TULSA, Okla. - Middle Tennessee went ahead in the closing moments of the first half and never looked back over the final 45 minutes to pick up their first victory of the season with a 1-0 shutout of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane in the opening game of the Tulsa Soccer Invitational on Friday night.
"It is good to get our first win of the season and to do it on a road is great," Head Coach Aston Rhoden said. "We played hard against a strong Tulsa team and deserved the result we obtained."
The Blue Raiders were hungry for a victory after beginning the night with a disappointing two draws and three losses from their first five matches of the season.
Middle Tennessee was coming off a 3-2 defeat to the High Point Panthers in the Middle Tennessee Classic last Sunday. The home side went down 3-0 in the match and was unable to complete a dramatic second-half comeback despite two late goals from sophomore Vanessa Mueggler and freshman Shan Jones.
The two sides played to defensive stalemate as the first half wore on but it was the Blue Raiders that went out in front in the 43rd minute before a crowd of 215 at the Tulsa Track and Soccer Stadium. After a dramatic sequence in the Tulsa area, forward Shan Jones pounced on a ball in the six-yard box and slotted it into the back of the net from three yards out for her team-leading fourth goal of the season.
The Blue Raiders conclude the Tulsa Soccer Invitational with a match against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at the Tulsa Track and Soccer Stadium on Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 11 AM.
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