UTM SOCCER’S CHESS MATCH IN LITTLE ROCK ENDS UNRESOLVED WITH 0-0 FINISH

Sunday, August 22

Little Rock, Ark.

1:00 PM

UT Martin

1-0-1, 0-0-0

Little Rock

1-0-1, 0-0-0

UT Martin

Little Rock

UTM SOCCER’S CHESS MATCH IN LITTLE ROCK ENDS UNRESOLVED WITH 0-0 FINISH

8/22/2021 5:48:00 PM | Soccer

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – After 110 minutes of nearly identical statistical output from both sides, the University of Tennessee at Martin's encore performance on the heels of a season-opening shutout ended with the same defensive grittiness but an inability to hammer the ball into the back of the net, leading to a scoreless tie with the Little Rock Trojans on the road Sunday afternoon.

In a game of constant one-upmanship between two squads that had each won their respective season-opener 72 hours prior by combined scores of 5-0, the Skyhawks allowed themselves 11 shot opportunities against their non-conference foe while surrendering the exact same number, but couldn't translate a quadruplet feature of corner kicks across the second overtime period to end the contest in a stalemate.

Trotting to the locker room with the score still deadlocked at zero for the second halftime in a row, UT Martin narrowly edged the Trojans in the shots department at 4-3 during the 1^st frame before sitting on the opposite side of the coin for the remaining 45 minutes of regulation at 7-6. Altogether, true freshman Hannah Zahn led the way in her second career start with four attempts at the net, followed by a pair of tries from Emely van der Vliet and Makayla Robinson, the latter giving UTM their first goal of the fresh season last Thursday versus Southern Illinois.

Fatigue began to settle in amidst the afternoon heat and extended runtime of the match, resulting in only a single shot for both sides during the 10-minute OT segments. Graduate midfielder Bella Roberts, who had just been subbed back into the fray moments earlier, gave the Skyhawks a golden opportunity with 10 seconds left in the first overtime, pushing what turned out to be the team's final shot of the day. Alas, the boot fell wide of the post to keep the score knotted at zero where it stayed until the final horn.

In what's becoming a theme for head coach Phil McNamara's unit through the early stages of the schedule, the Skyhawks' back four continued their superb efforts defensively thanks to the play of Kamryn Chappell, Maria Castaldo, Catey Hunt, and Parker Gelinas. Additionally, goalkeeper Erica Myers maintained her perfect track record through the first 200 minutes of the regular season, denying the opposition a goal for the second straight outing and 19^th time in her five-year tenure.

Little Rock goalie Saskia Wagner equaled Myers in the back line of defense by also playing every minute of the double-overtime marathon where the two players combined for nine total saves. With Myers' starting role and lockdown performance, the graduate now stands tied for 2^nd place in school history with 66 appearances in the net, now needing only three more shutouts to stand at the top of UTM's record book in that category.

Karina De Paoli and Bergros Asgeirsdottir synced for five of the Trojans' shot attempts down the stretch, the former responsible for LR's last-gasp effort in the 108^th minute that was deflected on its way to the net. UT Martin dodged a major bullet towards the end of regulation when three consecutive Little Rock rifles failed to connect all in the span of 24 seconds, before the Skyhawks encountered their own chance to provide the golden goal on Roberts' attempt in the waning moments of the first overtime.

A pair of corner kick contingencies left UTM with another pivotal chance to end on a victory instead of a tied decision, although neither formation translated to a successful score 17 seconds apart from one another in the 107^th minute.

Dating back to the program's inception in 1998, the Skyhawks have now ended a regular season affair against the Trojans on a tie for the third time across 10 total meetings. Coincidentally, all three occasions were scoreless conclusions, including the last time the two schools met in 2019 to transition the all-time series record to 4-3-3 in narrow favor of UT Martin.

The Skyhawks' road test has only just begun with 25% of the non-conference schedule in the books, preparing for a lengthy stay in the Hoosier State next week to battle Indiana on Thursday, August 26^th before then facing Indiana State three days later. Upon capturing a 1-0 season-opening W over Valparaiso last week, IU met the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday as a precursor to the UT Martin matchup. The Skyhawks will search for payback from a 2-1 defeat the only other time the two schools have crossed paths two years back, with first touch beginning at approximately 6:00 p.m.