Top-seeded Tech welcomes No. 5 Southern Indiana to town in Thursday’s OVC Tournament semifinal
Tech Soccer Field will once again be the sight where a champion is crowned and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament is punched.
| Final | 1 | 2 | OT | OT2 | OT3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team Stats
Tennessee Tech : 6/ N 9/ N 28/ Y 13/ Y 21/ Y 14/ Y
Tennessee Tech wins shootout 4 - 3
Southern Indiana
| Game Statistics | Southern Indiana | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 11 (2) | 11 (5) |
| Saves | 5 | 2 |
| Fouls | 13 | 8 |
| Corner Kicks | 3 | 5 |
| Offsides | 1 | 0 |
By Dylan Vazzano, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tech Soccer Field will once again be the sight where a champion is crowned and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament is punched.
By virtue of winning the OVC regular-season championship for the fourth-straight year, the Tennessee Tech soccer team will once again host the OVC Tournament semifinals and championship match. As the tourney's final four are set to gather in Cookeville, the top-seeded Golden Eagles will greet No. 5 Southern Indiana in the first of two semifinal clashes on Thursday. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. CT.
No. 3 Lindenwood and No. 2 Little Rock will square off in the other semifinal battle, set to begin at 7 p.m. CT. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday at 4 p.m.
Admission to Tech Soccer Field is free of charge. The match will be livestreamed on ESPN+. Click here to watch. Live stats will also be available. Click here to view.
A look at No. 1 Tennessee Tech
As the league's No. 1 seed, the Golden Eagles (6-6-7, 6-0-3 OVC) captured one of two double-byes straight to the semifinals where they will be making the program's eight appearance in the OVC Tournament semis over the last 11 seasons.
After topping Eastern Illinois 2-0 in the regular-season finale on Oct. 26, Tech made history as the OVC's second regular-season four-peat. Samford won four consecutive crowns from 2003-06.
Tech's latest championship is the school's fifth overall regular-season title. The Golden Eagles seized the OVC's first regular-season crown in 1998.
Tech is looking for its second-ever OVC Tournament championship after taking home the title in 2000 behind a 1-0, double-overtime win over Eastern Illinois in the final to advance to the program's only NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. The Golden Eagles have made the championship match in two of the last three seasons in their first three appearances as the host school for the semifinals and finals.
TTU enters the semifinal bout on a nine-match unbeaten streak to tie the longest unblemished streak in program history. The 2023 and 2017 Golden Eagle squads also put together a nine-contest unbeaten streak.
Since Tech's last contest, the Golden Eagles made more history with a program-record tying 10 OVC postseason honors, the most in the conference. Lucia Cuadra was named the league's Midfielder of the Year, while Claire Palya took home the OVC Defender of the Year and Corey Boyd was recognized as the conference's Coach of the Year.
Cuadra and Palya joined Katie Toney and Allison Lee on the All-OVC first team, while Maggie Conrad and Natalie Howard reserved places on the second team. Eva Baker rounded out Tech's haul with a spot on the OVC All-Newcomer team.
Howard's seven goals and 16 points pace the purple and gold this season. Cuadra and Melina Hamm are tied for the most assists on the club with five helpers apiece. The pair ended up knotted for first in the league at the end of the regular season in assists.
Katie Toney's five goals this year moved the McMinnville, Tenn. native to 21 career scores, good enough for sole possession of third place on the program's career list.
Maggie Conrad's 0.56 goals against average during league play put the senior keeper in second in the conference. Her four shoutouts during OVC action tied her for third in the league, while her .857 save percentage during league action was the fourth best mark among conference keepers.
A look at No. 5 Southern Indiana
The Screaming Eagles (9-7-4, 4-2-3 OVC) make the march to Cookeville for the semifinals after already winning a pair of OVC Tournament matches thanks to a 2-0 nod over No. 8 SEMO in the first round and a 3-0 triumph over No. 4 Eastern Illinois in Sunday's quarterfinal.
Peyton Murphy tallied a pair of goals in the victory over EIU to advance to the semifinals. The senior forward is tied with Emerson Grafton for the most goals on the team with five. Grafton also leads the club with 15 points, while Emma Thurston's six assists are the most in the OVC heading into Thursday's semifinal. Thurston has three assists in the two OVC Tournament contests.
Defensively, EIU enters the semifinal tangle with Tech with three straight clean sheets after also blanking Western Illinois in the regular-season finale on Oct. 26. Red-shirt junior keeper Anna Markland's eight shutouts are tied for the second-most in the league. Sophomore defender Emma Schut recently took home All-OVC second team honors.
In the club's fourth year in the Ohio Valley Conference, this year's appearance in the semifinals marks the first trip to the semis in program history. The Screaming Eagles were ousted in the quarters in each of the last two seasons. The squad's nine overall wins are the most in a single year since becoming a Division I program in 2022.
Inside the series
Tech is a perfect 4-0 in the all-time series with Southern Indiana. The Golden Eagles have outscored USI 17-1 in the quartet of affairs, which includes a 2-0 win in Cookeville on Oct. 16 in this year's regular-season meeting. The match is one of only two losses for the Screaming Eagles since Aug. 31.
Photo | Jim Dillon
