Middle Tennessee State women’s soccer (9-5-3, 4-2-1) hosted conference opponent University of Texas-El Paso (3-9-4, 0-4-3) for its last home game of the season, coming away with a 4-0 win.
The Blue Raiders celebrated 12 seniors and their contributions to the squad, with their numbers painted on the field for the game and postgame festivities with their families. The celebration included five starters: Megan Carroll, Taijah Fraser, Idun Kvaale, Emma Pettersen and Emma Brown.
“We talked about making this about the game and not the occasion, and I think they did both and showed it was about the game and the occasion,” head coach Aston Rhoden said.
MTSU started the game with a fast pace and an offensively aggressive game plan, consistently pushing the ball downfield with long passes and crosses into the attacking third.
After a sloppy play left UTEP goalkeeper Sophia Dean out of position, the Blue Raiders’ early aggression paid off as forward Kvaale scored her first goal of the season, assisted by Pettersen, to go up 1-0.
MTSU continued to control the ball for most of the first half, thanks to efficient passing and aggressive defense that disrupted UTEP’s passing lanes, resulting in steals and a 1-0 lead at halftime.
UTEP began the second half by speeding up its offensive tempo and appeared to be gaining momentum, spending much of the first 10 minutes in the attacking zone.
A yellow card against Miners’ midfielder Maya Vitoria in the 61st minute brought MTSU a free kick, which resulted in a Fraser shot attempt that bounced off the crossbar. That shot neutralized UTEP’s momentum, with possession switching back and forth until the 78th minute when MTSU’s Hannah Murphy scored off an assist from Kvaale, netting her first goal in conference play this season and putting the Blue Raiders up 2-0.
The goal opened a surge of scoring for MTSU. At the 79th minute, Kvaale set up Pettersen for a goal to make it 3-0, and at the 83rd minute, Carroll assisted Yana Yordanova for the final goal, sealing a 4-0 victory.
The Blue Raiders fielded their seniors for the final 10 minutes, a game in which the senior class scored or assisted on each goal. Kvaale led the team in points with one goal and two assists.
“All I ever want is to do well in front of my family, and obviously they traveled a long way to be here, so it was nice to put on a show for them,” Kvaale said.
Heading into the UTEP match, the Conference USA standings were tight, and it was yet to be seen if Middle Tennessee State’s postseason aspirations would be met. With the win, giving the Blue Raiders 13 points in conference play, MTSU locked in its spot for the eight-team CUSA Women’s Soccer Championship.
“For us it’s never about just making the tournament. We’re never satisfied with that,” Rhoden said. “Now it’s about can we put ourselves in position to get a top seed in the tournament.”
MTSU travels to face Kennesaw State University on Saturday, Oct. 25, to close out the regular season and determine its seeding in the conference tournament.
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