By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech soccer team will jump into its final four matches of the regular season behind a crucial home OVC clash against SIUE on Sunday in the first of the remaining four games of the regular year. Kickoff with the Cougars in Cookeville is slated for 1 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
The Golden Eagles (4-7-4, 4-1-0 OVC) enter their lone match of the week rolling thanks to a league-best four-match winning streak. Tech's recent surge has seen the purple and gold outscore their opponents 10-1.
TTU's last match featured a season-high tying four goals as part of a 4-1 road win at Southern Indiana on Sunday. Neve Renwick split the pipes twice in the victory, while Lucia Cuadra and Claire Palya each found the back of the net as well in the nod. Cuadra also picked up a pair of assists to cap off a four-point performance. Katie Toney registered two assists as well, while Natalie Howard notched her first career assist and first career point in the win.
Renwick's two goals extended her conference-leading mark to nine scores this season, three more than any other player in the league. Cuadra's big week, which also included an assist on Toney's game-winning goal in a 1-0 triumph over Morehead State on Oct. 3, pushed the Barcelona, Spain native to a tie for tops in the OVC with five assists.
Toney, who has at least one point in four-straight matches, is currently second in the conference with 14 points, trailing only Renwick's 20.
Maggie Conrad, who has allowed only one goal during Tech's four-match winning streak, is tied for third in the OVC with three shutouts. The 5-foot-7 junior's 84 stops are the most in the league.
Tech's 4-1 conference ledger puts the purple and gold in second place in the league thanks to 12 points. Little Rock is sitting in first behind 13 points.
A look at SIUE
The Cougars (2-6-4, 1-2-2 OVC) come to Cookeville having gone unbeaten in three of the last four affairs behind draws to Little Rock and Western Illinois to go along with a 2-1 home victory over EIU on Sunday. The triumph over the Panthers saw SIUE erase a second-half 1-0 deficit with a match-tying score by Savannah DeFini in the 59th minute before Macie Begley gave the Cougars the lead for good behind a game-winning score in the 88th minute.
DeFini's team-leading fifth goal puts the Gretna, Neb. product in a knot for third in the OVC in goals, while her 13 overall points are also tied for third in the league. Begley's goal was her first this season, but the junior midfielder out of O'Fallon, Mo. is deadlocked with DeFini for the most assists on the squad with three.
Two Cougars have shared goalkeeping responsibilities this season with Abby Haskell and Samaya Hogg each tallying at least 450 minutes of action. Haskell has started three-of-five OVC matches behind assignments against UT Martin on Sept. 22, Little Rock on Sept. 26 and EIU on Sunday. The Naperville, Ill. native has yielded three goals to go along with seven saves. Hogg has started conference contests at Lindenwood on Sept. 29 and at Western Illinois on Oct. 3. The redshirt freshman out of Lincoln, Neb. has yielded three goals and has made seven stops in the two league matches.
With a 1-2-2 conference mark, SIUE's five league points put them in a tie with EIU and Southern Indianan for fifth place.
Inside the series
Sunday's tangle will mark the 16th get-together in the all-time series. The set sits at a 6-6-3 stalemate. The two teams played to a scoreless draw last year in Edwardsville. Tech bested SIUE 2-0 in the last Cookeville regular-season meeting on Oct. 6, 2022, but the Cougars took down the purple and gold 1-0 in the OVC Tournament championship match later that season on Nov. 6 at Tech Soccer Field.
Photo by Jim Dillon
