Raiders Take on FAU in First Round of C-USA Tournament

NORFOLK, Va. - With a 1-0 win over UAB on Saturday, Middle Tennessee clinched a spot in the Conference USA tournament. The Blue Raiders have the #7 seed and will face the #2 seed, Florida Atlantic. The team travels to Old Dominion, the hosts, for a chance to extend their season on Wednesday, Oct. 31 at 10:30 a.m. and take home the third conference tournament win in program history.

Match Information

Matchup: Florida Atlantic (11-7-1)(8-1-1) @ Middle Tennessee (9-5-1)(5-2-1)

Location: ODU Soccer Stadium (Norfolk, Va.)

Time: October 31, 2018, 10:30 a.m. CT

Scouting the Owls

FAU has been one of the top teams in Conference USA all season and had little trouble in conference play. Their lone loss came to regular season champion North Texas. They've done all this with strong team play and without one standout player. 13 different players have scored a goal and only two have scored more than three. Tiril Haga and Mary O'Hara lead the team with five and four goals, respectively.. Keeper Jennifer O'Campo has twice been named Goalie of the Week by Conference USA this season and has seven clean sheets.

Series history

Middle Tennessee holds a 9-6-0 record over the Owls all time, but the Owls won the most recent meeting earlier this season. The Owls won 1-0 on a 40^th minute goal by FAU's Sammy Vitols in Boca Raton on Oct. 14.

Players to watch

Peyton DePriest – After her game-winning goal against UAB, DePriest is now tied for the conference lead in goals. The sophomore has 11 goals in 11 games and continues to be one of the top scoring threats in the conference.

Hannah Tillett – With 11 goals and eight assists, the freshman has maintained her conference lead in points, boasting 30. She set up DePriest for the lone goal in the win over UAB for another assist and is tied for third in the conference in assists.

Celeste Barnard – The senior keeper picked up her fifth shutout of the season against UAB. As one of the few seniors on the team, she'll have extra motivation in this tournament to not just extend the season, but her collegiate career as well.

54 – Tillett and DePriest have combined for 54 points this season, which is more than half of the team total of 100. The duo has been sensational this season and lead the team and conference in almost every offensive category.

10 – MT has tied their best win total of 10 since they entered Conference USA. Five conference wins also ties the program best in C-USA.

2015 – A win over FAU would be the first C-USA tournament win for the Blue Raiders since 2015, when MT topped Rice 1-0 in Miami.

Live Streaming

The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Tournament Info
If the Blue Raiders are successful in taking down Florida Atlantic they will move on to face the winner of No. 3 UAB and No. 6 Southern Miss. That second round contest is slated for Friday, November 2 at 3:30 p.m. The conference championship game is set for Sunday, November 4 at 10 a.m. The full bracket can be seen here.

Social Media

Continue to follow the Blue Raiders all season long

Twitter: @MT_Soccer

Facebook: Middle Tennessee Blue Raider Women's Soccer - MTSU

Instagram: @MT_WSoccer