The Blue Raiders slide to (3-5-1) with their loss on Friday night against the University of Texas El Paso Miners, marking the third straight loss for the team.
The game started slow in the first half for the Blue Raiders, with only 1 shot on goal. The offense struggled to get scoring chances, and failed to put the finishing touch on shots.
Middle Tennessee showed much athleticism in the loss though. Freshman midfielder Cameron Cox led the offense with an accurate pass to sophomore midfielder Angie Lai, with Lai unable to convert in close for the Blue Raiders, marking a painful theme for the Blue Raiders.
Junior forward Tori Hawkins led many open field breakaways, but had them deflected by the stingy UTEP defense. Junior forward Grace Summers was neutralized for a majority of the game with multiple defenders on her at all times.
In the first half, the offense did not develop, but defensively played well and as a unit. Junior goalkeeper Kelsey Brouwer faced many difficult, open shots inside their own box, but made save after save to keep Middle Tennessee in the contest.
The UTEP Miners had plenty of scoring chances, ending the first half with three corner kicks and four shots on goal.
Middle Tennessee came out firing on offense in the second half, but were plagued by missed opportunities. Early on, Hawkins brought the ball through the middle of the Miners’ defense and shot from far out, with the ball sailing, hitting the crossbar, and bouncing out of the goal.
Blue Raider junior defender Emily Jorgenson proved to have a great game against the UTEP offense, making multiple goal-saving efforts tonight. Midway through the second, the Miner’s offense weaved through the Middle Tennessee defense, making a tight pass in close. The ball looked to be going in, but Jorgenson came out of nowhere to make a sliding deflection.
As the game dragged into overtime, the Blue Raiders looked to convert their scoring chances into a game-winning goal. Too many missed opportunities would prove to be too much for MT to overcome though, with UTEP junior midfielder Angela Cutaia scoring the game-winning goal early in overtime.
Middle Tennessee looks to snap their 3 game losing streak when they take on UTSA Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
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