By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Another Sunday and another win for the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as the Golden Eagles scored in the early stages of the second half to come away with a 1-0 victory over Southeast Missouri at Houck Field.
Tech's triumph not only keeps the Golden Eagles undefeated and in first place in the OVC, but the hard-fought win also extends TTU's conference regular-season unbeaten streak to 21-straight league matches, tying Samford (2005-07) for the second-longest such streak in OVC history. Tech (7-4-4, 6-0-1) secured another piece of program history as well, claiming a victory in Cape Girardeau for the first time since 1999.
Overall, the Golden Eagles have gone unbeaten in nine-consecutive clashes to tie the 2017 club for the longest unblemished streak in program history.
"We are definitely excited to go on the road and come away with a hard-fought win against a great SEMO team, who is always a handful to play at home," TTU head coach Steve Springthorpe said. "We have not had a whole lot of success here over the years, but to get one today, especially at this stage of the season is fantastic for our team. SEMO is always such a well-coached team and year in and year out they are competing for conference championships. They defend their home field very well and it's always a tough environment. We knew coming in it would be a battle and I am happy with how we handled everything they threw at us to capture the win and take three points."
A set-piece chance led to the purple and gold to unwrapping the scoring, using a Yao Giada Zhou corner in the 56th minute to take the 1-0 edge. The senior midfielder placed a perfect ball into a crowd near the net that saw Neve Renwick climb the ladder and head it into the back of the net for the early second-half advantage. Renwick's score tied her with Bailey Taylor for the second-most goals on the team as well as the second-most in the OVC, while Giada Zhou's assist bumped her helper total to a league-best six.
"Giada decided to play a longer ball off the corner and Neve was there to put it home," Springthorpe commented. "It was just such a clean goal and a great goal. I am excited for Giada and Neve to team up in that manner for the winning goal."
Tech's clean sheet marked the club's fifth blanking in seven league affairs. Maggie Conrad needed only three saves for the shutout, which included just one just one stop after intermission. Sophia Elfrink collected six denials for the Redhawks (6-5-3, 2-3-2 OVC), with two in the first half and four more in the second.
"I think overall our defensive group, not just our back four, but really our back six with two holding midfielders were stout today," Springthorpe said. "When we needed to clear, we did. When we needed to settle, we did. We won a lot of individual battles as well, which is something we focused on coming into today. Maggie came up with a big save as well in the first half, which was key. Overall, it's all about limiting opportunities and today we did that for the most part."
Katie Toney paced the purple and gold with three shots, including two tries on-point. Emma Brune and Emily Baker each had a pair of bids to lead the SEMO attack.
A defensive battle took center stage in the first stanza in which the Golden Eagles once again blanked an opponent over the first 45 minutes to run Tech's string of first-half goose eggs against the opposition to 10-consecuitive contests. Overall, the first period featured just six combined shots, with each squad attempting three tries, including two on-goal for each club.
The Golden Eagles will prepare for a critical conference clash on Thursday, Oct. 19, as the purple and gold will travel to Morehead State in a battle of the league's top two teams. A Tech victory would clinch the program's second-consecutive OVC regular-season title and third conference crown in school history. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
