CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- "Tough game"
 
Those were the words of Chattanooga Mocs head coach Gavin McKinney following a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon between the Mocs and East Tennessee State in Southern Conference women's soccer action.
 
"Tough Sunday, match," McKinney continued. "Both teams were physical; both teams wanted three points. I think we're one of the only league's in the country that goes Friday to Sunday. Sunday's are tough and it was a hot October day on this turf."
 
The Mocs saw a few opportunities against East Tennessee State Sunday afternoon, and knocked away a late attempt by the Bucs.
 
"That's a fantastic save by Caroline Ekern at the end of the game to tip it up on to the bar," McKinney said.
 
"It was a cagey game. We struggled to connect more than 3-4 passes at times, but in the moment that we did, I thought we did open them up and work it into some good areas. We created two really good opportunities in the second half that maybe we score from on a different day, but that's the way it goes sometimes."
 
Chattanooga edged the Bucs 9-7 on shots and 4-3 on shots on goal. Birna Johannsdottir led the Mocs with three shots while JaNiya Stevens and Kennedy Heavrin each had two off the bench. Johannsdottir and Heavrin had two shots on goal apiece.
 
Ekern recorded her sixth shutout of the season and tallied three saves in the match while ETSU's Shu Ohba had four.
 
Chattanooga will close out the regular season on the road next weekend starting at Wofford on Friday afternoon and then on to Furman Sunday afternoon in Greenville.
 
"We need to keep doing what we're doing," McKinney said. "From an organizational standpoint, when we're out of possession, we're really difficult for teams to break down. We're keeping clean sheets. We've not conceded many goals … within our conference. We just need to take care of our recovery and training this week and prepare ourselves as much as we can."
 
The Mocs are 7-3-4 overall and remain unbeaten in league play at 5-0-2. ETSU evens out at 5-5-5 on the year and 3-2-3 in SoCon action.
 
THE CHAMPIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
- A win would give the Mocs the title outright. A pair of ties in the final two games would also secure the title outright for UTC.
- A loss by Samford and Mercer would secure the title for UTC regardless of how the Mocs finish the season.
- Chattanooga needs a tie to claim at least a share of the Southern Conference regular season title if Samford or Mercer win out.
 
SoCon standings through Sunday, October 16
 

1	Chattanooga	5-0-2	17 pts
T2	Samford	3-1-3	12 pts
	Mercer	3-1-3	12 pts
	ETSU	3-2-3	12 pts
T5	Western Carolina	3-4-1	10 pts
	Furman	3-3-1	10 pts
	UNCG	3-3-1	10 pts
8	The Citadel	3-4-0	9 pts
9	Wofford	2-3-2	8 pts
10	VMI	0-7-0	0 pts

 
FOLLOW THE MOCS
For the latest news and information on Chattanooga Mocs Soccer, visit the official website of Mocs Athletics at GoMocs.com. Fans can also follow the Mocs on social media at @GoMocsSoccer (Twitter), @GoMocsWSoccer (Instagram).