Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
South Alabama
Soccer team looking to continue road success
10/6/2005 7:42:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Blue Raiders (6-3-1, 0-0-1), who have just one loss in their previous 10 league road games, are at South Alabama (4-4-1, 2-2-0) Friday at 7 p.m., and conclude the weekend with a match at conference newcomer Troy (4-5-0, 2-2-0) Sunday at 1 p.m. Middle Tennessee is unbeaten in its previous 10 league games, including four straight away from home.
"We have been a good road team and I think that's because our team is pretty well-tested during the pre-conference, and it also shows mental toughness," Blue Raider Head Coach Aston Rhoden said. "We have been good on the road again so far this season, winning at Clemson and at Evansville, which are regionally-ranked teams, and we performed well at Georgia and played to a draw at Western Kentucky last weekend, so we have responded relatively well in hostile environments.
"We must continue playing well on the road this weekend because it's two pivotal league games before we come home for two. We must maintain our focus and play with a sense of consistency. There can be no letdowns against South Alabama or Troy because they are good teams that are off to good starts in the conference."
Eight of the league's 10 teams are separated by two games or less entering the weekend so no squads have distanced themselves from the pack; however, league frontrunners North Texas and Denver (both 2-0) are making the road swing to Florida International and Louisiana-Lafayette, so this appears to be a significant point in terms of gauging which teams will establish themselves as legitimate contenders of fall from the pack.
"It's way too early to start talking in terms of the overall league race, especially when we have yet to play a home match, but you certainly have to take care of your business on the road to stay in the chase," Rhoden said. "We have had a good week of practice and we need to get that into the matches this weekend and start gaining momentum down the stretch."
Middle Tennessee is 3-1-1 in its last five games with the lone loss coming at home against Memphis. The Blue Raiders remain one of the top offensive teams in the league, ranking second in goals and points, and they also have been one of the Sun Belt's top defensive teams, tied for first in shutouts with four.
