EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 5 seed University of Tennessee at Martin scrapped throughout its 90-minute battle against Little Rock today but a Trojan goal in the 15th minute was the lone score in today’s Ohio Valley Conference Soccer Championship first round matchup held at Strassweg Field. The Skyhawks wrap up the 2023 campaign with a 5-8-6 overall record under first-year head coach Mike Varga.
UT Martin managed three shots on the day as junior midfielder Brooke Kala accounted for two of those attempts. Abbie McHenry was responsible for the Skyhawks’ other shot today as all three attempts came in the second half.
In goal, Poppy Bastock made the start and snared one save in 45 minutes. Freshman Jordyn Riffle took over in the second half and excelled, keeping Little Rock (6-5-8) off the scoreboard while reeling off three saves in her collegiate debut.
“It was a tough way to end the season,” Varga said. “We didn’t play our best soccer but Little Rock had a lot to do with that. Defensively, I thought our effort and organization was very good. We didn’t create a lot going forward today but I am proud of this group and how hard they worked all season.”
After Bastock made a save in the sixth minute, the second shot attempt of the match was true as the Trojans scored on a free kick near midfield – marking the first goal conceded by UT Martin in 229-plus minutes (dating back to the 55th minute against Southern Indiana on Oct. 15).
The Skyhawks came out as aggressors in the second half as all three shot attempts took place over a 37-second stretch in the 48th and 49th minutes.
Riffle made the first save of her college career during the 69th minute. The Amelia, Ohio native tacked on saves in the 79th and 83rd minutes to keep UT Martin’s deficit at one. However, time ran out on the Skyhawk comeback attempt.
Today’s result marks the final UT Martin match for Catey Hunt and Olivia Magnusson. Hunt concludes her Skyhawk tenure ranking third in program history in matches started (82), fifth in matches played (85) while logging 7,364 career minutes on the pitch.
“I can’t say enough about Catey and Olivia,” Varga said. “Both are incredible people that will do incredible things. They will definitely be missed.”
After he was hired 68 days before UT Martin’s first exhibition contest, Varga directed the 2023 Skyhawks to the school’s 17th all-time top-five OVC finish in 26 seasons. UT Martin set a school record for ties (six) and ranked second in the league in shots (11.72 per match) during the regular season. The Skyhawks also generated all four of their season shutouts in OVC play, allowing only five goals in their final 630 minutes (0.71 goals against average).
