Little Rock's Karina De Paoli, and SEMO's Cayla Koerner for the most in the OVC.
Giada Zhou's assist was her fifth of the season to knot her with Toney for the most in the league.
"Giada gave her a great ball and then Katie does what Katie does," Springthorpe said, on his squad's lone goal. "She gets an opportunity and sticks it in the back of the net. Katie is always making things happen for us and today was no different. That first half we had plenty of chances and it was great to see her finish one. Ultimately it was all we needed today. We defended pretty well, although I thought we could have closed out the game a little better in the second half, but at the end of the day it's a conference win and that's what is important at this point."
Tech put together a season-high 28 shots in the victory and held WIU (2-6-4, 0-2-3 OVC) to just four tries for the second-lowest the Golden Eagles have allowed in a match this year. TTU's shot differential of 24 is the biggest margin this season.
Renwick and Taylor paced the purple and gold with six bids apiece, while Toney notched five shots, including the game-winning goal. Four different Leathernecks took an attempt, with Emmy Ellington, Alanna Pennington, Hana Daoudi, and Kayla Turner all having a chance.
Maggie Conrad stopped three tries en route to her second-consecutive clean sheet and Tech's fourth blanking in five OVC matches. Isabel Navas Rodriguez was busy across the way with 10 denials over the course of 90 minutes.
The Golden Eagles will put the unblemished OVC record on the line at home on Thursday, Oct. 12, as TTU will welcome UT Martin to town for an under-the-lights matchup at Tech Soccer Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and admission is free of charge.
Photo by Jim Dillon
