The university’s soccer team held their thirteenth match and fifth home game of the season on October 1, 2023 against Western Illinois for the first time. The match ended with a 1-1 draw between the two teams, which earned the Skyhawks their second point of the conference campaign in the Ohio Valley Conference.
UT Martin players Poppy Bastock, Gwen Walters, Shayla Addington, and Catey Hunt were on the field for the entirety of the game.
In the first half of the game, UT Martin kept their defense up well by keeping the Western Illinois Leathernecks scoreless until a high shot was sent by Kayla Turner, who was assisted by Maddie Hasken, gave the Leathernecks the lead at halftime. However, goalkeeper Poppy Bostock made a total of four saves with only one goal allowed during the full 90 minutes.
Additionally, the Skyhawks pushed their offense and kept the Leathernecks working through their use of 30 total attempted shots at the goal. This was the first time that the Skyhawks have launched 30 attempts since 2019 when 31 shots were sent in the match against Eastern Illinois.
In the seventy-fifth minute of the game, Brooke Kala beat Western Illinois goalkeeper, Isabel Rodriguez, and scored a goal off the crossbar. Afterwards, the Skyhawks kept their offensive push on the Leathernecks, but to no avail during the last minutes of the match.
“That’s where my goal came from because I was so frustrated we were down because of how well we were playing, and how many shots we had on frame and out of frame. It was just very frustrating,” stated Kala.
The Skyhawks currently hold an overall of 3-6-3 and will travel to play Lindenwood on Thursday, October fifth in St. Charles, Missouri. The first touch is set for 7 p.m.
