By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With only three matches remaining in the regular season, the Tennessee Tech soccer team will put a lid on the second-to-last week of the year with a Sunday afternoon showdown at Southeast Missouri. Kickoff in Cape Girardeau is slated for 1 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
Still sitting as the OVC's only undefeated team, the Golden Eagles (6-4-4, 5-0-1 OVC) enter Sunday's get-together on an overall eight-match unbeaten streak, tied with the 2021 squad for the second-longest unblemished stretch in program history. Only the 2017 version of the purple and gold had a longer surge behind an undefeated streak of nine in a row.
Tech also marches into Sunday's meeting at SEMO on a 20-match unbeaten streak in OVC regular-season contests, the third longest stretch in conference history. Samford put together a run of 21 in a row from 2005-07 and Murray State holds the record thanks to a 33-match span from 2014-18.
The Golden Eagles are coming off their most exhilarating tilt of the year in the club's last night contest of the regular season Thursday evening in Cookeville, taking down UT Martin 3-2 in a match that saw a second half with five combined goals and three combined lead changes. A Yao Giada Zhou penalty-kick goal in the 54th minute broke a scoreless tie, but the Skyhawks responded with two scores in a three-minute span to go up 2-1 with less than 15 minutes remaining.
Facing their first deficit since Sept. 7 at UAB for a spell of 702 minutes of game action, the Golden Eagles fought back with two goals down the stretch to come away with the thrilling victory. Giada Zhou split the pipes for her second score of the evening to equalize the affair in the 77th minute, before Bailey Taylor sent one into the back of the net in the 89th minute for the winning score.
Giada Zhou's pair of goals gave the senior midfielder an OVC-leading six this season, while Taylor's theatrics pushed the Powell, Tenn. product to five goals on the year. Taylor's take was also her 17th-career score to move the senior into a three-way tie with Andrea Meloff (2009-12) and Robyn Vince (2001-02) for fifth place on the program's career goals list.
Neve Renwick, who assisted on Taylor's game-winning score, compiled a career-high 10 shots in the victory, moving her season total to an OVC-best 56. The freshman from Sheffield, England has attempted 23 more shots than the next closest player in the league, Tech's Katie Toney with 33 tries.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles head into Sunday having not surrendered a first-half goal in nine-consecutive contests. Selma Askildsen and Macy Carter have still played each and every minute this season, while Abigail Davis has appeared in 511 of a possible 540 minutes during OVC play and Sami Cullum has appeared in 507 minutes during conference action.
Maggie Conard, the reining OVC Goalkeeper of the Week, is third in the league in save percentage with a .828 mark and sits atop the conference in total saves behind 72 stops.
A look at Southeast Missouri
The Redhawks (6-4-3, 2-2-2 OVC) are currently sitting in a tie for fifth place in the OVC behind eight total league points. SEMO was idle Thursday after falling at second-place Morehead State 1-0 on Sunday in the squad's last affair. An eighth-minute goal was all the Redhawks allowed in a clash that broke a three-match unbeaten streak that saw SEMO win road tangles at Lindenwood and SIUE to go along with a 1-1 home draw vs. Little Rock on Oct. 5.
Cayla Koerner, the reigning OVC Forward and Freshman of the Year, currently leads the Redhawk attack in all three major offensive categories. The Mahomet, Ill. native has four goals, three assists and 11 points. Emily Baker is currently second on the squad behind three goals and six points.
Sophia Elfrink has started 12 of 13 matches in between the pipes and is the league leader in goals against average thanks to a 0.93 mark. The 5-foot-10 sophomore is also the only keeper in the conference with six clean sheets this season.
Inside the series
Sunday's affair will be the 28th meeting in the all-time series. The Redhawks have a 16-7-4 edge in the set, but the Golden Eagles bested SEMO in last year's battle with a 3-0 nod in Cookeville on Oct. 16. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in the last Cape Girardeau get-together in the 2021 regular-season finale on Oct. 24.
Photo by Jim Dillon
