UTC sophomore Jordan Mueller scored the first goal of the game Friday night at Finley Stadium, but it wouldn’t be enough as VMI scored the next three to beat the Mocs 3-1 in Southern Conference women’s soccer action.
The Mocs fall to 3-8-2 overall and 1-3 against the Southern Conference and VMI improves to 5-8-1 on the year and 2-2-1 in league play.
Mueller flicked the ball out wide to sophomore Anna Moore on the right side.
Moore took the ball down to the line and sent a pass to the far post where Mueller picked it up and headed a shot into the left side to give Chattanooga a 1-0 lead at the 50:01 mark of the match.
“Good bit of skill from Anna on the wing,” McKinney said. “She ripped in a great ball from her left foot. Good header from Jo. That’s Jo’s strength, her ability to win balls in the air. She got in the box and finished well.”
That lead would not last long as VMI returned the score just a minute later on Julianne Knoblett’s equalizer. Two and a half minutes later, at the 53:37 mark of the match, Sam Franklin found the back of the net for what would prove to be the game winner at 2-1.
“There was about a 10 minute spell there where we fell to pieces,” McKinney said. “We conceded some really, really soft goals. Good goals for them. We relaxed again, but just couldn’t find the back of the net.”
Sierra Brewer scored the third goal for the Keydets in the 66th minute off a free kick from keeper Ceci Keppeler to make it 3-1.
Chattanooga’s defense kept the Keydets shutout in the first half, not allowing a single shot. However, the second half would see VMI get six shots with five on goal. The Mocs had 15 shots in the match with seven on goal.
Knoblett had a team-high two shots for VMI with the remaining shots scattered among four players. Mueller led the Mocs with a game-high four shots, three on goal and four more had two shots apiece. Keppeler had six saves on the night while Chattanooga’s Bailey Coppedge had two.
“We’re happy to get back home,” Chattanooga head coach Gavin McKinney said. “Wish we could have gotten the result for all the fans who out tonight. I thought we had some good moments. We played well in moments and need to cut out the silly mistakes. We do that and we are capable of getting results from very good teams.”
The Mocs remain at home for the Homecoming weekend and will host UNCG Sunday afternoon at Finley Stadium at 2:00 p.m.Admission to all Chattanooga women’s soccer home matches are free. Follow the action online at GoMocs.com.
Scoring Summary:
1 50:01 UTC Jordan Mueller (4) Anna Moore
2 51:07 VMI Julianne Knoblett (3) unassisted
3 53:37 VMI Sam Franklin (1) unassisted
4 65:04 VMI Sierra Brewer (1) Ceci Keppeler