COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Saint Mary's women's soccer team earned their first win of the season as they conquered a 4-0 win over Tennessee Tech. The junior
Tessa Salvestrin led the Gaels with a hat trick in just her 58 minutes of field time.
FIRST HALF SMC 1-0 TENNESSEE TECH
In the opening minutes of the match, the Gaels put up their first on target shot of the half with TTU goalkeeper Maggie Conrad making her first save of the night. Just two minutes later, SMC's
Khalia Gathright attempted another shot for the Gaels as they showed their assertiveness early on in the match
In the 16th minute, Saint Mary's stole the ball, passing it down to the left wing, attempting to make a cross pass but just too far.
Briana Salvetti recovered the loose ball where she made another cross into the box allowing Salvestrin to head the ball into the right corner of the net after TTU goalkeeper got a touch but not enough to deny Salvestrin.
Over the next 17 minutes of the match, the Gaels were solid in ball possession and attempted two more shots. With seven minutes left in the half, the Gaels ramped up the intensity with seven more shots . Six of those seven shots hit the frame as Tennessee Tech's keeper was able to keep the deficit at just a goal heading into the break.
At the half, the Gaels outshined TTU with 13-3 total shots and 10-3 shots on target.
FINAL 4-0 TENNESSEE TECH
Right off the bat, Saint Mary's applied pressure to Tennessee Tech, forcing a turnover allowing
Savannah Schwarze to swoop in. Schwarze gave a short pass to Salvetti, where once again she launched the ball into the box, giving the perfect pass to Salvestrin for the second time to give SMC a 2-0 lead just 23 seconds into the second half.
Doubling their lead did not slow down the Gaels, as Salvestrin attempted three more shots before securing a hat trick in the 68th minute. Junior,
Alessandra Towle made a pass down the line to Sophomore winger Syndey Middaugh. The sophomore dribbled into the box, crossed it over to Salvestrin, and Salvestrin finished with her right foot in the bottom left corner to give Saint Mary's a convincing 3-0 lead.
As the Gaels had plenty of momentum with their ball possession , Middaugh drove into the box where she was tripped , earning the Gaels a penalty in the 81st minute . After some medical attention to Middaugh, the pressure was between SMC Freshman
Taylor Kessler and TTU goalkeeper Conrad. The Freshman kept her composure and scored her first collegiate goal as she slotted the ball off the right post and in.
Aside from Saint Mary's offense, the defense did not disappoint as they only allowed one shot in the entire half and four total in the game. With this 4-0 win, SMC Goalkeeper
Kate Plachy picked up her second shutout of the season.
LOOKING AHEAD
Saint Mary's improves to 1-1-1 on the season and will continue their non-conference slate as they remain in Tennessee for Sunday's matchup, August 22nd, against Vanderbilt at 11:00 AM. Live stats, stream and ticket links can all be found at smcgaels.com.
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