By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – One goal nearly four and a half minutes in was all that the University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team needed to snatch a road victory in the Ohio Valley Conference curtain-jerker on Sunday afternoon, blanking Austin Peay for the fourth year in a row to tally their fifth overall win on the 2021 fall season. Extending their winning streak in the in-state series to a quartet by a combined margin of 10-0, the Skyhawks put an end to a two-game slide of scoreless outcomes to dish that same result onto their opponent thanks to the leg of sophomore Emely van der Vliet less than five minutes into proceedings.
Impeding the Governors to just a single shot attempt over the entire second half on their way to a third shutout on the semester, UTM and head coach Phil McNamara captured a W in the first OVC contest for the second consecutive campaign, earning their 14th all-time win over Austin Peay dating back to 2002.
When taking a peek at the final box score, the deficit in total shots reads in favor of the navy and orange at 13-4, although the only one that mattered in the ending tally was the first of the day from van der Vliet at the 4:24 stamp, receiving a dime from defender Maria Castaldo for her second career assist in three seasons. Accounting for goal # 13 on the year for the Skyhawks, the Netherlands native found the back of the net for the 10th time in her 20th appearance, leaving UT Martin with more than enough room to ride out the win from there thanks to its regularly-stingy back line.
Only allowing the Governors one shot-on-goal opportunity that was snuffed from graduate keeper Erica Myers – the only save needed from the program’s all-time leader in matches played – the Skyhawks all but ensured themselves a 1-0 start in conference competition by keeping the AP defense on their toes the rest of the way.
Austin Peay goalie Peyton Powell stayed busy on Sunday with seven saves to her personal total as UTM stayed on the attack while holding the one-score advantage. On the opposite side of the coin, Myers needed just the one stop to prevent the Governors from evening the score, her 36th save on the year to bring the fifth-year player’s career accumulation up to 298.
Four different Skyhawks landed at least a pair of shots in the wire-to-wire victory, with Makayla Robinson, Jill Hildreth, Izzy Patterson, and Brooke Kala all increasing the pressure on the Governors’ defensive unit as the match progressed. While AP didn’t allow UTM to add to their one-score lead, the early breakthrough was the answer that the visitors needed to leave Clarksville with their first conference win in as many tries.
Grabbing her 35th career win when making the start in the net, Myers now stands just one shutout away from tying the program record for most instances holding the other side to a zero on the scoreboard, representing the 20th such occasion (one behind Mariah Klenke from 2011-14). Earlier this fall, the Skyhawks stymied Southern Illinois and Little Rock in similar outcomes.
Fresh off the hot start to league play, UT Martin will remain inside of OVC competition for the remainder of the regular season’s seven more dates, starting this Thursday back at Skyhawk Field against the Panthers of Eastern Illinois. With Sunday marking the beginning of conference play around the rest of the league as well, EIU battled Morehead State in Charleston before making the trip to the Volunteer State in four days.
UTM emerged as the victors in their last go-around against the Panthers in the spring by virtue of a 1-0 decision which broke a mini two-game streak of scoreless ties between the two programs. Altogether, the Skyhawks trail Eastern Illinois by a 13-10-3 mark dating back to the school’s first season 23 years back.
First touch in the second OVC bout of the semester will get underway at approximately 7:00 p.m. in Martin on the final day of September, streamed via ESPN+.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information