By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The start of another Tennessee Tech soccer season has officially arrived for the Golden Eagles. A test right out of the chute greets the purple and gold with an intriguing matchup at Samford set for Thursday evening in the 2024 opener.
Kickoff in Birmingham, Ala. is slated for 6 p.m. CT. Live stats will available for the contest. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
The Golden Eagles flock to the pitch for the first time this fall having captured each of the last two Ohio Valley Conference regular-season titles for the program's first ever back-to-back conference crowns. This year's Tech squad heads into the start of its campaign after recently being picked as the preseason favorite in last week's OVC Predicted Order of Finish thanks to garnering 12 of a possible 20 first-place votes.
In addition to the top-spot selection, junior Katie Toney was chosen as TTU's Player to Watch. The reigning OVC Forward of the Year and all-league first-teamer jumps into 2024 after finishing second in the conference with six goals while leading all players in the OVC with seven assists a season ago.
Toney makes up a trio of returning Golden Eagles that claimed All-OVC first-team recognition in 2023, joining senior Meredith Nye and sophomore Neve Renwick. Nye, who became just the second Tech player in program history to earn four All-OVC selections is coming off a season in which she tied a career high with three goals on the way to setting a new personal best with seven points in 2023.
In addition to her first-team nod, Renwick became the fifth Golden Eagle in school history to receive the OVC Freshman of the Year award and first since Kris Cambron shared the honor with Murray State's Danielle McMurray in the 2009 season. The Sheffield, England product concluded her rookie campaign tied for third in league with five goals, knotted for third in the OVC with four assists and deadlocked for third in the conference with 14 points. Renwick also paced the league with 79 shots for the second-highest total in a single season in program history.
Toney, Nye and Renwick help make up a strong core of returning talent that features 12 Golden Eagles who suited up for the club in 2023. TTU will also welcome back Allison Lee, who was not in the fold last season, but put together 2022 campaign that saw the red-shirt sophomore take home OVC All-Newcomer team honors thanks to three goals and two assists as a freshman.
Tech did bid farewell to a pair of double-digit point scorers with the departures of the 2023 OVC Midfielder of the Year Yao Giada Zhou and All-OVC second teamer Bailey Taylor. Giada Zhou led the conference with seven goals and 20 points, while Taylor finished tied for third in the league with five goals, four assists and 14 points. The Golden Eagles also said goodbye to Selma Askildsen, Macy Carter and Emily Carlevato, all of whom played crucial roles on the defensive side of the equation throughout their Tech tenures.
Maggie Conrad returns for her third season as the starting goalkeeper. After earning an OVC All-Newcomer team nod as a rookie in 2022, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa native posted a .827 save percentage last season to tie for the fifth-best mark in a single season in program history.
To go along with TTU's dozen returners, Tech will welcome 13 newcomers into the mix in 2024. The Golden Eagles will also have a new head coach patrolling the sidelines for the first time in a decade after Steve Springthopre, the winningest coach in program history, recently joined the administration side of the department as the Executive Assistant to Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.
Corey Boyd will take over the helm, entering the role with a wealth of TTU experience having spent the last 14 years with the Golden Eagle program, including spending the last seven seasons in the role of associate head coach.
A look at Samford
A perennial Southern Conference power, Samford heads into the year having seized nine of the last 10 conference regular-season championships. In fact, under the direction of the program's all-time winningest coach Todd Yelton, the Bulldogs have secured 14 regular-season titles, six conference tournament crowns and seven NCAA Tournament appearances with the club last going in 2022.
Selected as the SoCon's preseason No. 2 after finishing one point shy of last year's regular-season champion Western Carolina with a 6-1-2 league record, Samford heads into the year after advancing to the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament title match where they were upended 1-0 at WCU, this year's preseason No. 1.
The Bulldogs boast a pair of preseason All-Conference members behind the selections of Whitaker Buchanan and Ella Simpson. Buchanan, a 5-foot-7 senior midfielder, is coming off a three-goal, three-assist, nine-point campaign in 2023, while Simpson, a 5-foot-10 graduate student, managed four goals despite suiting up as a defender last year.
Samford did say goodbye to its top two goal scorers from last season's squad with the departures of Mary Raymond and Kyla Reynolds, who each split the pipes six times in 2023. The club's starting goalkeeper Zoe Clevely also graduated after posting a 0.69 goals against average and a .785 save percentage last year.
Inside the series
Thursday night's season opener will mark the 13th meeting in the all-time series. The Bulldogs hold a 9-2-1 edge in the set, which includes a 1-0 nod on Sept. 15, 2022 in Cookeville in the last get-together between the two teams.
Photo by Jim Dillon
