VAN DER VLIET’S 84TH-MINUTE SNIPE PROPELS TOP-SEED UTM OVER GOLDEN EAGLES IN OVC SEMIFINALS

Friday, November 5

Martin, Tenn.

4 p.m.

UT Martin

11-5-1, 6-2-0

Tennessee Tech

6-6-4, 3-2-3

Tennessee Tech

UT Martin

VAN DER VLIET’S 84TH-MINUTE SNIPE PROPELS TOP-SEED UTM OVER GOLDEN EAGLES IN OVC SEMIFINALS

11/5/2021 9:13:00 PM | Soccer

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MARTIN, Tenn. – During the closing moments of the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Semifinal duel on Friday evening, it seemed as if there would be a case of déjà vu with fifth-seeded Tennessee Tech, in that an overtime period (or two) was imminent. After all, that was the case when these two schools locked horns back on October 7^th in the regular season, a match that TTU stole in the 109^th-minute for a major upset at Skyhawk Field.

However, the Golden Eagles didn't account for the sheer rocket power of Emely van der Vliet's right foot.

Receiving a brisk feed from midfielder Brooke Kala, the sophomore striker launched a missile from beyond 30 yards away that connected at the 83:36 stamp to hand the Skyhawks a heart-stopping 1-0 victory and a sweet measure of revenge with a spot in the OVC Championship to boot.

Picking up right where they left off from their previous meeting nearly one month earlier, the two in-state rivals fought to a near-even result until van der Vliet single-handedly resolved the scoreless stalemate with six minute remaining. Kala and Jaden Hildreth each nearly provided the tiebreaker themselves in the moments preceding the eventual game-winner, helping the Skyhawks gather a 14-10 edge in shot attempts when all was said and done.

While the UT Martin attack needed a bit of a jolt in the waning minutes of regulation, the highly-touted navy and orange back line continued their ferocious reputation by pitching yet another shutout, the sixth such occasion in 2021 holding the other side without a goal for 90 minutes.

Gallery: (11-5-2021) Soccer vs. Tennessee Tech (OVC Semis)

Yao Giada Zhou, Gabby Garcia, and Meredith Nye were all denied Tennessee Tech's final three looks at the net in desperation mode following UTM's 27^th goal of the fall, increasing graduate goalie Erica Myers' save count to four on the day and 59 on the semester. The 1-0 thriller marks win # 41 for the Ohioan on her five-year tenure, two away from tying the school record in that category.

Van der Vliet, Kala, Makayla Robinson, and Maria Castaldo added up for 10 shot tries on Friday, while brand-new OVC Defender of the Year Kamryn Chappell and conference Freshman of the Year Parker Gelinas each proved why they earned such distinctions with huge roles in the Skyhawks' preventative efforts to give the Golden Eagles their first official loss since September 30^th.

Chloe Smith, the TTU forward responsible for the double-overtime victory back in October, finished the conference tournament semifinal round with a pair of shots, as did Bailey Taylor and Giada Zhou. Dating back two matches and some change, the Skyhawks haven't allowed a single goal in the past 195 minutes, dropping their league-best GAA even further to 0.88 in the process.

The Golden Eagles' starting keeper – Isabelle Austin – had her work cut out for her and then some, living up to the challenge by deflecting eight UTM shot attempts. In the end, however, all that mattered was van der Vliet's eleventh-hour cannon that sealed the deal.

Successfully achieving retribution over one of the hottest teams in the conference while simultaneously advancing to the OVC title bout two days from now, the Skyhawks will go head-to-head with the team that finished the regular season entrenched in the same record as them, #2 seed SIUE in a winner-take-all war for the trophy.

Deadlocked with each other for the top spot in the league standings after a 1-0 UTM win in Edwardsville on October 10^th – coincidentally the very next match after the initial Tennessee Tech home loss – the Cougars simply dominated 7^th-seed Southeast Missouri in the other semifinal bout on Friday night, annihilating the Redhawks in the shots department 30-3 across a 3-0 drubbing.

Altogether, SIUE has outscored its opposition by a ridiculous margin of 16-1 throughout a five-match winning streak, setting the stage for a humongous battle at the tail end of the weekend with a trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.

Closing last season's abbreviated spring campaign with a 2-0 loss to the Cougars in the conference semi's, the Skyhawks and Head Coach Phil McNamara will aim for another dose of payback in the most important match of the year at 2:00 p.m. CT in 48 hours.

ESPN+ will have live-streamed coverage of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Championship faceoff.