LADY VOLS ARE NOW THE #2 TEAM IN THE COUNTRY-THE OFFICIAL TENNESSEE ⚽️ THREAD

[MAD]

Notebook: Tennessee soccer gives up lead, loses to Texas A&M​

Tennessee soccer held the advantage until the 77th minute but fell to Texas A&M 4-3.

The Lady Vols (7-5-4, 2-4-3 SEC) have now lost three of their last four games and sit on the outside of a conference tournament berth. The Aggies (8-6-3, 4-3-2) picked up their first win in three games.

Jordan Fusco completed a hat trick with a pair of goals in the opening minutes of the second half, allowing Tennessee to have a chance of beating a strong Texas A&M team.

“She was tremendous today,” Kirt said. “We’ve been waiting a long time for her to finally get the final product in terms of goals. She’s been such a huge part of what we do going forward.”

The loss puts a lot of pressure on the Lady Vols going into Thursday’s game against Vanderbilt. Without a result, Tennessee will likely miss the SEC tournament.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Quick starts in both halves

It took just five minutes for Fusco to find the opening goal of the game. In the second half, Fusco had two more goals in just three minutes of play.

In both halves, it was important for Tennessee to get out to a fast start.

“That was something we had been talking about the last two weeks, especially with Kate being out and Kam a little hurt,” Fusco said. “Going into the second half, I really needed to try to get forward.”

The first five minutes of the second half were especially critical as the Lady Vols turned a deficit into a lead.

“Our team has been phenomenal in terms of their response when their backs are against the wall, and it was no different today,” Kirt said.



Even though Tennessee got off to a quick start in both halves, Texas A&M showed its quality over the course of the game.

Goalkeeping has moments of weakness

Although Abby Reisz and Ally Zazzara combined to make seven saves, the pair allowed four goals, which was the most allowed by Tennessee this season.

Jazmine Wilkinson scored three of Texas A&M’s four goals. Her first came off a mistake by Reisz, who tried to take control of the ball outside of her box. Just four minutes after Fusco opened the game’s scoring, Wilkinson had the equalizer.

Regardless of mitigating factors, the Lady Vols have to limit opponents to fewer goals in order to get results.

“We’ve given up too many goals in the last three games, and today was no different,” Kirt said. “We’ve got to look at it a bit more in terms of video and see what we can do better. We need to be better collectively as a team in terms of giving up goals.”

Tennessee’s inconsistencies show

Even though Tennessee showed signs of improvement in the second half, two goals allowed to Wilkinson proved to negate the Lady Vols’ early efforts.

“It’s pretty disappointing to let them back in,” Kirt said. “Obviously they were really dangerous in transition.”

Tennessee was outplayed in the first half, leading to two goals by the Aggies. However, even though the Lady Vols played better in limiting defensive opportunities, two key moments proved costly for Tennessee.

All season, Tennessee has put together good performances and been unable to get results because of mistakes in important situations. Sunday’s game was no different.

“We have to finish the job,” Kirt said. “That’s really frustrating for all of us, staff and players alike.”

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

Congrats to the Razorbacks for winning the SEC regular season

 

[turbovol]

They actually do it the same way in basketball unless you know definitively they are coming back. Jaida is still undecided after all she have her master's degree In December already.

She's nearly got a master's after five years? Good for her. I can see why it might be a tough call. She's been a good college goal scorer, to be sure--but I'm not sure she's got the athletic qualities to be a high-level pro prospect--but maybe she'll get a shot in Iceland or Turkey like some of our recent players. There's also the issue of potentially have a crowd at center-forward next year--and the issue of what she would study with another year of college. We could certainly use her scoring abilities. Not sure where Simmonds will play next year---though you can be sure that Kirt will play her, production or no production.

Florida had a prolific goal scorer several years ago named Savannah Jordan. This was back when Florida was still very good. She scored 81 goals in her career, if you can believe it, but had only a very brief pro career (two years in the NWSL) as she wasn't very big or fast or especially athletic--but Florida was a dominant team during her career, and she was an expert poacher--a bit like Thomas. She'd get a pass in the box and find a way to put it past the opposing keeper.

 

[MAD]

Only 10 teams qualify for the SEC Tournament.



One match left for each team this Thursday



Not sure what it will take for the Lady Vols to make it.

These are the rules if there is a tie to determine who makes it.

FYI, these are from last year and I’m assuming it hasn’t changed.

 

[kregman]

Only good thing today is if fusco has figured out that she can put it in the net would be a massive plus going forward cause at this point she is one of the very few who can create her own shot. What does Nelson bring to the team again asking for myself?

 

[kregman]

We have to beat Vanderbilt straight up
To have a chance that would probably get us in.

 

[turbovol]

Beating Vandy might get us in. We'd jump ahead of Vandy in the standings, plus Florida and LSU have tough matches.
However, Vandy will be playing for its life as well.

We see what happens with a coaching change....we go from top 10 nationally to bottom of the SEC in two years. Kentucky--which has far less talent than we do and has been the worst team in the SEC or second to worst for about three years, at least---is ahead of us, not to mention Miss State and others.

 

[kregman]

Beating Vandy might get us in. We'd jump ahead of Vandy in the standings, plus Florida and LSU have tough matches.
However, Vandy will be playing for its life as well.

We see what happens with a coaching change....we go from top 10 nationally to bottom of the SEC in two years. Kentucky--which has far less talent than we do and has been the worst team in the SEC or second to worst for about three years, at least---is ahead of us, not to mention Miss State and others.

Have to beat Vanderbilt no if and or buts. That may not be good enough but it is what it is. Oh by the way as in other sports if you have two goalies you really don't have one. (Trying to be cute has cost us) The injuries have really taken a toll but we have plenty of talent that has been mismanaged or unused this year too.

 

[MAD]

I figured it out.
1) Lose and we are out.
2) Draw and we are out.
LSU has the tiebreaker over us, so a draw does us no good.
3) Win and in.
We own the tiebreaker over Florida, they can’t jump us which would leave us ahead of Missouri, Ole Miss, Vandy & Gators no matter what anyone else does.

 

[MAD]

I did think of one scenario
If we win, Florida wins and Auburn draws, that is a 3 way tie.
I have to see how that works.

 

[MAD]

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[MAD]

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[MAD]

 

[turbovol]

Have to beat Vanderbilt no if and or buts. That may not be good enough but it is what it is. Oh by the way as in other sports if you have two goalies you really don't have one. (Trying to be cute has cost us) The injuries have really taken a toll but we have plenty of talent that has been mismanaged or unused this year too.

Kirt does not know how to evaluate talent--and I'm convinced he was very biased with respect to starters/playing time in favor of players who've been with the program for years over the incoming transfers. That's dumb, short-sighted--and a good way to get you and your staff sacked in another year.

 

[brittannica]

Curious to know who people would want (and who they think we could get) if Kirt was sacked. I perhaps don’t know enough about the college game to guess and, while I’ve been absolutely frustrated with this season, struggle to imagine a better replacement. That could be my newness to SEC soccer though!

 

[MAD]

 

[turbovol]

Curious to know who people would want (and who they think we could get) if Kirt was sacked. I perhaps don’t know enough about the college game to guess and, while I’ve been absolutely frustrated with this season, struggle to imagine a better replacement. That could be my newness to SEC soccer though!

The Univ. of Pittsburgh accomplished a real soccer coaching coup when it signed Randy Waldrum to coach the team 6 or so years ago. The guy coached at Notre Dame for about 15 years and compiled a ridiculous 292--58 record and won two national titles. He left Notre Dame to coach professionally in the NWS, taking the helm of the Houston Dash for three years before getting sacked. Waldrum is no spring chicken--he's 67--but he's turned Pittsburgh from a perennial ACC doormat program into a contender--and that is very hard to do in a conference that boasts three or four of the best programs in America. He also coaches the Nigerian women's national team. I asked on a soccer board how much he was making, and one individual replied that it was not all that much without actually revealing his salary. To hire a coach with his chops would be the supreme hiring achievement--but he signed an extension at the beginning of this year through 2027 and so he doesn't sound feasible at all.

Even if a coach of his caliber were available, you'd have to offer him or her a sizeable pay raise to land him, and most athletic directors (including White, to be sure) are cheapskates when it comes to pay for non-revenue coaches. UT's swimming coach has won two SEC titles with the women in the last four years, and White recently gave him a pathetic, embarrassing $10K pay raise. I don't think he even makes $300 K a year--this against the, what, $9 million a year or whatever it is that Heupel makes to get waxed again by bama.

Georgia turned its fortunes around, big time, in 3 years by hiring McAlpine away from Southern Cal, where he won a national title. I've heard that his wife is from Georgia and wanted to get back to the east coach, so that may have played a role in his decision to leave USC--but I'm quite sure Georgia offered him more money that he was making at Southern Cal--and of course the cost of living difference between LA and Athens Georgia has got to be at least 30 percent. He signed with Georgia in 2021, I read, for $335K annually---which was more than double the $150K the school's previous coach (who at been an assistant at Duke) was getting. I'm quite sure he's the best-paid coach in the SEC. Georgia won the SEC East this year (I've no idea why they stilll keep divisions in SEC soccer, as they are meaningless, and it's stupid). Nevertheless, like Waldrum at Pitt, McAlpine has turned Georgia into a strong program quickly ---and given the soccer talent in Georgia, they might get even better. McAlpine's probably making close to $400 K now--or will be soon--which I'm pretty sure puts him near the very top in the country with respect to soccer-coach salary.

Arkansas has been the best program in the SEC over the last six years--and was again this year. Their coach, Colby Hale, doesn't play a very attractive brand of soccer--but his direct-style works. He's paid $265K annually, I read.

I'd bet that Kirt isn't making more than $150/$175, if that. It's worth remembering that we hired Pensky away from the Univ. of Maryland, where he was the head coach. Maryland takes its soccer very seriously--it's men's program has won multiple national titles and its woman's program, under Pensky, was stout. Pensky was probably making around $225/250K with the Vols and got a major pay raise to take over Florida State.

Soccer is a prestige sport--it gets quite a bit of attention now and the sport just keeps growing in popularity--and a lot of the best or prominent universities in America take it seriously. Does White? Not based on his one hire. We've got excellent facilities, a good athletic brand; I'm convinced we could be a formidable soccer program with the right coach.

Your best bet is to hire somene with recognizable chops--a proven winner--but they are going to demand a higher salary than a lot of cheap athletic directors are willing to pay for non-revenue coaches. Or you hire a mid-major coach who's had some success, or an assistant somewhere, you pay them less--and maybe the hire works out or maybe it doesn't.

The coach at Memphis is very good---that's been a good, well-coached program for a number of years. The coach at Xavier, Nate Lie, is good--they beat us last year in the first game of the NCAA tourney (we looked bad). I'd wager that his salary at Xavier is probably pretty modest. I'd have to do more research to see what mid-major-level coaches are making a name for themselves.

White went cheap and lazy with the Kirt hire. I want Kirt to succeed--we all do--but he's going to have to raise his game, and quickly. I think we've got a good staff but it's a very competitive conference--and you've got to recruit and coach well to succeed. A bit of a falloff in recruiting, some bad personnel/tactical decisions (which we've seen a lot of of, IMO), and you can go from 20 wins to where we are now--in 2 short years. Florida has been down--but how much longer will that last? Probably not very long, Kentucky is already on the upswing. This is a dog-eat-dog conference in every sport, and your coaches have to be top tieir and on top of their games or you program will be eating dust pretty quickly.

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

Tennessee soccer needs win over Vanderbilt to advance to SEC tournament​

Everyone within Tennessee soccer knows what needs to happen on Thursday against Vanderbilt for the Lady Vols to qualify for the SEC tournament.

The Lady Vols (7-5-4, 2-4-3 SEC) need a win to move into one of the 10 spots in the SEC tournament. A draw will not be good enough under any circumstance.

At the same time, Vanderbilt (8-4-5, 3-4-2) is pushing to give itself a bye through the first round of the tournament. Although a win for the Commodores would not guarantee a bye, it would go a long way in helping their chances.


After only playing 47 minutes on Sunday, Kameron Simmonds is still managing an injury. She will play once again but could still be limited in her minutes.

Even though she has played in both central and wide positions, Simmonds has not scored in conference play this season. Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt is trying to find ways to get her more involved in goal scoring.

“I’m trying to make sure she’s getting in spots early to get on the ball,” Kirt said. “She’s a threat both in front of the line and behind the line.”

After scoring a combined six goals in the last two games, the Lady Vols have proven to have the explosiveness on offense that was lacking earlier in conference play. Highlighted by Sizzy Lawton’s brace against Missouri and Jordan Fusco’s hat trick on Sunday, Tennessee has received substantial contributions from more of its front players.

However, defensive issues have begun to open up for the Lady Vols. They have not kept a clean sheet since a home game against Florida over a month ago. Tennessee has allowed multiple goals in each of its last three games, including four against Texas A&M.



Because of this, there are plenty of areas for improvement within the defensive structure. Kirt identified aerial balls as an important area for improvement.

“It’s making sure we’re dealing with clearances and being able to deal with crosses effectively,” Kirt said. “We worked on that last week.”

The Lady Vols also turned the ball over in the middle of the field often. Possession will be very important against Vanderbilt, who can punish for mistakes on the counter attack.

“We’ve got to limit our giveaways in the middle third,” Kirt said. “Texas A&M was great at capitalizing in transition on us not taking care of the ball in the middle third.”

As a team, Vanderbilt is streaky offensively. The Commodores have been shut out three times in conference play but have also scored three or more goals twice, including a 6-0 win over Texas A&M.

Because of their explosiveness, the Lady Vols need to be strong defensively, especially considering how important a win is.

Without a win on Thursday, the Lady Vols would miss the SEC tournament for the first time in four seasons. Although the Lady Vols sit at No. 30 in the RPI, it is hard to imagine a path to the NCAA tournament without SEC tournament qualification.

“It’s no different than playing in the postseason,” Kirt said. “We understand that, and we will manage accordingly.”

 

[turbovol]

Realistically, this will be a hard game for us to win, I think. In fact, I'd rate our chances of a victory at about 35 percent. For one
thing, it's do or die for both teams, so Vandy will be jacked playing at home. Also, Vandy gets into the SEC tourney
with a tie whereas we have to win the game. We'll probably have to play better defensively than we have practically
all season. If we pitch a shutout, don't let Vandy score, then of course we have a good chance of winning. But we've only
done that once in SEC play, and teams don't suddenly perform differently than they have all season.

After we took the lead in the A&M game, early in the 2nd half, my response for a moment was, "wow, we could win this crucial game." Then reality set in: There were 35 minutes left. The Aggies had already scored twice and were sure to ramp up the pressure. I thought, I can't see us holding them scoreless for 35 minutes. I thought the game would probably end in a tie. Of course we gave up 2 goals and lost the damn game--the equalizing goal just a weak defensive effort.

Vandy has been quite a bit like us. They are 3-4-2 in the SEC--an up and down team. They lost to South Carolina, lost to bama (0-1), lost to Georgia (1-2), lost to Kentucky (0-2). But they beat A&M at home by 6-0. Strange result. In their three most recent games, they beat Missouri (1-0), tied Miss. State (0-0) and tied Florida (3-3). They are well-coached and play attractive soccer. They were near the top of the conference for maybe 3/4 years then fell off last year and have struggled a bit this year. As we well know, it doesn't take but one or two plays over the course of a match to swing from win to loss to tie.

It will be interesting to see how each team approaches this game, tactically. We have to score to win, and so I would think we'd have to be the more aggressive team. But we can't be too aggressive and then give up counter-attacking plays that have been a problem for us, with our slowish defenders, in a few games. We have to balance playing on the front foot while staying sound defensively. Vandy, on the other hand, might play more cautiously and defensively, knowing that if they can limit us to 1 or zero goals, they're very likely to get the result they need. And if they score, we will need to score at least 2 goals. It will be a tough challenge. We've played some good soccer for stretches in recent games, and will need long stretches of good soccer in this one. Pulling for a win.

 

[Volfan1000]

Congratulations to the Tennessee program on signing two Bearden soccer players for the 2024 class.

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee at Vanderbilt​

Tennessee will play its final match of the regular season on Thursday, traveling to Nashville for an 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT match with Vanderbilt.

In the Lady Vols' last outing, junior Jordan Fusco turned in a hat trick, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Aggies as UT fell in Regal Stadium, 4-3. Sophomore Macaira Midgley, redshirt-sophomore Jenna Stayart and redshirt-senior Maria Nelson earned assists for Tennessee. Redshirt-freshman Abby Reisz made the start in goal, collecting five saves. Redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara took over in the second half and made two saves.

Vanderbilt (8-4-5, 3-4-2 SEC) played Florida to a 3-3 draw on Sunday at home to remain undefeated in Vanderbilt Soccer Complex this season with an 8-0-3 mark in Nashville.

SEC TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS: The top 10 teams in the SEC qualify for the SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. Tennessee is currently in 11th place in conference standings with nine points. Vanderbilt sits at eighth place with 11 points ahead of Auburn with 11 and LSU with 10. LSU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker with UT, so the Lady Vols need three points from a win over Vanderbilt to make the tournament. If Auburn (at Georgia) and LSU (vs. Texas A&M) were to win their matches, a loss could eliminate the Commodores from tournament contention, but a draw or win guarantees them a spot.

IN THE RPI: Tennessee is slotted at No. 30 in the most recent college soccer ratings percentage index (RPI), while Vanderbilt sits at No. 53.

LAST TIME WE MET: No. 21 Tennessee closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win over in-state rival Vandy in front of a crowd of 1,087 at Regal Stadium. With the win, UT tied with South Carolina at 15 points in the SEC East Division to become Co-SEC East Champions. Junior Lawson Renie netted the game-winner for UT in the 49th minute off an assist by sophomore Taylor Huff, and Huff added another for insurance in the 67th minute. Romig recorded five saves on the night. Vanderbilt was led on offense by Alex Kerr who put two shots on goal. In the net, Sara Wojdelko tallied two saves.

VS VANDY: Tennessee is 11-17-4 all-time against the Commodores. When playing in Nashville, the Lady Vols are 4-7-2.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT: The Commodores were picked to finish seventh in the SEC as voted on by the league's coaches. They added seven newcomers this season and returned 19 individuals from the 2022 squad that went 12-5-4. Rachel Deresky leads the team on offense with seven goals and four assists.

FUSCO MAKING MOVES: With the hat trick against Texas A&M, Jordan Fusco rocketed to the top of the team statistics, taking the lead in total points with 16 and tying Simmonds and Lawton for team leader in goals with six. In SEC play, she currently ranks second in the conference in shots per game (3.88), third in points per game (1.38), and fourth in goals per game (0.50).

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY: The Lady Vols scored three goals on 13 shots and put a total of seven shots on frame against TAMU. Over the last two contests, Tennessee has scored six goals on 25 shots with 16 shots on goal for a shot percentage of .240 and a shot-on-goal percentage of .640, decisively above season averages of .126 and .460, respectively.

SECOND HALF TEAM: The Lady Vols have netted 12 goals over the last seven contests, nine of which have come in the second half. On the season, 20 of Tennessee's 33 goals have been scored in the final 45 minutes of play.

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: UT's 33 goals thus far have been scored by 12 different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon (4) and Keaton Mitchell, sophomores Kameron Simmonds (6) and Macaira Midgley, juniors Jordan Fusco (6) and Nolyn Bartholomew, redshirt-seniors Maria Nelson (2) and Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie and graduates Sizzy Lawton (6) and Nayeli Diaz have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange. Own goals by ETSU and MSU round out the total.

IN THEIR OFFENSIVE THIRD: On the season, UT has taken over 100 more shots than its opponents, outshooting teams 261-150, and taking 121 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just 47. Tennessee currently ranks sixth in Division I in corner kicks per game (7.50) and 36th in shots per game (16.44).

FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING: All four of UT's active freshmen have recorded at least one goal or assist on the season. Forward Kate Runyon has made nine starts, logging four goals and an assist. Fellow rookies Keaton Mitchell and Sarah Greiner have both tallied goals, and Linette Hofmann has started 13 contests, recording an assist in the season opener against Cal.

THOMAS IN THE RECORD BOOK: Before suffering a season-ending injury, redshirt-senior Jaida Thomas moved her career total to 39 goals to trail UT's leading career scorer, Kylie Rossi, by just four goals. Thomas amassed her 39 goals in just 59 games for a goals-per-game average of .66 to rank third all-time at Tennessee behind only Bunny Shaw (0.77) and Allison Campbell (0.70).

NEW FACES: Tennessee added 10 newcomers in its 2023 signing class. All 10 are versatile field players with six enrolling as freshmen and four arriving as transfers with multiple years of collegiate experience.

BACK AGAIN: The Lady Vols return five starters and 20 letterwinners from the 2022 team that clinched an SEC East Division title for the third straight season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Redshirt senior Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie, juniors Sheridan Michel and Jordan Fusco, and sophomore Kameron Simmonds were all named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.

 

[MAD]

It's go time!

Vanderbilt
8:00 PM ET
SEC Network+
es.pn/46FEaIc