SECOND-HALF AVALANCHE PROPELS SKYHAWKS PAST SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ON THE ROAD

Sunday, October 3

Cape Girardeau, Mo.

1:00 PM

UT Martin

7-3-1, 3-0-0OVC

Southeast Missouri

3-8-0, 0-3-0OVC

UT Martin

Southeast Missouri

SECOND-HALF AVALANCHE PROPELS SKYHAWKS PAST SOUTHEAST MISSOURI ON THE ROAD

10/3/2021 4:35:00 PM | Soccer

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CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Achieving three goals less than nine minutes apart from each other to emphatically break a 1-1 tie in the early moments of the second period, the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team polished off its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference victory on Sunday afternoon, dealing Southeast Missouri State a lopsided 4-1 defeat in the process. Sitting ahead of the pack in the OVC standings with a best-possible nine points to their resume while outgunning the other side by a combined 9-2 over the past seven days, the Skyhawks stayed white hot to deliver more than one knockout blow to the Redhawks for their seventh win overall.

In an identical manner to that of UTM's 4-1 triumph over Eastern Illinois last Thursday at home, four different players added to the scoreboard for head coach Phil McNamara's club, as true freshman Brooke Kala and senior Jill Hildreth both notched their second scores in as many meetings. Emely van der Vliet and Jill's twin sister Jaden Hildreth added to the Skyhawks' goal party at the close of the weekend, bringing the navy and orange an increasing tidal wave of momentum nearing the halfway portion of conference play.

The final margin of 4-1 has been extremely kind to UT Martin this season, finding a victory via that same exact score for the 4^th time this year. Coincidentally, the other two occasions happened in back-to-back fashion during non-conference outings versus North Alabama and Wright State in mid-September. The Skyhawks have now ended two straight bouts with an 8-2 combined final deficit yet again, blowing out a SEMO team that was picked one spot above them in the preseason Ohio Valley Conference projections.

Nearly 20 minutes into the second half, the visitors left no doubt as to the ending result thanks to a three-goal spurt that took a single-digit amount of minutes to materialize. Even though the Redhawks had only seen one shot attempt to that point – which ended in the home squad's only goal of the day in the 23^rd minute – the match was still deadlocked at one all, until the Skyhawks lined up six straight shots at the back of the net in short order, connecting on half of them to immediately put the contest out of reach.

Van der Vliet was the first to find a goal for either side on Sunday, receiving an assist from Jill Hildreth at the 17:07 stamp before Southeast Missouri evened the odds just over five minutes later. The Redhawks were limited to only one more shot attempt the rest of the way while the UT Martin back line of defense continued their OVC-best reputation on another sterling performance. Through 11 appearances, the Skyhawks' opponent has still only registered more than one score in a single game on one occasion, keeping that remarkable statistic intact against their league foe.

The wheels fell off for the hosting side once the Hildreth sisters and Kala launched the ball past starting keeper Bailey Redden thrice in the second frame, all three of those scores in solo fashion to put the nail in the proverbial coffin. Rattled by the Skyhawks' flurry – the second straight time posting three second-half goals – Southeast Missouri slumped to defeat after getting outperformed in the shots category 14-2.

Winning the shot battle for the 7^th time in 2021 and the sixth time out of the last seven meetings, UT Martin was able to hit cruise control once the damage was done with the comfortable advantage. Graduate goalie Erica Myers grabbed her 37^th personal win over her five-year tenure while only needing one save in the 78^th minute to do so.

Seizing their second win in a row over the Redhawks – both instances scoring four goals after a home win in the spring – UTM will return to Skyhawk Field this Thursday for another OVC tossup with Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles have struggled in the consistency department this semester, stuck with a 1-5-1 overall record next to an 0-for-2 conference slide. TTU was last seen dropping a 1-0 decision to Morehead State that began a week's long rest awaiting the road trip to Martin.

Alongside 14 all-time wins over their in-state rival, the Skyhawks have ended the series on top in each of their last three matches against Tennessee Tech. Coach McNamara has picked up the W in nine out of 11 meetings with the Golden Eagles, while UT Martin as a program stands at 9-4 versus TTU when competing at home.

Thursday's first touch will occur at approximately 7:00 p.m., streamed live via ESPN+.