SIUE (3-4-0, 0-0-0 OVC) vs. Tennessee Tech (1-3-1, 0-0-0 OVC)

Match Information
Date: Sunday, Sep. 26, 2021
First Kick: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Cookeville, Tenn.
All-Time Series: Tennessee Tech leads 5-4-2
Last Meeting: Mar. 30, 2021 (SIUE 1, Tennessee Tech 0)

News & Notes

WHERE WE'RE AT: SIUE women's soccer enters Sunday's contest following a 3-0 loss at Texas last Sunday afternoon. The Cougars shut out the Longhorns through 71 minutes played, but three quick Longhorn goals proved too much for the Red & White to overcome.

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Following three consecutive cancellations due to COVID-19 protocols, the Golden Eagles (1-3-1) made their return to the pitch Friday night at East Tennessee State, where the two sides battled to a scoreless draw.

FINDING OUR GROOVE: After a challenging start to non-conference play that saw the Cougars drop three of four matches, SIUE has found their stride in recent weeks. Prior to the Cougars' loss at Texas, SIUE outscored their opponents 7-0 in two matches.

A CLEAN SWEEP: For the first since since 2018, SIUE claimed all three Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week awards during the week of September 13th, thanks to outstanding individual performances. Lily Schnieders (2 G, 2 A) earned the Offensive award, nearly 200 minutes of shutout soccer earned Matea Diekema (1 A) the Defensive Award, and a pair of clean sheets was enough for Jensen Schoch to earn the Goalkeeper award after being sidelined due to injury last spring.

LOCAL FLAIR: Coach Burton has recruited and retained talented student-athletes from throughout the Metro East and Greater St. Louis regions. Of the 33 student-athletes on this season's roster, 21 hail from Greater St. Louis - this includes five who came to SIUE from a county in the Metro East region.

RETURNERS: The Cougars return all but two starters from last season's OVC champion squad, and bring back all three goalkeepers from Spring 2021. Highlighting the returning Cougars are OVC Forward of the Year MacKenzie Litzsinger, All-OVC and United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Second Team selection Lily Schnieders, and OVC All-Newcomer selection Matea Diekema.

NEW FACES: The Red & White welcome eight newcomers to the program, six of whom hail from the Greater St. Louis area. Included in this class are sisters Ashlyn and Kaitlyn Nichols (O'Fallon, Mo.), who join Matea and Myah Diekema as the only known pair of sisters playing in the same Division I soccer program.

SEASON 40: The 2021 season marks the 40th season of intercollegiate women's soccer at SIUE, with nearly 1,000 alumni and current student-athletes having donned the Red & White since the program's inaugural season in 1982.