Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Sunday, August 27
Washington, D.C.
12:00 PM CT
Middle Tennessee
at
Howard
Photo by: Maya Lewis/MT Athletic Communications
Blue Raiders Set for Sunday Showdown in Nation’s Capital
8/26/2023 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Middle Tennessee Soccer concludes its Northeastern road trip Sunday against the Howard Bison.
Kickoff Sunday is set for 12:00 p.m. from Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
The Blue Raiders currently stand at 1-1-1 on the season after falling Thursday night at Loyola (MD) in Baltimore, Md.
Notes and Storylines
» Conference USA welcomes four new members for the 2023-24 season. Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State all join the league. The Blue Raiders will face all four of these new programs this season. Liberty comes to Murfreesboro on Sept. 21, with MTSU traveling to New Mexico State one match later Sept. 24. The squad welcomes Sam Houston Oct. 8 before traveling to Jacksonville State Oct. 22.
» F Cambell Kivistio is off to a hot start in 2023. After scoring the tying goal on opening night against Louisiana, the grad student scored and had an assist in MTSU's win over Belmont Aug. 20.
Kivisto is the first Blue Raider to both score and have an assist in a match since Manon Lebargy did so on Sept. 2 last season in a win over Mississippi Valley State. The Collierville, Tenn. native is also the first MTSU player to score in consecutive games since Eleanor Gough against Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech a season ago (Sept. 4-8), and the first to have three points in a single match since Lauren Spaanstra against Austin Peay (Sept. 4).
» MTSU has numerous players returning home to the DC, Maryland and Virginia area on this two-match road swing (Loyola MD & Howard). G Emily McGrain, F Skylar Williams and D Dylan Barnes each hail from Maryland, while grad transfer D Kaitlyn Butcher is from Northern VA. Assistant coaches Hannah Hoefs and Zak Davis are each Maryland natives as well.
The local group has had the support of friends and family across this trip.
"It was amazing to have friends and family supporting our team at a game so far away from school. The environment was encouraging throughout the whole game and seeing the amount of support our program has been very incredible," said McGrain.
"The energy from the crowd being so far from Murfreesboro was insane. It felt really great looking up there and not just seeing but hearing all my family and friends that have supported me from the start," said Williams.
"It felt good to have a ton of support from my friends and family, especially as a freshman. It helped me keep my confidence up through that game and gave me some extra motivation to play the best game I could until the end," said Barnes.
"Since transferring away from home it has been an adjustment to not have my friends and family come to the games to support me," said Butcher, a transfer from George Mason. "It was really special for them to make the trip to Maryland and it meant a lot to me to be able to hang out with them afterwards. I'm excited to see them again for this match as well."
» Head Coach Aston Rhoden enters his 22nd season at the program's helm. The Jamaica native has led the Blue Raiders to three conference championships and carries a 200-160-38 record entering the season.
» Under Rhoden, assistant coaches Davis and Hoefs each enter their second seasons with the program. Davis—a former goalkeeper at UNC-Asheville—works closely with that position group, while Hoefs, a former midfielder at Loyola (MD), has been an invaluable asset with the field players.
» The Blue Raiders are led by five graduate students in 2023, four returning and one newcoming. G Hannah Suder, D Caroline Manley, Kivisto and F Elizabeth Slavinsky all return for their fifth seasons in 2023. In addition, the program brings in Butcher as a graduate transfer from George Mason.
» Ten freshmen make up the Blue Raider roster. This includes G Calais Butts, D Sadie Sterbenz, Barnes and Ruby Ryan, M Olivia Norton, Olivia Ouzounidis and Presley Morales, M/F Hannah Murphy, and F Kadence Krempges and Williams.
» Ten Blue Raiders on the 2023 roster hail from outside the United States. This includes Butts and F Taijah Fraser from Canada, M Eleanor Gough and Ryan from England, F Idun Kvaale and F Emma Pettersen from Norway, M Sascha Nielsen from Denmark, Ouzounidis from Sweden, M Manon Lebargy from France and M Yana Yordanova from Bulgaria.
» Suder and Manley seek spots on all-time program career record lists in 2023.
Suder currently stands in the top 10 of numerous program goalkeeping records, including being tied for fifth in career saves (175), fourth in games started (47), fourth in games played (52) and fourth in minutes played (4,340:32).
Manley meanwhile has started in all 64 Blue Raider matches across her career. She currently stands at 4,766 consecutive minutes across 52 matches dating back to late in her freshman year. With 5,862 total minutes under her belt, she is under one full match from the top 10 in career minutes played among MTSU field players.
Behind Enemy Lines
» Like MTSU, Howard enters the match 1-1-1. The Bison knocked off Hampton 7-0 Thursday in their most recent match.
» Brent Leiba enters his 14th season at the helm of the Northeast Conference program. He has previously led Howard to three tournament and three regular season titles in its former league, the SWAC.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return home for a three-match homestand, with Thursday's match against Lipscomb kicking off at 7:00 p.m. in Murfreesboro.
It will be Ted Lasso Night, with a specialty T-shirt and poster giveaway.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Soccer on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Soccer), Twitter (@MT_Soccer) and Instagram (@mt_wsoccer).
Kickoff Sunday is set for 12:00 p.m. from Greene Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match will be streamed on NEC Front Row.
The Blue Raiders currently stand at 1-1-1 on the season after falling Thursday night at Loyola (MD) in Baltimore, Md.
Notes and Storylines
» Conference USA welcomes four new members for the 2023-24 season. Liberty, New Mexico State, Sam Houston and Jacksonville State all join the league. The Blue Raiders will face all four of these new programs this season. Liberty comes to Murfreesboro on Sept. 21, with MTSU traveling to New Mexico State one match later Sept. 24. The squad welcomes Sam Houston Oct. 8 before traveling to Jacksonville State Oct. 22.
» F Cambell Kivistio is off to a hot start in 2023. After scoring the tying goal on opening night against Louisiana, the grad student scored and had an assist in MTSU's win over Belmont Aug. 20.
Kivisto is the first Blue Raider to both score and have an assist in a match since Manon Lebargy did so on Sept. 2 last season in a win over Mississippi Valley State. The Collierville, Tenn. native is also the first MTSU player to score in consecutive games since Eleanor Gough against Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech a season ago (Sept. 4-8), and the first to have three points in a single match since Lauren Spaanstra against Austin Peay (Sept. 4).
» MTSU has numerous players returning home to the DC, Maryland and Virginia area on this two-match road swing (Loyola MD & Howard). G Emily McGrain, F Skylar Williams and D Dylan Barnes each hail from Maryland, while grad transfer D Kaitlyn Butcher is from Northern VA. Assistant coaches Hannah Hoefs and Zak Davis are each Maryland natives as well.
The local group has had the support of friends and family across this trip.
"It was amazing to have friends and family supporting our team at a game so far away from school. The environment was encouraging throughout the whole game and seeing the amount of support our program has been very incredible," said McGrain.
"The energy from the crowd being so far from Murfreesboro was insane. It felt really great looking up there and not just seeing but hearing all my family and friends that have supported me from the start," said Williams.
"It felt good to have a ton of support from my friends and family, especially as a freshman. It helped me keep my confidence up through that game and gave me some extra motivation to play the best game I could until the end," said Barnes.
"Since transferring away from home it has been an adjustment to not have my friends and family come to the games to support me," said Butcher, a transfer from George Mason. "It was really special for them to make the trip to Maryland and it meant a lot to me to be able to hang out with them afterwards. I'm excited to see them again for this match as well."
» Head Coach Aston Rhoden enters his 22nd season at the program's helm. The Jamaica native has led the Blue Raiders to three conference championships and carries a 200-160-38 record entering the season.
» Under Rhoden, assistant coaches Davis and Hoefs each enter their second seasons with the program. Davis—a former goalkeeper at UNC-Asheville—works closely with that position group, while Hoefs, a former midfielder at Loyola (MD), has been an invaluable asset with the field players.
» The Blue Raiders are led by five graduate students in 2023, four returning and one newcoming. G Hannah Suder, D Caroline Manley, Kivisto and F Elizabeth Slavinsky all return for their fifth seasons in 2023. In addition, the program brings in Butcher as a graduate transfer from George Mason.
» Ten freshmen make up the Blue Raider roster. This includes G Calais Butts, D Sadie Sterbenz, Barnes and Ruby Ryan, M Olivia Norton, Olivia Ouzounidis and Presley Morales, M/F Hannah Murphy, and F Kadence Krempges and Williams.
» Ten Blue Raiders on the 2023 roster hail from outside the United States. This includes Butts and F Taijah Fraser from Canada, M Eleanor Gough and Ryan from England, F Idun Kvaale and F Emma Pettersen from Norway, M Sascha Nielsen from Denmark, Ouzounidis from Sweden, M Manon Lebargy from France and M Yana Yordanova from Bulgaria.
» Suder and Manley seek spots on all-time program career record lists in 2023.
Suder currently stands in the top 10 of numerous program goalkeeping records, including being tied for fifth in career saves (175), fourth in games started (47), fourth in games played (52) and fourth in minutes played (4,340:32).
Manley meanwhile has started in all 64 Blue Raider matches across her career. She currently stands at 4,766 consecutive minutes across 52 matches dating back to late in her freshman year. With 5,862 total minutes under her belt, she is under one full match from the top 10 in career minutes played among MTSU field players.
Behind Enemy Lines
» Like MTSU, Howard enters the match 1-1-1. The Bison knocked off Hampton 7-0 Thursday in their most recent match.
» Brent Leiba enters his 14th season at the helm of the Northeast Conference program. He has previously led Howard to three tournament and three regular season titles in its former league, the SWAC.
Next Up
The Blue Raiders return home for a three-match homestand, with Thursday's match against Lipscomb kicking off at 7:00 p.m. in Murfreesboro.
It will be Ted Lasso Night, with a specialty T-shirt and poster giveaway.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Soccer on social media on Facebook (Blue Raider Soccer), Twitter (@MT_Soccer) and Instagram (@mt_wsoccer).
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