EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.– The University of Tennessee at Martin soccer team held on to a one-goal advantage to secure three points in the conference standings with a 2-1 triumph over SIUE this afternoon at Korte Stadium.
Peyton Cook (50th minute) and Makayla Robinson (game-winner in 52nd minute) scored both goals for the Skyhawks while Robinson led the team in shots (three). Cook (one shot on goal), Nyeemah Prescod-Beckles (two shots, one shot on goal), Izzy Patterson (two shots, one assist), Brooke Kala (one shot, one assist), Anna Østergaard Ibsen (one shot) and Maren Cain (one shot) made up the offensive attack for UT Martin.
Goalkeeper Mac Titus faced 20 shots and made eight saves in 90 minutes. Titus joined Parker Gelinas, Lorena Montesano, Shayla Addington, Patterson, Kala and Østergaard Ibsen as Skyhawks who logged the full 90 minutes today.
UT Martin (2-4-3, 1-0 Ohio Valley Conference) peppered the SIUE backline with shots in the first half but the Cougars were efficient in their counterattack. Titus was active with three consecutive saves coming in the 19th, 21st and 22nd minutes to help keep SIUE off the scoreboard midway through the first half. The Skyhawks were able to carry a first half shutout into the break, credit to their work on defense and two more Titus saves in the 35th and 38th minutes.
In the second half, a clutch team save and yet another Titus stop took place in an 11-second span in the 49th minute.
UT Martin opened up the scoring in a big way when Patterson found Cook for a one-on-one opportunity. The Milford, Ohio native capitalized on that chance and found the back of the net for her first score of the season to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the second half.
The UT Martin momentum continued as just 76 seconds later, Robinson received a pass from Kala and buried the shot past the Cougar goalkeeper to make the score 2-0. It marked the team-high third goal (and second game-winner) of the season for the senior forward out of El Cajon, Calif.
SIUE (1-5-2, 0-1 OVC) would answer with a goal off a free kick later in the 52nd minute but that would wrap up the scoring on the day. The Skyhawks held SIUE to just two shots on goal in the final 37 minutes as Titus hauled in saves in the 60th and 76th minutes to help UT Martin snag a league win in its first chance of the fall.
“That was a great way to start the conference schedule,” Skyhawk head coach Mike Varga said. “We showed a lot of grit today and the team really stuck to our plan and it paid off. To get three points on the road against an excellent team was a big ask so I’m really proud of the team and the work they put in to get the result today.”
UT Martin will wrap up its four-match long road trip with OVC rival Southern Indiana on Thursday, Sept. 26th at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
