MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – MTSU soccer opens up a four-game homestand this weekend as it faces Mississippi Valley State Sept. 2 at 7 pm and Austin Peay Sept. 4 at 5 p.m
MTSU vs. Mississippi Valley State
7 p.m Dean. A Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium | Murfreesboro, Tenn.
CUSA TV
Live Stats
MTSU vs. Austin Peay
5 p.m Dean. A Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium | Murfreesboro, Tenn.
CUSA TV
Live Stats
The Blue Raiders are coming off a tie at Belmont Aug. 28. Kirstine Lykke forced the draw in the 71′ after Eleanor Gough found Lykke in the box, who worked her way around the defender and converted the goal.
Two consecutive good looks by MTSU in the 88′ almost put the Blue Raiders up in the closing minutes, but the game resulted in a 1-1 tie.
Yana YordanovaLykke and Emma Pettersen all took two shots while the Blue Raiders as a team put up nine total (six on goal). Hannah Suder had five saves.
Around the Pitch Returning five starters and 19 overall letterwinners, while bringing in 13 newcomers, Aston Rhoden‘s 21st season as head coach features a balance of experience and fresh faces.
Goalkeeper Hannah Suder enters her senior season in the top 10 of several program goalkeeper charts. A native of Jacksonville, Fla., Suder is:
● Seventh in shutouts (7)
● Seventh in games played (36)
● Eighth in goals against average (1.45)
● Eighth in minutes played (2871)
● Tied for seventh in games started (30)
● Ninth in career saves (122)
● Ninth in winning percentage (.467)
Suder ranked second in the conference in total saves (80) and goalkeeper minutes (1,694) last season. Suder ranks fourth in C-USA this season in saves (15) and third in saves per game (five).
Anchoring the Blue Raider defense in front of Suder is a group of experienced Blue Raiders.
Starting in all 47 games of her career and playing in over 4,300 career minutes, Caroline Manley is keeping the streak alive in 2022. Manley earned both USC All-South Region and C-USA All-Tournament Team honors last season for her superb play.
Sascha Nielsen represented MTSU on the 2021 C-USA All-Freshman Team after starting all 19 contests and playing in 1703 minutes in 2021. Nielsen and fellow defender Alex Goffi each scored a goal.
Nielsen has played 112 minutes this season while Goffi logged 23 minutes vs. North Florida.
As far as offense goes, Kirstine Lykke returns after making an impression during her debut season. The midfielder/forward from Denmark scored five times last season and recorded two assists. Lykke has one goal this season on three shots in 105 minutes of action.
Other front line returnees include seniors Campbell Kivisto, who has three career goals under her belt in three seasons. Senior Elizabeth Slavinsky appeared in all but one match last season and scored two goals for four points. Through four games, Kivisto holds the team lead in shots (4).
First Blood Middle Tennessee was 5-0-1 when scoring first during the regular season last year. Over the past three seasons, the Blue Raiders are 16-4-2 in games when striking first.
Coach Rhoden Two wins away from 200 career victories at Middle Tennessee, Aston Rhoden is the third-longest tenured head coach in Conference USA.
Fresh Guidance Middle Tennessee added two new coaches during the offseason Zak Davis and Hannah Hoefs.
Davis joins the Blue Raiders after serving as the assistant women’s soccer coach at George Washington University for the past four seasons. Over his four seasons with the Colonials, Davis helped lead GW to a 33-27-9 overall record and a 20-14-4 mark in A-10 play.
Before arriving in Murfreesboro, Hoefs coached at Shenandoah University for a year and a half during two different stints with the Hornets. Hoefs began her collegiate coaching career when she first joined the coaching staff at Shenandoah in June 2020 following her standout career as a midfielder at Loyola University of Maryland.
Opponent Breakdown
About Mississippi Valley State
Nickname: Devilettes
Head Coach: Frank Davies
2022 Record: 0-1
2021 Record: 0-13 (0-9 SWAC)
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/7
All-Time Series vs. MTSU: 0-0
About Austin Peay
Nickname: Governors
Head Coach: Kim McGowan
2022 Record: 0-1-3
2021 Record: 4-10-3
Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3
All-Time Series vs. MTSU: 2-5 (W, 4-0 | Aug. 25, 2019)