Blue Raider senior Angie Lai pushed MT to a 2-0 Conference USA road win against Marshall Sunday with a goal and assist in Huntington.
The Blue Raiders totaled 12 shots in the contest, two shy of Marshall’s 14. The C-USA foes were even in shots on goal at four each.
Celeste Barnard tallied four more saves in her second start of the season while Salera Jordan netted the second goal for MT to push her season total to a team-best six scores.
The Blue Raiders logged four shots in the opening 45 minutes, one of which went off the post, but did not test Marshall’s keeper before the break.
Both teams came out firing early in the second half as Courteney Gibson logged the first shot on goal for the Blue Raiders in the 52nd minute.
Gibson nearly struck again for MT in the 56th minute of action with a shot off of the crossbar, but the rebound fell to the feet of Angie Lai who buried it in the back of the net to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
Barnard’s fourth save of the day in the 60th minute preserved the Blue Raider lead as she stayed spotless on the day through the first two-thirds of the match,
Just nine minutes after the first MT goal, Salera Jordan was able to double the Blue Raider lead when Lai found her with a through ball to give the freshman a chance on goal that she would not waste.
Marshall was able to get five more shots off in the final 25 minutes of the contest, but never tested Barnard for a chance to close the gap on the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee returns home on Friday, Oct. 14, to face Rice in a 7:00 p.m. contest at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium.
