Smith honored as OVC Offensive Player of the Week, Conrad named Goalkeeper of the Week
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The weekly accolades continue to pile up for the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as for the fourth time in the last five weeks the Golden Eagles took home some conference hardware.
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The weekly accolades continue to pile up for the Tennessee Tech soccer team, as for the fourth time in the last five weeks the Golden Eagles took home some conference hardware.
Chloe Smith was recognized as the OVC Offensive Player of the Week, while Maggie Conrad claimed the OVC Goalkeeper of the Week award Tuesday afternoon, the first time this season that more than one Golden Eagle secured an honor in the same week. Selma Askildsen was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11, while Emily Carlevato also collected the OVC Defensive Player of the Week distinction on Sept. 27 and Taylor Rhodes was awarded as the OVC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 20.
Smith's honor makes it a second-consecutive season in which the senior forward has been recognized as the league's Offensive Player of the Week after picking up the recognition on Oct. 12, 2021 following a game-winning goal over Eastern Illinois and an assist on the game-winning score against UT Martin.
Smith is fresh off a monster match that saw the Cincinnati, Ohio native score a goal and collect an assist, both in the second half, in Tech's 3-0 home victory over SEMO on Sunday that kept the Golden Eagles undefeated and in first place in the conference. Leading 1-0 early in the second half, Smith split the pipes in the 55th minute for her OVC-leading sixth goal of the season, before assisting on a Bailey Taylor net-finder in the 67th minute to essentially put the tilt on ice for her fifth assist of the year, second-most in the league.
The former All-OVC first-teamer leads the conference in points with 17, five more than any other player in the OVC.
Maggie Conrad's first career weekly accolade comes on the heels of another clean sheet that featured three saves for the sophomore in TTU's 3-0 nod over the Redhawks. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native collected her trio of stops in the second half, including an impressive leaping denial that saw her pop a Zoey Memmel attempt over the cross bar in the 89th minute to keep the blanking intact.
Conrad has helped lead the Golden Eagles to five shutouts in six OVC affairs.
With the regular season down to just two matches remaining, Smith, Conrad and the rest of the purple and gold will welcome Morehead State to town on Thursday night in a first-place and undefeated showdown. A Golden Eagle victory would clinch the regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the OVC Tournament. Kickoff in Cookeville is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and admission to Tech Soccer Field is free of charge.
Photos by Jim Dillon
