Coming off its first Ohio Valley Conference championship appearance in 2008, the UT Martin women’s soccer team had set lofty goals for the 2009 season. However, after a 2-0 win over Lipscomb to open the season, the Skyhawks slid – losing three straight matches before returning home to host the PUMA Skyhawk Invitational.
In its seventh season, the PUMA Skyhawk Invitational has traditionally served as a springboard for success for the UT Martin soccer team, and this year was no different. The Skyhawks won the tournament, claiming its eighth straight PUMA Skyhawk Invitational match, allowing zero shot attempts in a 3-0 win over Missouri-Kansas City. After a 3-0 loss at SEC power Vanderbilt and a dominant 5-0 win over future OVC member SIU Edwardsville, the Skyhawks began OVC play with a 3-4 overall record.
After a grueling 1-0 double overtime loss at Tennessee Tech to open OVC play, the Skyhawks rebounded in full force – winning four straight OVC matches to take over the lead in the conference standings heading into an Oct. 18 home matchup with Morehead State. UT Martin appeared in control of the match, leading 2-0 with just 15 minutes left, but a late run by Morehead State led to a 3-2 loss and dropped the Skyhawks out of first place.
Rather than hang their heads at the loss, the Skyhawks came back to dominate in a 3-0 win at Austin Peay on Oct. 25, setting the stakes high for its regular-season finale against Eastern Illinois. In a match that was rescheduled twice and was moved to a neutral site, the Skyhawks needed to win against Eastern Illinois to claim a share of its first-ever OVC title in program history. A win was also big because it would give the Skyhawks a first-round bye in the OVC Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
On Halloween evening, the Skyhawks got a goal from freshman Kendyl Wilson in the 81st minute to propel UT Martin to a 1-0 victory, tying them with Morehead State for the OVC regular-season championship. The win was the Skyhawks’ sixth in their last seven matches, as they appeared to be peaking at the right time heading into the OVC Tournament in Morehead, Ky., on Nov. 5-8.
Earning the first-round bye, the Skyhawks learned they had to play Murray State in the semifinals on Nov. 6. In a physical match, the UT Martin offense out-shot the Racers, 11-9, and constantly put pressure on the Murray State goalkeeper, but ultimately couldn’t convert on its chances. The Racers came up with a goal in the 39th minute off a corner kick for the 1-0 win, ending the Skyhawks’ spectacular season.
| Despite the disappointing loss to end the season, head coach Craig Roberts and his Skyhawks had a wildly successful season, as they broke or tied four school records en route to the first-ever OVC championship. UT Martin also had the program’s first-ever OVC Defensive Player of the Year, as Danielle Rogers took home the honor. Rogers headlined four players garnering six All-OVC mentions, as sophomore midfielder Brooke Robertson joined her on the All-OVC first team. Freshman Kendyl Wilson earned a spot on the All-OVC second team and was named as an All-OVC Newcomer, while freshman goalkeeper Aubrey Buehler also earned a spot on the All-OVC Newcomer team. Senior defenders Sophie Cox and Nuala Deans were also recognized for their outstanding efforts, as they were both tabbed to the OVC All-Tournament team. |
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Roberts has guided the program in the right direction, as he has compiled 29 victories over the past three seasons, which is more victories than the program had in its first seven seasons of existence. Under Roberts, the Skyhawks have also earned 16 OVC Players of the Week, after earning only nine such mentions in the program’s first eight seasons. With only three seniors on this year’s squad, UT Martin looks primed to repeat for the OVC championship in 2010.
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