The Chattanooga women’s soccer started Southern Conference action Friday night with a double-overtime scoreless draw against UNCG at the UTC Sports Complex.
Both teams get off to a 0-0-1 start in league play. UTC is 3-5-2 overall while the Spartans move to 1-3-5 on the year.
“I think it was a good game of football,” Chattanooga head coach Gavin McKinney said. “Hopefully all the people who came out and cheered and supported us tonight, enjoyed it as well.”
UNCG edged the Mocs on shots 17-15 and Chattanooga keeper Abbey Saddler pulled down a career-high 11 saves.
Mackenzie Smith led Chattanooga with five shots and Maddie Burman added four in the effort. Five Spartans had multiple shots in the match, but neither team was able to break the defensive effort.
“The group worked really hard,” McKinney said of his team’s defensive effort. “We defended well when we needed to and they’ve got some dangerous players. They delivered the ball into the box on a few occasions and we dealt with it. We kept a clean sheet at the end of the day.”
The Mocs had three strong opportunities in the first overtime to put the game away but came up just shy. Maddie Burman took a shot from the right side outside the 18-yard box that curled toward the goal but UNCG’s keeper Aiyanah Tyler Cooper made the save to keep the shutout in tact.
Two more shots rang off the crossbar.
“Three really good chances in the first overtime,” McKinney said. “Maddie’s to begin and Grace [Klippenstein] hit the crossbar from a great free kick and then Anna Katherine [AK Anderson] cut inside and hit the bar as well. Three really, really good chances in that first overtime.
Chattanooga remains home to host VMI Sunday afternoon at the UTC Sports Complex. Admission and parking is free. Follow the action online at GoMocs.com for links to streaming video on ESPN+ and live stats.