By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A rematch of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship match will take center stage Thursday evening as the Tennessee Tech soccer team will play host to Morehead State in a pivotal conference in clash in Cookeville. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.
Admission to Tech Soccer Field is free of charge. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at Tennessee Tech
Thursday's rematch of the 2023 OVC Tournament championship match will also feature a battle of the top two finishers in last year's regular-season standings. The Golden Eagles (2-7-4, 2-1-0 OVC) enter the tangle following a stellar weekend that saw the purple and gold pick up their first two victories of the season on the way to outscoring SEMO and UT Martin by a combined 5-0 in the pair of triumphs.
The club's top-tier performance helped lead the Golden Eagles to a piece of program history after Tech took home all three OVC weekly accolades for just the third time in school history. Katie Toney was named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week, while Meredith Nye was recognized as the conference's Defensive Player of the Week and Maggie Conrad took home league Goalkeeper of the Week honors. The historic haul was the first of its kind for the purple and gold since Oct. 12, 2021 when Chloe Smith (Offensive), Selma Askildsen (Defensive) and Isabelle Austin (Goalkeeper) all secured weekly honors on the same day.
Toney's two-match performance saw the McMinnville, Tenn. native pick up a combined five points. Toney scored in both matches and added an assist at UT Martin on Sunday. Nye's defensive honor comes on the heels of not leaving the pitch over the course of the two tilts, accumulating 180 minutes of action. The senior out of Jackson, Tenn. also found the back of the net for the first time this season with a goal in the 10th minute on Sept. 26 vs. SEMO.
Conrad's first two shutouts of the season saw the Cedar Rapids, Iowa product collect a combined 13 saves in the pair of clean sheets. In Thursday's win over the Redhawks Conrad stopped two penalty-kick attempts. The 5-foot-7 junior currently leads the league with 78 denials.
Offensively, Tech sits atop the conference with 19 goals in 13 matches. Neve Renwick leads the OVC with seven goals and 16 points. Toney's four goals and 10 points are both good enough for third in the conference. Skylar Williams' four assists put her in a four-way knot for first in the league.
A look at Morehead State
Following a 2-0 beginning to OVC play that saw the Eagles outscore the opposition 7-1 in victories over Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, Morehead suffered its first conference loss behind a 2-1 defeat to Little Rock on Sunday. The Eagles (5-4-3, 2-1-0 OVC) jumped on the board first thanks to a Hedda Ornberg goal in the third minute, but the Trojans would split the pipes in the 23rd and 55th minutes to pick up the nod.
Ornberg is currently second in the OVC with five goals and 12 points. Ava Peck, Carlie Thurmond and Kennedy Baquero are all tied for fifth in the league with three goals. Overall, Morehead's 16 scores trail only Tech for the second-most in the conference.
Lilly Bailey and Claire Cress have shared the goalkeeping duties. Each have played in seven matches to go along with over 500 minutes in between the pipes apiece. Bailey has yielded eight goals to go along with 19 saves for a 1.40 goals against average and .704 save percentage, while Cress has surrendered six goals to go along with 22 stops for a 0.95 goals against average and .786 save percentage.
Inside the series
Thursday's meeting will mark the 30th get-together in the all-time series. Tech currently leads the set 13-12-4, but Morehead won both matchups last season. The Eagles bested the purple and gold 2-1 in the regular-season gathering on Oct. 19 in Morehead before claiming the OVC Tournament title with a 1-0 overtime triumph in Cookeville on Nov. 5.
Photo by Jim Dillon
