Tech’s Boyd Encouraged By Resolve In ’24

In the midst of a four game win streak, the Tennessee Tech women’s soccer team has found its footing going into the final three weeks of regular season play.

The Golden Eagles are 4-7-2 after starting this season winless in their first nine outings. In his first season as head coach, Corey Boyd said they played one of the harder mid-major schedules and are better off because of it.

“There’s some good team that we’ve played against that have sharpened us and made us a little more battle tested,” Boyd said. “But, getting the feeling of your first win can help a team mentally.”

Boyd noted that playing conference games comes with an additional mental and emotional element. He said the team’s last two wins over the weekend against Morehead State and Southern Indiana were crucial for the program but taxing as well.

“We’ll take today off and tomorrow off and come back mentally fresh and try to keep this thing going,” Boyd said. “Specifically we got to keep focusing on finishing and defending. This team needs to be strong defensively so that we have a platform to attack and finish our chances when we do take them.”

A highlight for the season for Boyd has been the performance of the back-line. He said the entire team is playing well right now but gave shout-outs to Sam Schroeffel, Claire Palya, Bella Garrett and Ebba Melin.

He said the back-line rotation has been chopped and screwed due to injuries and that the efforts of the “replacements” have been encouraging to see.

“That’s our back-line, but I could go through the list of kids that have made impressions throughout the year,” Boyd said. “The other hard part is, those players that do it and don’t get as many minutes as others are still contributing massively to the success of the team.”

Boyd said that while the Golden Eagles have some momentum, the focus is on the future and improving with each day.

“It’s not over,” Boyd said. “You string four together, you have to keep stringing them together. If you want a championship opportunity, this is where the hard work begins. Right now when things are going well and you have to dig in.”

The Golden Eagles next game is against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at home this Sunday at 1pm.