StrangeVol
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As of Thursday night (10/19), we stand 7th in the SEC. At this point, we look as though we are likely going to Orange Beach for the SEC tournament and perhaps beyond, depending. Depending, in this case, is a mighty big word and our girls know it, too!
We have two matches remaining against the best team in the league, Arkansas (On Halloween) and one of the weaker teams in Mississippi State this Sunday 10/27. Let's deal with Arkansas first.
The good news is we get Arkansas at Regal, where we don't often lose and are 8-1 at home for the season. The bad news is Arkansas just wins. Home or road it's all the same to them, they just win. I think it pretty unlikely that we'll beat them even at Regal...but a tie isn't out of the question. Our defense has been awfully good this season and even with the loss of one of our defenders (Wrenn French I think) to a nasty looking knee problem, with MA Vignola moving to the backline we'll be even more solid on defense but our offense will suffer greatly. Coach Pensky may go another route and keep MA forward looking to score and them move her to the back to defend a lead or tie. Hard to say what's the right move. I guess that's why Pensky gets the big bucks.
Now to Mississippi State. We go on the road to face them in Starkville where they really don't have an advantage as they are just 4-5-1 on their home pitch. Sounds like a good situation and it is...until you realize that we are just 1-4-2 on the road although I'll quickly point out that one of those two ties was at South Carolina when they were leading the league.
So, what needs to happen? Obviously we need to win both matches. I also need to have Santa bring me a Porche. Sadly, that ain't gonna happen either.
So what would insure us a trip to the beach? Win at MSU and we are a lock. It doesn't much matter what happens against Arkansas. Lose or tie at MSU and we are on the bubble big time and only a win against Arkansas will save us. Which brings us back to the Santa/Porche conundrum. Obviously, there are a bunch of different outcomes of other SEC matches which will/can have an effect on us, but assuming the remaining matches go pretty much to form, we just need a win at Mississippi State. There is a bit more good news. MSU is 1-3-1 in their last five matches. We, in comparison, are 3-1-1, so one might think we have an edge.
I do too.
GO LADY VOLS!!!!
We have two matches remaining against the best team in the league, Arkansas (On Halloween) and one of the weaker teams in Mississippi State this Sunday 10/27. Let's deal with Arkansas first.
The good news is we get Arkansas at Regal, where we don't often lose and are 8-1 at home for the season. The bad news is Arkansas just wins. Home or road it's all the same to them, they just win. I think it pretty unlikely that we'll beat them even at Regal...but a tie isn't out of the question. Our defense has been awfully good this season and even with the loss of one of our defenders (Wrenn French I think) to a nasty looking knee problem, with MA Vignola moving to the backline we'll be even more solid on defense but our offense will suffer greatly. Coach Pensky may go another route and keep MA forward looking to score and them move her to the back to defend a lead or tie. Hard to say what's the right move. I guess that's why Pensky gets the big bucks.
Now to Mississippi State. We go on the road to face them in Starkville where they really don't have an advantage as they are just 4-5-1 on their home pitch. Sounds like a good situation and it is...until you realize that we are just 1-4-2 on the road although I'll quickly point out that one of those two ties was at South Carolina when they were leading the league.
So, what needs to happen? Obviously we need to win both matches. I also need to have Santa bring me a Porche. Sadly, that ain't gonna happen either.
So what would insure us a trip to the beach? Win at MSU and we are a lock. It doesn't much matter what happens against Arkansas. Lose or tie at MSU and we are on the bubble big time and only a win against Arkansas will save us. Which brings us back to the Santa/Porche conundrum. Obviously, there are a bunch of different outcomes of other SEC matches which will/can have an effect on us, but assuming the remaining matches go pretty much to form, we just need a win at Mississippi State. There is a bit more good news. MSU is 1-3-1 in their last five matches. We, in comparison, are 3-1-1, so one might think we have an edge.
I do too.
GO LADY VOLS!!!!