CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's soccer team returned to Finley Stadium for the first since 2004 and tallied a thrilling 2-1 victory over Tennessee Tech in front of nearly 500 fans at the South Side stadium Sunday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles got on the board in the first half on a goal by Andrea Meloff. Tennessee Tech's Ellie Iaciofano, running down the middle of the field, got off a pass as she was tripped to Meloff on the right. Meloff then took the ball and shot just over the outstretched hand of Chattanooga keeper Taylor Davidson (Ooltewah, Tenn.) in the 30th minute for the 1-0 lead.
Tennessee Tech controlled the ball throughout most of the first half allowing just one shot by the Lady Mocs and led 1-0 at halftime.
Chattanooga stepped up the offense in the second half with six shots to the TTU's eight and scored two goals for the win.
The equalizer came at the 56:55 mark from freshmen Kerbi Towry (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) who nabbed her first collegiate goal. Sophomore Kelsey Swann (Hixson, Tenn.) sent a pass from the right to the front of the net with several UTC players waiting. Towry picked up the pass and headed the ball into the top left corner to tie it up 1-1.
Late in the game, the Tennessee Tech keeper scooped up a pass from her own player that led to a penalty and an indirect free kick for Chattanooga. Four UTC players were at the penalty line discussing strategy as the Golden Eagle defense set up a wall in front of the net.
Sophomore Anna Cusick (Norcross, Ga.) tapped the ball to junior Donna-Kay Henry (Queens Village, N.Y.) who sent a strong shot over the defense and into the top right of the net for the game winner.
Tennessee Tech outshot UTC 11-7 and held the advantage on shots on goal 6-4. Davidson had five saves on the day while TTU's keeper Megan Polk managed two.
The Lady Mocs will hit the road for a six-game stretch beginning next weekend at Austin Peay for the Lady Govs Invitational. Chattanooga will take on Miami (Ohio) in a neutral match Friday evening. Live stats will be available at GoMocs.com, the official website of Chattanooga athletics.
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. TTU 29:52 MELOFF, Andrea (1) - IACIOFANO, Ellie
2. UTC 56:55 TOWRY, Kerbi (1) - SWANN, Kelsey
3. UTC 73:19 HENRY, Donna-Kay (1) - CUSICK, Anna
