Allison Stallard (left to right), Regina Thomas, Jessica Gilchrist, Charity Blair, Paige Goeglein and Whitney Jorgenson make up Blue Raider soccer’s senior class.
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One of the reasons the MTSU soccer team has been successful this season is because of the leadership of its six seniors.
Goalkeeper Jessica Gilchrist, forward Regina Thomas, midfielder Paige Goeglein, forward Whitney Jorgenson, defender Charity Blair, and defender Allison Stallard have led the team all season and will be playing their final home match inside the Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium tomorrow night.
“This group of seniors has been outstanding with the leadership which dates back to spring 2012,” MTSU head soccer coach Aston Rhoden said. “With 12 new players and two red shirt freshmen in our team of 23 players, their leadership has been vital to the success that we have achieved thus far. I know they can help us as a staff take this program to new heights and that starts with a positive results against (Western Kentucky) this Friday.”
And a positive result is just what the Blue Raiders need when MTSU welcomes Sun Belt rival Western Kentucky to the pitch in the final regular season match for both teams.
With a win, the Blue Raiders clinch their second SBC title in the past four seasons and earn the top seed in next week’s conference tournament.
Up to this point, it has been a stellar season for the Blue Raiders, which included an eight-match winning streak inside the league.
The streak was snapped last week against the University of North Texas with a score of 3-2.
Tomorrow’s match against WKU will be the first one MTSU has played since that loss last Thursday. However, Rhoden said the team has already put the loss behind them and is ready for the Hilltoppers.
“UNT was a bad loss for us,” Rhoden said. “However, the girls have put it behind them and are now preparing for WKU.”
After knocking off the Blue Raiders last Thursday, North Texas faced the WKU a few days later. The Hilltoppers pulled off the upset, 2-0, and gave the Mean Green its first loss in the conference this season, which means tomorrow night’s match will decide the SBC title.
Right now, North Texas (8-1-1) has a one point lead (25) in the standings over the Blue Raiders (8-1-0). However, the Mean Green’s conference schedule is done, so MTSU (24) could jump them in the standings with a win over WKU and take the title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s SBC tournament. A team gets three points for a win, one point for a tie and zero points for a loss.
Kickoff tomorrow is at 7 p.m. inside the MTSU Track and Soccer Stadium. |
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