"It was great to win on senior day in front of the fans who came out to support us, especially given the weather," said Blue Raider Head Coach Aston Rhoden. "Coming in, we wanted to set the tone early, we wanted to get not just a physical advantage but a mental advantage. Getting the first goal early really set the tone. All in all, it was a good, solid performance."
Three minutes into the game, Peyton DePriest gave Blue Raider fans a true sendoff in a way that only No. 12 could, to close out the final regular season game of her five-year career at Middle Tennessee.
The Franklin, Tennessee, native stole a pass at the top of the Marshall box and beat Marshall goalkeeper Mira Pastoft on her left side to give the Blue Raiders an early 1-0 lead.
The C-USA points record-breaker from No. 12, @PeyDepriest!#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/44wOKk0x39
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) October 29, 2021
The goal gave DePriest yet another record to add to her already impressive resume, making her Conference USA's all-time point's leader with 124 career points. DePriest's goal brought her season total to 11 goals, tying her for the conference lead.
With her 11th goal of the season against Marshall, @PeyDepriest has now become the @ConferenceUSA All-Time Points Leader with 124 career points!#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/T1TOJpBnHy
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) October 29, 2021
"It was bittersweet," DePriest said of her final home game. "It's been five long years with some of the girls that I've been closest too and it was so important to win tonight. It meant a lot (to set the record). I'm proud of my individual achievements, but I've got a bigger goal for the conference tournament, so hopefully we can get it done there. Bittersweet was the best way to describe (tonight)."
Marshall knotted it up at one-all on a Kat Gonzalez goal in the 18th minute, but the Blue Raiders took the lead thanks to a buzzer-beating goal from freshman Kristine Lykke.
The slender forward received a pass from Miya Lennon near the top of the box and dribbled it right in front of Pastoft and beat her over her right shoulder to give Middle Tennessee a 2-1 lead heading into the locker room. The goal was Lykke's fourth of the year and the assist was the fourth of the year for Lennon.
Lykke didn't waste much time getting back to work in the second half, as she took another beautiful pass; this time from Peyton DePriest, and buried one in the back of the net in the 54th minute to give the native of Denmark her first-career brace and fifth goal of the season.
EAAAT Kirstine Lykke! First career brace for the phenomenal freshman!#BlueRaiders | #MT pic.twitter.com/khHj1rNsd5
— MT Soccer (@MT_Soccer) October 29, 2021
"I am proud of myself and this team," Lykke said. "I couldn't have (scored a brace) without them. I'm so happy I could do it for the team. These girls help me so much during practices throughout the week, so to be able to do this for them tonight in the game made me so happy."
Middle Tennessee honored seniors Miya Lennon, Olivia Hansen, Katie Thomas and also recognized graduate students Sam Debien and Peyton DePriest during the postgame senior day ceremony.
"It's been invaluable to see (the seniors) growth," Rhoden said. "Being able to lead the team with not only what you see on the field, but off of it has been huge. Seeing the value that those kids brought to help the team fight through tough times and their own personal experiences was just invaluable."
Coming into the evening, Middle Tennessee had an opportunity to finish the season as high as second in Conference USA's East Division and as low as fifth. With Old Dominion's 2-0 win over Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky's 1-1 tie with Charlotte, the Blue Raiders locked up the third-seed in the East Division for the Conference USA Tournament and will play on Wednesday in the quarterfinal round, likely against UTSA who is the two-seed in the West Division.
The final bracket with both opponent information and start time will be released tomorrow morning. Follow MTSU soccer's social-media channels listed below for the release of the bracket.
FOLLOW THE BLUE RAIDERS
Follow Middle Tennessee Soccer on social media on Facebook (/MTSoccer), Twitter (MT_Soccer) and Instagram (MT_WSoccer).
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Middle Tennessee defeats Marshall 3-2 on senior night behind Lykke's first-career brace - Middle Tennessee State University Athletics - GoBlueRaiders.com
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