Raider Soccer Smashes Valpo, 4-0

Friday, September 7

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

7 PM

Middle Tennessee

4-2-0

Valparaiso

2-3-1

Valparaiso

Middle Tennessee

9/7/2018 9:47:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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By: Nolan Jamison

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Friday night's contest between Middle Tennessee and Valparaiso started slow, but ended with a 4-0 landslide victory for the Blue Raiders. The game saw the return of C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Peyton DePriest. She would eventually net her first goal of the season, but Depriest's night was far from over. The sophomore forward would go on to score a second goal from a Blue Raider set piece. Hannah Tillett was also able to find the back of the net in the second half, slotting home a penalty shot while Harriet Jones also joined in on the fun, ripping a free kick right over the Valparaiso goalie near the end of regulation.

Match Moments
10' – CHANCE (MT) – Miya Lennon almost left her mark on the game early after she ripped a shot from just outside the box that narrowly missed the left upper 90.

18'- CHANCE (MT) – Blue Raider Freshman Hannah Tillett collected a loose ball at the top of the box but was unable to find the back of the net as her shot blew by the post.

19'- CHANCE (VALPO) – The Crusaders nearly lit up the scoreboard first when forward Caitlyn Oliver was able to get a ball behind the Blue Raider defense and fire off a shot. The play would later be called offsides.

28'- CHANCE (MT) – Peyton DePriest nearly scored a goal just minutes after coming off the bench. She found the ball at her feet as it came swinging in from the right side of the field, however she just put it over the top of the goal.

49'- SAVE (MT) – Celeste Barnard showed off her athleticism with a diving save after a Valparaiso shot came from inside the box.

52' GOAL (MT) – The Blue Raiders finally were able to find the back of the net after a penalty was called in the box. Hannah Tillett lined up and struck the ball hard past the Valparaiso keeper.

54' – GOAL (MT) – DePriest scored her first goal of the season for the Blue Raiders. She found the ball after her attempted cross was deflected back to her feet; she then slotted the ball past the goalie's near post. After some confusion on whether or not the ball crossed the line, the goal call was made official.

Peyton DePriest
🔘 BACK
⚪️ Not back

The C-USA Preseason offensive POY strikes for her first goal of the year pic.twitter.com/MXpRucuFOW
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 8, 2018

56' – SAVE (MT) – Barnard comes up huge in goal as she stood her ground and saved a penalty shot driven directly at her.

The red goalie jersey makes Barnard a BRICK wall!

She keeps her clean sheet with this save pic.twitter.com/2K4Y3df5j3
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 8, 2018

69' – CHANCE (MT) – Tillett ended up behind the entire Valparaiso defense with a one on one opportunity against the keeper. She tried to dribble past but ended up taking too hard an angle closing off her shot window.

74'- CHANCE (MT) – Maddison Falter found herself with just the keeper to beat but was able to strike gold after her shot sailed wide.

76' – SAVE (VALPO) – The Valparaiso goalie Drew Moulton was able to push wide a nice shot coming off the foot of Tillett.

85'- GOAL (MT) – DePriest tallied her second goal of the game after she received the ball off a set piece and made easy work of putting it in the back of the net.

ANOTHER ONE!

DePriest is making up for lost time with her second goal of the night pic.twitter.com/vXsaHpc4RD
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 8, 2018

89'- GOAL (MT) – Harriet Jones scored a beautiful set piece from just outside the box, placing it in the upper right corner where the goalie couldn't even attempt a save.

That feeling when you score your first career goal! Go Hattie Go!!! pic.twitter.com/PRtTnospN9
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) September 8, 2018

Post Game Comments

Harriet Jones
On scoring her first career goal
"I'm pumped, its good. I really didn't expect for this to happen so I just went for it and took my chance."

On winning in front of a large crowd
"It was awesome. There was so many people out here tonight and I don't think we we're really expecting that. It's exciting for sure."

Celeste Barnard
On her saves tonight
"Another good game from my team tonight so I didn't see that much action but a little bit more than last time out. I did what I have been training to do and made the saves that I needed to."

On the penalty kick save
"PK's are always terrifying, but we watched film and I had an idea where she was going. I just went with my gut and got it so it was good."

On the big crowd and big offense tonight
"The offense has been great lately, we've scored a lot more goals than we have in a long time so that's awesome. It's always good having a big crowd too, it pumps us up. All the big plays on the field, we hear the crowd and it makes us more excited to keep going."

Peyton DePriest
On her first game back and first two goals of the year
"I liked how I was able to come off the bench and make a difference because the forwards that have been playing have been doing such a great job. I thought it was a good change of pace when I could come in and make a difference with the forwards. That first goal, I was just kind of in the right place at the right time. I wasn't by myself for sure, I couldn't have done it without my teammates. It was nice to get playing time after being out for nearly three weeks so that was good too."

On carrying the momentum into Sunday's game
"I think we've done a significantly better job this year at incorporating more goal scorers into the attack. It's helped the team get more motivated knowing that we have so many options up top and a solid backline all around. The consistency we've had in our non-conference games so far has been really great and what we hope to carry with us."

Head Coach Aston Rhoden
On the offensive heavy home game
"Valpo is a very strong team. They created a lot of challenges for us and it was good to see us come back from the first half where it was not as offensive for us. The second half was much better in that we got the four goals."

On what changed from the first half to the second half
"We talked about being more patient. In the first half we rushed things and we tried to get behind them with the first pass. So we talked about bringing all the players into the game to make sure that we have more numbers around the ball in the attack and how that will allow us to get better opportunities. I think we did a good job at that in the second half."

On 12 goals through 3 games at home
"A lot of what we do is about keeping possession of the ball, it's also the best way that we attack. I think we're doing a better job of keeping the ball this year. When you keep the ball, you create better chances and certainly if you have the ball it diminishes the chances the opponent has as well."

On a clean sheet and Celeste Barnard's night in goal
"Celeste has been brilliant this week. WE'RE fortunate in that we have two strong goalkeepers and week to week we don't know who is going to be in the goal. It's a good problem for us to have. I thought that Celeste was very calm and competent in the goal tonight. She helped us keep possession of the ball from the back which was huge for us."

On carrying the momentum into Sunday's game vs. Western Carolina
"A big part of it is sticking with the things we believe in. Clean sheets are one thing that is very important to our defenders and to us as a team overall. Another is playing in front of our fans. Our fans this year have been absolutely brilliant at home. Our girls and coaches feed off the energy of the fans and I think our opponents hate it. The crowd's involvement in the game has been huge and we hope they continue to come and be big for us."

Next Match
Middle Tennessee continues its home stand on Sunday afternoon as the Blue Raiders play host to Western Carolina. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. and the game can been seen live on ESPN3.