Sunday, November 7
Martin, Tenn.
2 p.m.
UT Martin
vs
SIUE
TOP TWO TEAMS IN THE OVC SQUARE OFF IN CONFERENCE TITLE CONFRONTATION ON SUNDAY; #1 UTM VS. #2 SIUE
11/6/2021 1:56:00 PM | Soccer
MARTIN, Tenn. – There will be no time for an extended celebration in the immediate aftermath of the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team's OVC Tournament Semifinal victory over Tennessee Tech, as an even more dynamic and threatening offense poses a mountainous challenge for the top-seeded Skyhawks 48 hours later in the Championship brawl.
Only 48 hours after Emely van der Vliet's "SportsCenter Top 10" worthy game-winning dagger that shed away the Golden Eagles, UTM will suit up once more with their season on the line against 2nd-seeded SIUE with the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament trophy up for grabs.
Aiming for the program's third all-time league tourney crown – and their first since winning the bracket in consecutive seasons 10 and nine years ago – the Skyhawks will take on the Cougars for the second postseason in a row, having dropped a 2-0 decision to SIUE in the Semi's last spring that put an end to an abbreviated conference-only schedule. Two days after getting payback on TTU, they'll hope for the same result against a team that has emerged victorious in each of their last five matches.
Friday night's dramatic win over the Golden Eagles solidified Tennessee Tech's first official loss since September 30th, having either grabbed a W or finished in a tie in the previous eight contests. Halting one lengthy streak at the start of the weekend, UT Martin will hope to close it with another streak-stopper against the Cougars at 2:00 p.m. from Skyhawk Field.
Since taking a 3-2 defeat at Murray State's doing over three weeks ago, SIUE has been nearly unstoppable on both sides of the field, powering through their last five opponents by a margin of 16-1, most recently shutting out 7th-seeded Southeast Missouri on Friday in the other OVC Semifinal bout 3-0.
Emphatically winning in the shots department by a ridiculous 30-3 clip, the Cougars and their four all-league 1st Team members – MacKenzie Litszinger, Lily Schnieders, Andrea Frerker, and Maria Haro – pounded the Redhawks from the start on Friday, scoring in the 7th, 57th, and 60th minutes to keep their momentum trudging forward.
While SIUE's offense has worked like a well-oiled machine in 2021 – scoring more goals than any other school in the OVC with 36 – they were left scratching their heads after facing the Skyhawks back on October 10th, falling to UTM in Edwardsville 1-0 after future all-league 2nd-Teamer Izzy Patterson scored her first collegiate goal in the 65th minute. Including that road triumph 27 days ago, the Skyhawks have picked up a victory in four out of their last five appearances to put them one match away from an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Kamryn Chappell and Parker Gelinas – the Ohio Valley Conference Defender of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively – continued their superb individual efforts against the Golden Eagles as half of an acclaimed UTM back line alongside Maria Castaldo and Catey Hunt. Next to graduate goalkeeper Erica Myers, the navy and orange produced their sixth clean sheet of the semester against TTU and their second straight after doing the same to Morehead State in the regular season curtain call.
Receiving a 12-day break by virtue of their double BYE and #1 seed in the eight-team bracket, the Skyhawk attack took some time breaking down the door in the Semi's but finally broke through once van der Vliet lined up a 30-yard projectile with six minutes to go, sending her squad to the OVC Championship match for the sixth time in school history and the second time in the past four years.
Breaking what was an 8-8 all-time record vs. SIUE in their one-score victory four weeks ago in hostile territory, UT Martin also broke a three-match losing skid to the Cougars with Patterson's game-clincher and will need to make it two in a row over their OVC foe in order to keep their season afloat.
In what will be one of the most hotly-anticipated home matches in quite some time for the conference title, first touch between the top two seeds in the conference will take place at 2:00 on Sunday, covered via live stream by ESPN+.
Only 48 hours after Emely van der Vliet's "SportsCenter Top 10" worthy game-winning dagger that shed away the Golden Eagles, UTM will suit up once more with their season on the line against 2nd-seeded SIUE with the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament trophy up for grabs.
Aiming for the program's third all-time league tourney crown – and their first since winning the bracket in consecutive seasons 10 and nine years ago – the Skyhawks will take on the Cougars for the second postseason in a row, having dropped a 2-0 decision to SIUE in the Semi's last spring that put an end to an abbreviated conference-only schedule. Two days after getting payback on TTU, they'll hope for the same result against a team that has emerged victorious in each of their last five matches.
Friday night's dramatic win over the Golden Eagles solidified Tennessee Tech's first official loss since September 30th, having either grabbed a W or finished in a tie in the previous eight contests. Halting one lengthy streak at the start of the weekend, UT Martin will hope to close it with another streak-stopper against the Cougars at 2:00 p.m. from Skyhawk Field.
Since taking a 3-2 defeat at Murray State's doing over three weeks ago, SIUE has been nearly unstoppable on both sides of the field, powering through their last five opponents by a margin of 16-1, most recently shutting out 7th-seeded Southeast Missouri on Friday in the other OVC Semifinal bout 3-0.
Emphatically winning in the shots department by a ridiculous 30-3 clip, the Cougars and their four all-league 1st Team members – MacKenzie Litszinger, Lily Schnieders, Andrea Frerker, and Maria Haro – pounded the Redhawks from the start on Friday, scoring in the 7th, 57th, and 60th minutes to keep their momentum trudging forward.
While SIUE's offense has worked like a well-oiled machine in 2021 – scoring more goals than any other school in the OVC with 36 – they were left scratching their heads after facing the Skyhawks back on October 10th, falling to UTM in Edwardsville 1-0 after future all-league 2nd-Teamer Izzy Patterson scored her first collegiate goal in the 65th minute. Including that road triumph 27 days ago, the Skyhawks have picked up a victory in four out of their last five appearances to put them one match away from an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
Kamryn Chappell and Parker Gelinas – the Ohio Valley Conference Defender of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively – continued their superb individual efforts against the Golden Eagles as half of an acclaimed UTM back line alongside Maria Castaldo and Catey Hunt. Next to graduate goalkeeper Erica Myers, the navy and orange produced their sixth clean sheet of the semester against TTU and their second straight after doing the same to Morehead State in the regular season curtain call.
Receiving a 12-day break by virtue of their double BYE and #1 seed in the eight-team bracket, the Skyhawk attack took some time breaking down the door in the Semi's but finally broke through once van der Vliet lined up a 30-yard projectile with six minutes to go, sending her squad to the OVC Championship match for the sixth time in school history and the second time in the past four years.
Breaking what was an 8-8 all-time record vs. SIUE in their one-score victory four weeks ago in hostile territory, UT Martin also broke a three-match losing skid to the Cougars with Patterson's game-clincher and will need to make it two in a row over their OVC foe in order to keep their season afloat.
In what will be one of the most hotly-anticipated home matches in quite some time for the conference title, first touch between the top two seeds in the conference will take place at 2:00 on Sunday, covered via live stream by ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
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