By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Late goals in each half by the Tennessee Tech soccer team was ultimately not enough as the Golden Eagles were tripped up 3-2 in the latest edition of their rivalry with Middle Tennessee.
Tech (0-3-1) tied a season high with its two scores, finding the back of the net in the last minute of each stanza in the club's bid at a comeback Sunday evening. Trailing 2-0 in the final minute of the first, freshman Anna Baker helped give the Golden Eagles momentum going into the break with her first career goal in her first career match.
Former Blue Raider Skylar Williams notched her first-career assist after slipping around an MTSU defender on the right side of the box before flipping a perfect pass to Baker, who took care of the rest with a header home to cut the deficit to 2-1 with only 34 seconds remaining the period.
The Blue Raiders (1-2-0) would gather their two-goal edge back after scoring in the 70th minute to push the margin over the purple and gold to 3-1. Idun Kvaale, who assisted on the squad's first goal in the 10th minute, split the pipes with just over 20 minutes left. Emma Pettersen, who scored MTSU's first goal of the night, picked up the assist.
With their work cut out for them in the tilt's waning moments, déjà vu struck the Golden Eagles with more last-minute heroics to slice the deficit in half in the 90th minute. A redirection from Katie Toney knocked off Blue Raider keeper Demi Gronauer and toward a sprinting Allison Lee with nothing but net in sight. Lee capitalized on the opening by burying the chance with only 38 seconds left for her first goal of the season and fourth of her career.
A pair of early scores spelled trouble for the purple and gold after Middle Tennessee raced out to a quick beginning behind two goals within the first 16 minutes. Pettersen posted the first Blue Raider goal in the 10th minute before Manon Lebargy did the honors with an unassisted score in the 16th minute that extended MTSU's lead to 2-0.
The Blue Raiders outshot Tech 17-9 overall and 11-5 in the shots on-goal department. Pettersen paced the match with five total attempts, while Neve Renwick led the Golden Eagles with four shots and two tries on-point. The sophomore forward nearly had a chance to split the pipes late in the match after making a move to get past Gronauer in the final 3:30, but Blue Raider defender Emma Brown was able to spoil the Tech chance by knocking it away with the finish line potentially in sight.
Gronauer would end up with three saves, while Maggie Conrad secured eight stops for the purple and gold.
With the first two weeks of the regular season now in the rearview mirror, Tech will set its sights on an SEC opponent in the club's next contest. The Golden Eagles will make the trip to Mississippi State on Thursday, Aug. 29 for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff in Starkville.
Photo by Jim Dillon
