MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Paige Goeglein’s hat trick carried Middle Tennessee soccer to a 3-1 victory over Troy on Friday evening at the Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium.

The victory against the Trojans gave Middle Tennessee (12-3, 7-0 Sun Belt) its seventh consecutive win. The Raiders totaled 22 shots and limited Troy (6-9-1, 1-5 SBC) to just six. Friday’s win gave the Raiders 23 points and still a first place edge over North Texas in the league.

Troy took an early lead at the ninth minute when Jasmin Fahrnbauer scored from 40 yards out as her goal lobbed over the keeper and in the net.

Goeglein, a senior from Ft. Wayne, Ind., tallied the equalizing goal at the 21^st minute when freshman Kate Loye sent a cross to the edge of the box. The assist by Goeglein was her sixth of the season.

Just 17 minutes later, Goeglein managed her eighth game-winning goal when fired a shot that bounced off the Troy keeper into the net. Freshman defender Katinka Stenberg earned her second assist of the season.

In the second half, Goeglein recorded the hat trick when she scored from a free kick off the foot of Whitney Jorgenson.

The hat trick by Goeglein was the first for a Blue Raider since Vanessa Mueggler hit the trifecta in 2009 against ULM. Goeglein moved up in the MT record books to fourth all-time with 14 goals in a single season, passing Hailee Walsh and Danielle LaDuke. She also notched her eighth game-winning goal, which leads the NCAA. “She has refused to lose,” said head coach Aston Rhoden. Paige gets in the right place and takes the game over.”

Senior Jessica Gilchrist moved to 5-1 on the year, deflecting two saves in 90 minutes of action. Katie Comeno-Lewis (0-4) took the loss after giving up three goals. She notched 11 saves in the process.

MT controlled the game, dominating corner kicks 12-to-1. In total, 14 of MT’s 22 shots were on goal.

The Blue Raiders close out Think Pink Weekend with South Alabama on Sunday.

“South Alabama is going to be a tough game,” noted Rhoden. “They are always a tough opponent for us. They are a strong blue collar team. In this league, you have to work when you are playing on Sundays.

The match with the Jaguars is scheduled for 1pm at the Dean A. Hayes Track & Soccer Stadium. Live stats and video of the match will be online at GoBlueRaiders.com.

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