MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders continue the search for their first victory of the young season when they travel to the Tulsa Soccer Invitational this weekend for matches against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane and Oral Roberts Golden Eagles.
The Blue Raiders are coming off a 3-2 loss to the High Point Panthers last Sunday in the Middle Tennessee Classic. The home side went down 3-0 in the match and was unable to complete a dramatic comeback despite two second-half goals from freshman forward Shan Jones and sophomore midfielder Vanessa Mueggler.
Middle Tennessee went 0-1-1 in the Classic, drawing 1-1 with Big 12 Conference opponent on Friday night.
Middle Tennessee begins the Invitational with a match against Tulsa at the Hurricane Track and Soccer Stadium on Friday at 7 PM. The teams are meeting for just the second time with the Blue Raiders defeating the Golden Hurricane 3-1 in 2007.
The hosts come into this weekend with a 4-2-0 record, including an impressive 10-0 win over Jackson State last Sunday, and have allowed just three goals all season.
"Tulsa is obviously an explosive offense and a solid defense as can be seen from their results. We expect a tough game," Head Coach Aston Rhoden said. "They are a team that scores a lot of goals and they have not given up many since the start of the season."
The Blue Raiders conclude this weekend with a match against Oral Roberts on Sunday at 11 AM. The squads have met just once previously, with the Golden Eagles wining 4-0 in 1998. Oral Roberts recorded their first win of the season last Friday, a 3-1 home victory over John Brown. Their two losses have come against high-caliber opponents Oklahoma State and Arkansas.
"Oral Roberts has played good competition and has gotten positive results against those squads. They have a great coach and I expect and strong game from them," Rhoden said.
Both games involving the Blue Raiders can be followed live by selecting the appropriate links on GoBlueRaiders.com. Live video will be available for Friday's match at Tulsa, while only live statistics are available for Sunday's match versus Oral Roberts.
2008 Tulsa Soccer Invitational
Friday
7 PM - Arkansas State at Oral Roberts (ORU Soccer Complex)
7 PM - Middle Tennessee at Tulsa
Sunday
11 AM - Middle Tennessee vs. Oral Roberts
1 PM - Arkansas State at Tulsa
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