Middle Tennessee Heads to the Queen City for Conference Matchup

Thursday, October 6

Charlotte, NC

6:00 PM

Middle Tennessee

Charlotte

Photo by: MT Athletic Communications

10/5/2022 6:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Game Notes

By: Austin Pert, MTSU Athletics

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are on the road again for a primetime Conference USA duel against the Charlotte 49ers on Thursday night. After earning a draw against rivals Western Kentucky last Sunday, the Blue Raiders will look to earn points for their second consecutive match when the ball drops at 6 p.m. central time at Transamerica Field.

MTSU at Charlotte

Oct. 6 | 6 p.m. (CT) | Transamerica Field
Live Stats
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For the second consecutive match last Sunday, goalkeeper Hannah Suder recorded a season-high seven saves. Six of those saves come in the second half, preserving the 1-1 tie late in the contest.

Suder enters her senior season in the top 10 of several program goalkeeper charts. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Suder is:

Seventh in shutouts (8)
Tied for sixth in games played (43)
Sixth in minutes played (3485:32)
Tied for sixth in games started (37)
Eighth in career saves (146)

Suder ranked second in the conference in total saves (80) and goalkeeper minutes (1,694) last season. She moved ahead of Tory Martin (1996-97) for eighth all-time in career saves as a Blue Raider after recording a pair of stops at UAB on Sept. 18. Suder also ascended to sixth all-time in career minutes played during that match, surpassing Emily Shrum (2000-02).

Freshman forward Emma Pettersen scored her second goal in three matches, which represent the first career goals for the Kristiansand, Norway native. Sunday's goal against the Hilltoppers came in the 47^th minute, with the equal score between the teams holding. Her two goals this season lead the team along with freshman Manon Lebargy, sophomore Kirstine Lykke and junior Eleanor Gough.

Anchoring the Blue Raider defense in front of Suder is a group of experienced Blue Raiders.

Starting in all 54 games of her career and playing in nearly 5,000 career minutes, 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 represented MTSU on the 2021 C-USA All-Freshman Team after starting all 19 contests and playing in 1703 minutes in 2021.

Golden Goal Decides '21 Match Against 49ers

Less than three minutes into overtime on Oct. 8 one year ago against Charlotte, Elizabeth Slavinsky would score a dramatic game-winner for the Raiders at Transamerica Field. The victory was part of a three-match winning streak for Middle Tennessee.

Earlier, the Blue Raiders had tied the match at 1-1 when then-senior Peyton DePriest connected on a penalty kick. The goal came less than a minute after MTSU conceded the game's opening goal.

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 A-10 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
Charlotte
Nickname: 49ers
Head Coach: Brandi Fontaine
2022 Record: 3-7-2 (2-3-0 C-USA)
2021 Record: 7-5-4 (3-2-3 C-USA)
Starters Returning/Lost from 2021: 10/1
MTSU's All-Time Record vs Charlotte: 4-3-1 (Last: W, 2-1 (OT); Oct. 8, 2021)