The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s soccer team will take its four-game unbeaten streak to Atlanta Friday night to take on Georgia State. The Mocs will return home Sunday to host Alabama at the UTC Sports Complex.
Sunday is Youth Soccer Sunday. The Redoubt Soccer Association will be the Mocs’ guests at the game Sunday. The players will be invited to participate in the starting lineups, games, a halftime recognition and postgame autographs.
The game is set to kick off Friday, Sept.
6 at 7:00 p.m. in Atlanta at the GSU Soccer Complex. The game will be aired for a fee on PantherVision and live stats will be available on the women’s soccer schedule page at georgaistatesports.com.
The Mocs opened the season with a tie and strung together three straight shutouts to remain unbeaten on the year at 3-0-1. UTC has allowed just one goal and averages 10.5 shots per game.
Four different Mocs have scored this season. Kendra Mueller scored the equalizer against Austin Peay in the opener. Emily Szymanski knocked home the game winner in the 11th minute at Eastern Kentucky. Hollie Massey connected on a free kick from just outside the 25-yard box at North Alabama in the final minutes to secure a victory and Samantha Shaw knocked home a shot just over the keeper’s hand for a home win against defending ASUN champion Lipscomb.
Keepers Ashton Shields and Abbey Saddler have split time in goal with Saddler getting two shutouts with seven saves this season. She was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Week. Shields now has seven career shutouts in just two seasons. She has a .909 saves percentage, a shutout and is 1-0-1 on the year.
The Panthers are 2-2 on the year. Georgia State opened the season on the road with a 7-0 loss at Vanderbilt and fell again to Kennesaw State in the home opener. GSU bounced back with a 2-1 road win over Davidson and got is second straight victory with a 5-0 beating of Alabama A&M at home.
Jocelyn Jones leads Georgia State with two goals while Jimena Cabrero and Liz Fogarty each have a game winning goal. Seven different players have scored eight goals for the Panthers. Jolie Ryff matched Jones for the lead on the team in points with a goal and two assists. Hannah Davis has Georgia State’s other two assists.
Keeper Kendra Clarke has two starts in goal, both wins. She has six saves and has given up just one goal in 187 minutes in the net. Allie Strunk and Ashley Triplett each have one start. They have combined to allow 11 goals and eight saves.
This will be the fifth meeting between the Mocs and Panthers the inaugural season for Chattanooga in 1996. Georgia State has won all four previous meetings including a 2-1 double overtime victory last season in Chattanooga.
The Mocs game against Alabama will kick off at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the UTC Sports Complex. Follow all the action live and free at GoMocs.com where live stats will be available on the women’s soccer schedule page along with streaming video on the SoCon Digital Network.
Admission is free to the Mocs home soccer matches this season.
The Tide is 3-1 on the year falling to BYU in the season-opener at home. The responded with three straight wins, giving up just one goal in the stretch and two shutouts. Alabama beat Utah 3-0 at home, Rice 2-1 and Lamar 5-0 on the road. They remain on the road to take on #23 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., Thursday before heading to Chattanooga to take on the Mocs. Alabama has outscored its foes 10-2 and is 2-2 on penalty kicks.
Casey Wertz leads the team with six points on two goals and two assists. Riley Mattingly and Macy Clem each have two goals for the Tide and Serena Pham matched Wertz with a team-best two assists. Seven different players have scored a goal for Alabama while six have assisted on the goals. Mattingly, Gabby Duca and Brynn Martin each have a game winner.
Alex Plavin has played all four games in the net and has three wins, two by shutout. She has 16 saves for a .889 saves percentage and two goals against (0.50 GAA).
The Mocs and Crimson Tide have clashed seven times with Alabama holding a 6-1 advantage against UTC. The Tide won the first two meetings in 2001 and 2002 and have won the last four meetings, allowing UTC just one goal in a 2-1 overtime loss for the Mocs. Chattanooga’s lone win was in 2004 behind the foot of Diana Jallo who scored both goals in the 2-0 shutout in Tuscaloosa. She was named to the College Soccer America National Team of the Week for her effort.