By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team saw their scalding offense of late come to a grinding halt during the last of a three-game stretch of competing in their own backyard, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Western Carolina after a 58th minute solo score which effectively ended the Skyhawks’ three-game winning streak on Sunday.
Keeping the Catamounts in check for the majority of the sunny afternoon in what’s become a common theme for the UTM defensive front, head coach Phil McNamara’s club only let two shot attempts slide by over the entire first half. The final 45 minutes saw a reversal of fortune, however, leading to an Abbie Lainhart breakaway just 13 minutes into the second frame that ultimately proved to be the difference maker.
Not a single opponent out of the first seven teams matched up with the Skyhawks has been able to record more than one successful strike against the navy and orange, and while that theme remained true on Sunday, the singular score was all that the Catamounts needed to walk away from the Volunteer State with a tight win, realizing all 11 shot tries by UTM failed to make their mark as the team searched for the equalizer.
A trio of first-year performers led the Skyhawks in the shots column during the one-goal downer, as Makayla Robinson, Brooke Kala, and Parker Gelinas each managed two such attempts each. Once WCU broke free for the fast-break score with 32 minutes left, UT Martin stayed the aggressor and managed four chances to even the odds to no avail.
Catamount keeper Melody Mezzina gains a significant amount of credit for holding the Skyhawk attack without a goal for the third time this year, halting two key opportunities by Gelinas and Bella Roberts just one minute and 25 seconds apart from each other that tightened Western Carolina’s grip on the slim lead with 14 minutes to go.
Junior Catey Hunt’s penalty kick launch at the 89:22 stamp proved to be UTM’s final window to send the match into extra minutes, although the long-distance boot sailed high of the post.
Lainhart ended the weekend as the Catamounts’ leader in shot attempts with three personally, outracing Skyhawk goalie Erica Myers in the early moments of the second period to submit the fifth score against UT Martin all season long. Entering the day with the fewest amount of goals given up in all of the Ohio Valley Conference, that number stays low in the end, but it was one too many scores surrendered for the Skyhawks in a seesaw final stretch.
Tallying six saves to her season total of 23, Myers prevented WCU from expanding on their advantage with a leaping tip save in the 43rd minute while also denying the visitors three chances at a score off a favorable corner kick bounce in the 57th minute. Unfortunately for coach McNamara and co., the Catamounts’ persistent push out of the 2nd-half gates reeled in the match’s only score that turned out to be the game-winner.
Finding four corner kick opportunities themselves during the shutout loss, the Skyhawks will look to regroup in their final non-conference bout a week from today against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville. In what will be the last match before OVC play begins, UTM will vie for the upset by taking on a team that finished as the Southeastern Conference Tournament runner-up recipient and NCAA Tournament third-round competitor behind a 12-4 record last spring.
The Razorbacks have been just as impressive this fall, achieving four straight victories by a staggering combined margin of 18-1, having just handed Lamar a 6-0 blowout on Sunday afternoon. Arkansas battles the Tennessee Volunteers in Fayetteville just 48 hours before facing UT Martin from the same venue.
Seven days after taking their first loss since August 26th, the Skyhawks will compete with the Razorbacks for the first time ever next week at 1:00 p.m. with live-streamed coverage from SEC Network+.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information