Middle Tennessee Seeks Rebound at UTEP

Sunday, October 16

El Paso, TX

1:00 PM CT

Middle Tennessee

UTEP

Photo by: Emily Cole/MT Athletic Communications

10/15/2022 11:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer

By: Austin Pert, MTSU Athletics

EL PASO, Tex. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders were on the wrong end of a 4-0 result on Thursday night at UTSA. However, it won't be long before they have a chance to put the shutout loss in the rearview mirror, as the Raiders remain in the Lone Star State to face the UTEP Miners Sunday afternoon.

Kickoff from University Field is set for noon MT/1 p.m. CT.

MTSU at UTEP

Oct. 16 | 1:00 p.m. CT | University Field
Live Stats
C-USA TV

Junior midfielder Kirstine Lykke has scored two of the Blue Raiders' past four goals. The native of Haderslev, Denmark scored the tying goal in the 1-1 draw at Charlotte on Oct. 6 in the 73' and connected on a penalty kick against LA Tech in the 17' last Sunday. Lykke's four goals in 2022 are a team-high, as are her eight points.

Freshman forward Emma Pettersen had her third goal of the year in the first half against the Lady Techsters, giving the Blue Raiders the lead in the 38'. And freshman midfielder Megan Carroll scored her first career goal late in Sunday's 4-3 loss on a strike from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Goalkeeper Hannah Suder has made 12 saves over the past three fixtures. Suder enters the match in the top 10 of several program goalkeeper charts. The native of Jacksonville, Fla. is:

Seventh in shutouts (8)
Sixth in games played (46)
Sixth in minutes played (3755:32)
Sixth in games started (40)
Seventh in career saves (158)

Anchoring the Blue Raider defense in front of Suder is a group of well-tested Blue Raiders.

Starting in all 57 games of her career and playing in over 5,200 career minutes, senior Caroline Manley is a mainstay in the starting XI in 2022. Manley earned both USC All-South Region and C-USA All-Tournament Team honors last season for her superb play.

Sascha Nielsen meanwhile represented MTSU on the 2021 C-USA All-Freshman Team after starting all 19 contests and playing in 1703 minutes in 2021. She also added an assist on Lykke's goal last Thursday.

First Blood

Middle Tennessee was 5-0-1 when scoring first during the regular season last year. Over the past three seasons, the Blue Raiders are 18-4-2 in matches when striking first.

Fresh Guidance

Middle Tennessee added two new coaches during the offseason in Zak Davis and Hannah Hoefs.

Davis joins the Blue Raiders after serving as the assistant women's soccer coach at George Washington University for the past four seasons. Over his four seasons with the Colonials, Davis helped lead GW to a 33-27-9 overall record and a 20-14-4 mark in Atlantic-10 Conference play.

Before arriving in Murfreesboro, Hoefs coached at Shenandoah University for a year and a half during two different stints with the Hornets. Hoefs began her collegiate coaching career when she first joined the coaching staff at Shenandoah in June 2020 following her standout career as a midfielder at Loyola University of Maryland.

Opponent Breakdown
UTEP
Nickname: Miners
Head Coach: Kathryn Balogun
2022 Record: 3-9-3 (0-5-2 C-USA)
2021 Record: 4-12-0 (1-7-0 C-USA)
Starters Returning/Lost from 2021: 5/6
MTSU's All-Time Record vs UTEP: 5-2-0 (Last: W, 2-0 Oct. 15, 2021)

Looking Ahead

Middle Tennessee returns home Sunday and will have a full week ahead of its next matchup, when they face Florida Atlantic on Oct. 23. The matchup between the Owls and Blue Raiders at Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium is set for noon CT, and Middle Tennessee will also celebrate senior day.

Follow the Blue Raiders

Follow Middle Tennessee Soccer on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Soccer), Twitter (@MT_Soccer) and Instagram (@mt_wsoccer).