Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt poses big challenge for Blue Raider soccer
9/8/2005 6:57:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The Commodores (3-1) are the first ranked team to play at Blue Raider Field and they not only are among the nation's top 25 teams, but they also are rated second in the always-tough Central Region by SoccerBuzz.com
While the Blue Raiders (3-1) certainly have their work cut out, they have developed a winning edge on the home turf as evidenced by their 13-game home win streak entering Friday's contest. Middle Tennessee's last home loss was a 4-2 setback against Denver, Oct. 17, 2003. The Vanderbilt game will be played at the soccer facility located on MTSU Blvd., adjacent to the Middle Tennessee softball complex.
"Games like Vanderbilt were put on the schedule to hopefully help us grow toward our first (Sun Belt) Conference game in October," Middle Tennessee coach Aston Rhoden said. "Vanderbilt has a fantastic, experienced coach (Ronnie Coveleskie Hill). Their team is very spirited. They are very strong, very quick and very athletic. They work hard so they will be the type of team that we need to play early enough in the year to learn about ourselves and see where we need to go from here. They have had some unbelievable results and their record says they are indeed a quality team."
The Commodores have reeled off three straight shutouts, including a 2-0 win at Sun Belt Conference contender Denver two weeks ago. Vanderbilt is tied for 10th nationally in shutout percentage (0.75) but the Commodores will face a Middle Tennessee squad tied for 11th nationally in scoring offense at 3.75 goals per game.
"It will truly be a test for our attacking players to see if they can have some success against what should be a quality defense," Rhoden said. "At the same time, it should be a very good test for our defense to see if they can handle the strike force that Vanderbilt has."
Rebecca Rodriguez has sparked the Blue Raider offense and she has soared to the top of the national rankings with her blistering start to the season. The junior forward from Dallas, Texas is tied for first nationally in points per game (5.00), tied for third in goals per game (2.00), and tied for 11th in assist per game (1.0).
Middle Tennessee's crisp passing and solid all-around play has generated a 3-1 start and the defensive stalwarts continue to be strong; however, developing chemistry through practice and play has been the prevalent factor for the success of a team with as many newcomers as returners.
"The biggest challenge for us this season, thus far, has been how quickly can we find who we are as a team?," Rhoden said. "I think that has gone fairly well. I still think we have some habits that we have to get rid of that are not the Middle Tennessee soccer style of play, but we are getting closer and closer. At the end of the day every game for us is extremely important but the bigger picture for us is, has everything we've done in September prepared us for what we are about to try to accomplish in October?"
Friday's game against Vanderbilt will conclude a three-match homestand. The Blue Raiders hit the road to play at Evansville Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
