The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga soccer team overcame a blisteringly hot day and a halftime deficit to record its first win of the season, scoring two second half goals in Sunday's 2-1 win over Tennessee Tech at Finley Stadium.
Junior forward Donna-Kay Henry's indirect kick from the penalty spot gave the Lady Mocs the victory in their home opener, but it took a while for the UTC to find its offensive rhythm in a sweltering day on the artificial turf at Finley stadium.
UTC (1-1) started quickly but seemed to lose focus in the heat as the first half wore on. After a couple of near misses, Tennessee Tech forward Andrea Meloff took a pass from Ellie Iaciofano and gave TTU a 1-0 lead on a shot partially deflected by UTC keeper Taylor Davidson.
"The turf was so hot it was like fire on our feet, and we let that affect our mental game," UTC freshman Kerbi Towry said. "But we talked about that (at halftime), and we came out and let all that go and came out and played hard."
In the second half, the Lady Mocs were more aggressive, taking six of their seven shots after the intermission. Towry scored the tying goal in the 56th minute off a cross by former Soddy-Daisy player Kelsey Swann.
"She's the shortest player on the field, but has the biggest heart on the field," UTC coach J.D. Kyzer said of the 5-foot Towry.
After tying the game, UTC kept pushing the ball forward and just missed on several good scoring chances before taking advantage of a mental mistake by Tech keeper Megan Polk, who illegally handled a back pass from one of her teammates in the 73rd minute. The resulting indirect kick by Henry from the penalty spot sailed into the top right corner of the goal to give UTC the lead for good.
"I was going to take the kick really early, but there was no one ready at first," Henry said. "But I called and said I wanted that kick and my teammates did a great job touching it up for me and I just hit it."
Kyzer credited the aggressive UTC offense for forcing the error that led to the winning goal.
"There were errors on both sides," Kyzer said. "But when you get pressure on a team, things like that happen, and we were able to put some pressure on them."
Tennessee Tech outshot UTC 11-7, but Davidson's five saves in goal helped preserve the Lady Mocs' first win of the season in a hotly contested game that saw both Kyzer and Tech head coach Daniel Brizard ejected in the second half with red card violations.
Kyzer was tossed in the 85th minute after getting a yellow and red card for arguing a call with the head official. Brizard was red-carded and sent off the field in the final minute of play of the game that saw several confrontation between UTC and TTU players. Henry and UTC forward Danielle Barr also were issued yellow cards during the game.
Kyzer said getting the victory in their home opener was a big confidence boost for the Lady Mocs, who are playing with very few reserve players.
"We'll focus on the win because when you only have 14 or 15 kids and you lose the first one you don't know where you're going from there," he said. "So this gives hope and heart and a chance to regroup and say 'OK, we can win.'"