Jorgenson's tally caps Blue Raider rally

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Sophomore Whitney Jorgenson escaped free from a defender and sent the ball into the corner of the net to lift the Middle Tennessee soccer team to a come-from-behind 2-1 road victory at UAB Thursday evening at West Campus Field in Birmingham, Ala.

Jorgenson's goal at 76:57, her second of the campaign, came at a time when the Blue Raiders' offensive attack was being called upon to make the difference in the first meeting between the two schools. It marks her first game-winning goal since her inaugural collegiate contest, August 21, 2008, at Tennessee Tech.

Just over five minutes earlier, at 71:44, senior All-Sun Belt honoree Vanessa Mueggler tallied the equalizer as she flicked in a free kick opportunity from redshirt sophomore Charity Blair to pull Middle Tennessee (3-3) even.

The host Blazer squad jumped out in front early in the first half, at 11:44, as leading scorer Laura McCalla beat a Blue Raider defender and fired a shot to the far post corner.

UAB (3-4) owned a 12-to-8 shot advantage, however, Middle Tennessee took advantage of its chances by placing six attempts on net compared to just four by the Blazers. Junior Shan Jones led MT with three shots, while Tiffani Turpin paced UAB with four attempts.

Junior goalkeeper Rebecca Cushing stopped three Blazer shots and Kate Blankenship was credited with four stops in the opposite net.

The Blue Raiders will look to extend the momentum on their current four-game road trip at 1 p.m. Sunday when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. The match will be the second road SEC game of the season for Middle Tennessee.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.