By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A dramatic Maggie Conrad save on a penalty kick in the waning moments of regulation helped propel the Tennessee Tech soccer team to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Morehead State Thursday night at Tech Soccer Field.
Down a goal with under two minutes left, Morehead's Kennedy Baquero was taken down in the box to set the stage for a Hedda Ornberg PK with the chance at an equalizer well within sight. Ornberg, who is tied for the second most goals in the conference, drove a ball low toward the left post but Conrad's diving effort proved to be enough in gobbling up the chance to push the Golden Eagles to the finish line.
The reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Week halted her third penalty kick in as many matches after stopping two SEMO PK's as part of a 3-0 victory on Sept. 26. On Thursday Conrad picked up five saves on the way to the shutout.
Overall, Tech's victory over the defending OVC Tournament champions was the club's third-consecutive triumph as well as third-consecutive clean sheet. The Golden Eagles (3-7-4, 3-1-0 OVC) have outscored the opposition 6-0 over the three-match surge.
TTU jumped on the board in the tilt's early stages behind a Katie Toney goal for the McMinnville, Tenn. native's fifth of the year and third-straight match with a goal. Toney's score was set up by a Lucia Cuadra free kick that was placed perfectly to the waiting shoe tops of Toney, who took care of the rest in finding the back of the net. The well-executed set piece earned Cuadra her fourth assist of the year to tie for the league lead.
Neve Renwick led all players with four shots, including three on-frame. Ava Peck paced Morehead's side with three total attempts. The Eagles (5-5-3, 2-2-0 OVC) led the overall shot battle, 13-11.
Morehead State's Lilly Bailey picked up five saves in the loss.
The Golden Eagles will put their three-match winning on the line Sunday afternoon with a trip to Southern Indiana to seal the deal on another week of Ohio Valley Conference action. Kickoff in Evansville is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Photo by Jim Dillon
