Sunday’s season opener didn’t have the ending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga soccer team wanted, but the game did mark a new beginning.
The Mocs suffered a 1-0 double-overtime loss to Austin Peay at Finley Stadium, with the Lady Governors’ Jennifer Smith heading in a Sydney Dawson pass in the 102nd minute.
The game was the first of UTC head coach Gavin McKinney’s tenure. The Mocs will have their second chance at his first victory on Friday, when they play at Kennesaw State before returning home to face former Southern Conference member Elon at 1 p.m. Sunday.
UTC’s Loryn Queen jumps over Austin Peay goalkeeper Lindsey Todd a she smothers her shot as UTC hosts Austin Peay in a women’s soccer match at Finley Stadium on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. Austin Peay’s Amber Bateman follows on the play. Austin Peay won 1-0 in the second overtime.The Lady Governors used a lot of pressure early, peppering shots at former Austin Peay goalkeeper Katie Emig, who started for the Mocs. The junior finished with three saves for UTC, which was outshot 11-3 (4-0 in shots on goal).
“You always take the losses hard, but you have to take the positives away,” said McKinney, who took over a team that finished 1-17-1 last season. “We can learn and move forward. We have a quick turnaround, so we don’t have time to put our heads down and feel sorry for ourselves. We have to take this one on the chin and move forward.”
The Mocs held a Division I opponent scoreless in the first half for the first time since Sept. 7, 2014 (Lipscomb), and held a Division I opponent scoreless in regulation time for the first time since defeating Gardner-Webb 1-0 on Sept. 7, 2012.
The final score notwithstanding, the Mocs came out feeling pretty good about the way they played.
Now they’re just looking for better results.
“I thought we did very well,” said sophomore forward McKenzie Gregg, who had one of the team’s three shot attempts. “We came out strong and compacted the center like coach wanted, so the only chances they had came from the outside.
“It’s upsetting that we lost, but we gave it a good run. We had a really tough preseason and worked to get to this point, and we’re focused on our future, because we have a big one ahead. This is just the beginning. Even though we lost, we’re looking forward to our next game.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/genehenleytfp.