The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga came back from a 2-0 deficit early with a pair of first half goals. The two teams battled it out for a draw in the season finale for both teams. The Mocs close out the year at 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-2 in league play, tied with Mercer for sixth in the standings. The Keydets are 6-8-2 on the year and 0-8-1 against the conference.
“As expected it was a tough road match at VMI,” Chattanooga head coach Gavin McKinney stated. “After a poor start, we showed great fight to get back in the match.
We created more than enough chances to win it, but unfortunately, it did not go our way.”
VMI scored both goals in the first 14 minutes of the match. The first came with just 24 seconds gone as the Keydets attacked quickly. Amber Levy picked up the rebound off a shot from Kiley Cropper, placing it low in the corner.
The second didn’t take much longer. Cropper found the net on her second try picking up a cross from Julianne Knoblett and slipped it into the low right corner to make it 2-nil in the 14th minute.
The Mocs responded just 10 minutes later on a shot from Bailey Gale. Masey Fox sent a shot forward and she sent it into the bottom left corner of the net to cut the lead to just one goal.
It would take just more than five minutes to tie the match. Lauren Dluzewski beat out the keeper Ceci Keppeler for the ball and pushed it over the goal line to tie it 2-2 at the 28:45 mark of the match.
Neither team could find the net the rest of the way, battling to a double-overtime tie.
UTC outshot the Keydets 25-16 with a 15-9 shots on goal advantage. Chattanooga keeper Ashton Shields had seven saves in 110 minutes in the net. The Mocs had six shots on goal in the final two periods and did not allow VMI near the net in the final 20 minutes.
Keppeler made 13 saves on the Mocs including six in the overtime periods.
Gale had a game-high six shots with four on goal and one goal, her third of the season. Chloe Arnold had five shots with four on goal but was thwarted on her efforts. Samantha Shaw had four shots for Chattanooga off the bench and Dluzewski had three shots with all three on goal and the game-tying score.
The Mocs ended the season tied with Mercer for sixth place in the league standings. Mercer earned the six seed by virtue of the league tie-break rules. Chattanooga will host VMI Wednesday evening in a 6:00 p.m. match at Finley Stadium.
“We move into the tournament feeling positive and know we have good performances in us,” McKinney said.
Samford earned the top seed after beating No. 2 UNCG on the road Sunday. There was a three-way tie for third between ETSU, Western Carolina and Furman. The Bucs beat both the Catamounts and Paladins and earned the No. 3 seed. Western Carolina beat Furman during the season and by tie-break rules, earns the No. 4 seed and Furman is fifth.
Behind Mercer and Chattanooga are Wofford in eighth, The Citadel finished ninth and the Keydets ended the year 10th among the SoCon schools.
The other first round game will be The Citadel at Wofford. Samford will host the winner of that game and UNCG will host the winner of the Mocs and Keydets. ETSU will host UNCG and Western Carolina will host Furman.