Raiders Score Five Goals to down Belmont

Sunday, August 19

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

6 PM

Middle Tennessee

1-1-0

Belmont

0-2-0

Belmont

Middle Tennessee

8/19/2018 8:50:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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MURFREESBORO - Middle Tennessee (1-1-0) put up an impressive offensive display, scoring five goals in the first half of play as it outmatched Belmont (0-2-0) 5-3 at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium on Sunday night in the 2018 home opener. Hannah Tillett and Maddison Falter each scored two goals, and along with Sam DeBein's goal, the five goals were the most scored by the Blue Raiders since August of 2016.

Box Score

Match Moments

3' - GOAL (BEL) Following an MT offsides penalty, Belmont keeper Lily Herman placed a free kick in the opposite box leaving Julie Garst with a wide open shot which she finished to give her side the 1-0 advantage

5' - GOAL (MT) Miya Lennon led an attack down the field and set up Maddison Falter in front of the keeper. Falter's first shot was deflected by the Belmont keeper, but Falter was able to collect the rebound to finish and get the equalizing goal.

15' - GOAL (MT) The Blue Raiders continued their strong attack and found themselves with possession in the box. After a foul, Hannah Tillett finished the penalty kick to give MT a 2-1 lead.

19' - GOAL (MT) Tillett took the ball down the sideline and managed to find Falter at the top of the box. Falter's shot tipped off the keeper but still found the net to get Falter the brace.

22' - CHANCE (BEL) The Bruins found themselves deep in MT territory with numbers. Julie Garst and Niki Clements each had shots blocked before Clements took another shot, but MT keeper Celeste Barnard corralled that shot for the save

32' - GOAL (MT)

Here's a look at the fantastic finish from DeBien pic.twitter.com/A0sNzOFXoG
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) August 19, 2018

39' - GOAL (MT) Hannah Tillett finished off her second PK of the game to give MT a 5-1 lead

48' - GOAL (BEL) Early in the second half, Belmont made the most of the game's first corner kick as Hannah Diaz placed the corner just past the far post and Emily Whitcomb trapped the cross and found the net.

52' - GOAL (BEL) Belmont got another chance shortly after their first goal. A pass into the box was stopped by MT, but a foul was called. Sarah Bossung took the made the free kick for Belmont.

78' - SAVE (BEL) A cross from Tillett was volleyed by Amber Whitley to Olivia Hansen, who turned around and took a shot from just outside the box, but it was right at the Belmont keeper.

82' - SAVE (BEL) Casey Riemer's clearance was collected by Whitley who got a shot off, but found the keeper.

Coach's Comments

On the five goal first half

"It was good to see us recover from the game against Austin Peay, when it took us 45 minutes to even start shooting on goal. Being able to get a fast start tonight was great, and I think a part of it was the crowd."

On the large home crowd

"It's huge when you're playing in front of your friends and family. School hasn't even started yet, so it's a huge lift for a team that's young knowing that there's people cheering their name. That's so helpful in keeping them going even then they're tired. I'm really apperceive of our fans and glad we were able to win this game and give them something to cheer about."

On the three goal scorers (Maddison Falter, Sam DeBien, and Hannah Tillett)

"The good news is that we got goals from different people. My challenge to our attacking players was to get some kind of end result. I think a lot of them did that and we're going to score a lot more goals. In the end, we just wanted to win the game."

On how he plans to prepare the team for the next games

"We've need to be much more clinical. I think a lot of times we rushed a pass and sometimes we got a little lucky. I think we need to be more deliberate in our play so that when we do get those opportunities, they're actually opportunities that are truly in our favor. I think if we can take this match and be a lot more composed, especially around the box, I think we're well on our way."

On the three Penalty Kicks

"We're going to look at the video. I think the one against us was pretty soft, but the ones we got were pretty fair. I've never seen three in one match myself, but two of them were ours so I'm happy with that.

Player Reactions

Maddison Falter

On her first game as a Blue Raider

"It was so great to be back from injury, so it felt great to be back on the pitch playing again.

On her two goals

"The first goal was just a through ball and I just tapped it in. My second goal, well I was just so excited, I actually don't remember it.

On getting MT's first win of the season

"It's so good, especially since we won 5-3 and had a bunch of different people score and our defensive line was strong. Obviously it feels great."

Hannah Tillett

On her first two collegiate goals

"It's good to have the first one under my belt. I couldn't have done it without my team, since it was a PK and it took a lot to get there. Without them, I couldn't do anything.

On getting MT's first win of the season

"After a game on Friday where we battled hard and should've gotten the result, it's good to finally play the same way and get the result this time. I think we needed this one going forward.

On how Sunday's match was different from Friday

"We put away our chances, and we had more shots than they did. We came out on top, which was all the matters."

Next Match

Middle Tennessee will travel to Florida for their next two games. On Thursday, August 23, the Blue Raiders will square off against North Florida with a 6 p.m. kickoff ahead of their match on Sunday, August 26th against Florida State with a 11 a.m. kickoff.