HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Middle Tennessee's Laura Miguez scored the first and third goals and assisted on Emily Carter's goal, as the Blue Raiders defeated Louisville, 3-0, Saturday afternoon at the Alabama Shootout, an exhibition tourney.
Louisville controlled play for the first 15 minutes before the Blue Raiders countered and got on the board.
Freshman Rebecca Rodriguez had two scoring chances before Claire Ward served a ball to Miguez and the junior found the back of the net in the 21st minute for a 1-0 lead.
Middle Tennessee did not muster much more offense in the opening 45 minutes, and keeper Danielle Perreault kept the Cardinals off the board with several good saves, including a point-blank stop against UL's Kim Jents in the 31st minute.
Rodriguez drew a yellow card from Amy Seng in the 39th minute, as Seng pulled down the Dallas, Texas, native at midfield and prevented a potential scoring opportunity.
Miguez fought for a ball outside the box and Carter blasted the deflection five minutes into the second half and into the back of the net for a 2-0 Blue Raider lead.
Louisville had several more scoring chances in the second half, hitting the post once and the crossbar three times in the final 45 minutes. Perreault and freshman Caroline Schuepbach also had good saves to keep the Cardinals off the board.
Lindsey Bopp played a long through-ball to Miguez midway through the second period, and the junior found the back of the net for the second time in the match and the final 3-0 tally.
Middle Tennessee started four freshmen and five newcomers in the match. All 24 healthy players saw significant minutes in the match, with only senior Jenny Cox missing the game. Cox injured her knee in practice on Friday, a similar injury to the one she suffered last season at Auburn. She will be evaluated this week to determine the extent of the injury and how long she will be out.
"I think it was important the way we got the win in that everyone played," Blue Raider head coach Aston Rhoden said. "We've been stressing quality over quantity in terms of minutes, and we saw that today.
"We made the decision to start the freshmen to give them some confidence. We knew the older players would be fine no matter when we put them in the game, and that proved to be true.
"I thought overall it was a good team effort and the players saw the difference. I was pleased with the team effort and the support they gave each other throughout the match."
The Blue Raiders prepare for the season opener against Belmont on August 31 at 1 p.m. at Blue Raider Field in Murfreesboro.
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