By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team will put its three-match winning streak on the line Sunday afternoon as the Golden Eagles will head to Southern Indiana to seal the deal on another weekend of Ohio Valley Conference action. Kickoff from Evansville is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
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
The Golden Eagles (3-7-4, 3-1-0 OVC) enter Sunday's matchup surging thanks to a three-match winning streak that has featured three-consecutive shutouts for the purple and gold. In wins over SEMO, UT Martin and Morehead State, Tech has outscored its opposition 6-0.
TTU will head into the battle with the Screaming Eagles fresh off a 1-0 triumph over Morehead State on Thursday that saw its fair share of dramatics at the end of the affair. With Tech on top 1-0 and less than two minutes in regulation, Morehead was awarded a penalty kick after Kennedy Baquero was taken down in the box.
As Hedda Ornberg stepped up to take the chance, junior goalkeeper Maggie Conrad made a diving stop on Ornberg's bid to essentially push the purple and gold to the finish line behind her third-straight clean sheet. Conrad's dramatic denial marked her third PK save in as many matches after halting a pair of SEMO penalty kicks in a Golden Eagle 3-0 win on Sept. 26.
The reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Week leads the conference with 83 stops this year, including 18 over the last three shutouts.
Offensively, Katie Toney produced the tilt's lone goal in the victory over Morehead. The junior out of McMinnville, Tenn. has now scored in three-straight matches to bump her season total to five goals to tie for second in the OVC. Neve Renwick is still the OVC leader with seven goals to go along with a conference-best 62 shots and 26 shots on-goal.
Lucia Cuadra, who assisted on Toney's goal in Thursday's seventh minute, is knotted for first in the conference with four assists. Fellow Golden Eagle Skyler Williams has four helpers as well.
A look at Southern Indiana
The Screaming Eagles (2-7-4, 1-1-2 OVC) are coming off their first OVC loss of the season behind a 2-0 defeat at Lindenwood on Thursday. The loss snapped a five-match unbeaten streak that featured a pair of wins and a trio of draws. As far as OVC play is concerned, Southern Indiana has a 4-1 win over UT Martin to go along with ties against SEMO and Eastern Illinois.
Four Screaming Eagles has scored two goals this year to pace the offensive attack, with Emerson Grafton, Greta Ohlwein, Emma Schut and Eva Boer all splitting the pipes twice this season. Grafton also has two assists to lead the squad with six points. Pilar Torres' four assists are tied for first in the league.
Anna Markland has owned the majority of the club's goalkeeping duties thanks to 12 matches and nearly 1,000 minutes of action. The redshirt sophomore out of Hoover, Ala. has allowed 19 goals to go along with 50 saves for a 1.76 goals against average and a .725 save percentage.
Inside the series
Sunday's gathering will mark only the third-ever meeting in the all-time series. Tech is a perfect 2-0 in the battle of the birds, which includes a 7-0 win in last year's get-together in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles also claimed a 4-0 victory on Sept. 22, 2022 when the two teams met in Evansville.
Photo by Jim Dillon
