brittannica
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I was in Knoxville during this time and good friends with several players. I think I have hindsight speculation of why this specifically happened. For one, Pensky didn't want to leave Maryland. It was like a Kelly to Texas situation. He'd be vying for a raise and their AD wouldn't give it, we made the offer, he threatened to leave and the Md AD let him walk. He just wanted it matched or his current contract extended. I don't remember the full details. A major MD booster (whose daughter was on the 2017 UT team) offered to make a large donation to retain Pensky at MD and was turned down.However, the next four years were not good: We were barely above 500 overall in all of them, had a losing SEC record in three of those years and I think were .500 in the SEC one year. We were not in the NCAA in any of those four years. It wasn't until the next year, 2017, when we were really good.
That was such a fascinating read, gave a lot of insight. Thanks for posting.I was in Knoxville during this time and good friends with several players. I think I have hindsight speculation of why this specifically happened. For one, Pensky didn't want to leave Maryland. It was like a Kelly to Texas situation. He'd be vying for a raise and their AD wouldn't give it, we made the offer, he threatened to leave and the Md AD let him walk. He just wanted it matched or his current contract extended. I don't remember the full details. A major MD booster (whose daughter was on the 2017 UT team) offered to make a large donation to retain Pensky at MD and was turned down.
Pensky had set up a huge recruiting network in the DC, MD, NJ, VA (Mid Atlantic) region. He'd built relationships with a ton of recruits that were in middle and high school in the region, and when he left MD the older ones more-or-less stuck to MD or flipped to other schools. But the younger group that he'd recruited eventually became Vols: Flynn, Baldwin, Cousins, etc from that area.
I think he could have made up ground in those early years if he'd have actively recruited TN girls, but as one of the girls on the team at the time told me, "Look, soccer players in TN just aren't as good as us and Coach Brian knows it." Then proceed to get beaten by Belmont, Lipscomb, and Vandy - ignoring some Memphis, Midstate, and East TN girls were top-ranked and going to ACC programs (I digress)....
I think the early years he wasn't fully invested in TN. Idk, that was my feel from the time I was there. Later he started getting some more TN girls I think (Jordan was one, and that was a botched recruitment at first that was part on Pensky and part on the travel coach who didn't like Pensky) and overall the momentum kept building and it became a strong brand and program. Bunny helped a TON with that. She's a superstar.
That's just my 2 cents from my experience. Idk how much is accurate or even worthwhile (I don't frequent this thread much and idk if I've ever even posted).![]()
This is very cool! Thank you for sharing.I was in Knoxville during this time and good friends with several players. I think I have hindsight speculation of why this specifically happened. For one, Pensky didn't want to leave Maryland. It was like a Kelly to Texas situation. He'd be vying for a raise and their AD wouldn't give it, we made the offer, he threatened to leave and the Md AD let him walk. He just wanted it matched or his current contract extended. I don't remember the full details. A major MD booster (whose daughter was on the 2017 UT team) offered to make a large donation to retain Pensky at MD and was turned down.
Pensky had set up a huge recruiting network in the DC, MD, NJ, VA (Mid Atlantic) region. He'd built relationships with a ton of recruits that were in middle and high school in the region, and when he left MD the older ones more-or-less stuck to MD or flipped to other schools. But the younger group that he'd recruited eventually became Vols: Flynn, Baldwin, Cousins, etc from that area.
I think he could have made up ground in those early years if he'd have actively recruited TN girls, but as one of the girls on the team at the time told me, "Look, soccer players in TN just aren't as good as us and Coach Brian knows it." Then proceed to get beaten by Belmont, Lipscomb, and Vandy - ignoring some Memphis, Midstate, and East TN girls were top-ranked and going to ACC programs (I digress)....
I think the early years he wasn't fully invested in TN. Idk, that was my feel from the time I was there. Later he started getting some more TN girls I think (Jordan was one, and that was a botched recruitment at first that was part on Pensky and part on the travel coach who didn't like Pensky) and overall the momentum kept building and it became a strong brand and program. Bunny helped a TON with that. She's a superstar.
That's just my 2 cents from my experience. Idk how much is accurate or even worthwhile (I don't frequent this thread much and idk if I've ever even posted).![]()
I was in Knoxville during this time and good friends with several players. I think I have hindsight speculation of why this specifically happened. For one, Pensky didn't want to leave Maryland. It was like a Kelly to Texas situation. He'd be vying for a raise and their AD wouldn't give it, we made the offer, he threatened to leave and the Md AD let him walk. He just wanted it matched or his current contract extended. I don't remember the full details. A major MD booster (whose daughter was on the 2017 UT team) offered to make a large donation to retain Pensky at MD and was turned down.
Pensky had set up a huge recruiting network in the DC, MD, NJ, VA (Mid Atlantic) region. He'd built relationships with a ton of recruits that were in middle and high school in the region, and when he left MD the older ones more-or-less stuck to MD or flipped to other schools. But the younger group that he'd recruited eventually became Vols: Flynn, Baldwin, Cousins, etc from that area.
I think he could have made up ground in those early years if he'd have actively recruited TN girls, but as one of the girls on the team at the time told me, "Look, soccer players in TN just aren't as good as us and Coach Brian knows it." Then proceed to get beaten by Belmont, Lipscomb, and Vandy - ignoring some Memphis, Midstate, and East TN girls were top-ranked and going to ACC programs (I digress)....
I think the early years he wasn't fully invested in TN. Idk, that was my feel from the time I was there. Later he started getting some more TN girls I think (Jordan was one, and that was a botched recruitment at first that was part on Pensky and part on the travel coach who didn't like Pensky) and overall the momentum kept building and it became a strong brand and program. Bunny helped a TON with that. She's a superstar.
That's just my 2 cents from my experience. Idk how much is accurate or even worthwhile (I don't frequent this thread much and idk if I've ever even posted).![]()
Good notes. I knew all of those girls well. I THINK several of them knew each other through youth national team stuff before college and that got Pensky in the door with them. Baldwin and Cousins he had been recruiting when he was at MD. Bialczak as well. All great players too. Shae is super cool, and I could tell she was going to be a great keeper. She was all business from day 1. She came in with another goalie recruit who didn't pan out and transferred but their mentalities were night and day different when they got to campus. Shae was always working and never hung out with usGood to have the input. The strong '17 team and excellent '18 team had very few Tennessee recruits. All our best-players were from other states. Bialczak---who was as athletic as Huff (but didn't have Huff's ball skills or shot) and a major player for us--was from Maryland. She and Flynn (solid winger from No. Virginia) were definitely from that mid-Atlantic area that Pensky knew well. Cousins was from rural SW Virginia; Vignola was from Ohio, Gouner (starting CB) and Flynn (good midfielder) were from Colorado; Maya Neal (converted from forward to CB) was from Illinois; keeper Yanez was from PA; Erin Gilroy--fantastic forward (starter on the U.S. U20 team) was from New York State; Marcano from Georgia; and of course Bunny from Jamaica (originally committed to Florida and Pensky somehow stole her after she left a Florida junior college--massive coup. Very athletic team, and Bunny was a. massive asset: She won two or three SEC games late with goals. Can't underestimate the value of Yanez--not just a good shot-stopper but very strong-minded leader--kept our back four focused. Excellent player. We lost to Stanford (at Stanford) in the NCAA quarterfinals--no Gilroy, as she'd blown out her knee a second time in what I think was our last SEC game, maybe--very sad.
I certainly have had the impression, if I'm honest, that there hasn't been a lot of high-quality soccer talent in Tennessee. We haven't had many Tennessee players on the roster. S. Jordan was fairly talented, H. Tillett was one of the better Tennessee players we've had (transfer from Middle Tennessee, I think), and French was solid--a good senior season. Who am I missing? Now we have more--Price, Barr, Mitchell, Brown all came in last year and we've got four more this year. We'll see how they do--I hope well!
I think our team athleticism has fallen a bit from that '17/'18 level. Of the players on the '24 spring roster, the only ones who I'd say were toppers athletically are Greiner, Runyon and maybe Michel. Midgley, Price, Chatterton and Stayart are solid athletically--maybe Brown, too. Some of the players who've not yet seen the field at all, or much, should add athleticism--including Barr, maybe Duval, maybe Mitchell,, maybe Klurman. Should be some athletic freshmen coming in--certainly Mattern, Blue, probably others.
Wonderful era input. Grateful @MAD is putting this series togetherGood notes. I knew all of those girls well. I THINK several of them knew each other through youth national team stuff before college and that got Pensky in the door with them. Baldwin and Cousins he had been recruiting when he was at MD. Bialczak as well. All great players too. Shae is super cool, and I could tell she was going to be a great keeper. She was all business from day 1. She came in with another goalie recruit who didn't pan out and transferred but their mentalities were night and day different when they got to campus. Shae was always working and never hung out with us. I think she came with us once to get dinner or something lol. Katie Cousins I think is still playing in Iceland. She's been in NC most of the winter at Snowbird. Still a camp counselor over there. Carlyn is still playing in Portugal. Anna moved back to MD. I think you meant Gouner and O'Keefe* were from CO, I didn't get to know them very well. I think Meghan retired after graduation. Nicole Seaman transferred to Oregon and finished her career there and might be back in AZ now. Salera Jordan is not very active on SM but I think she's still in TN. Probably coaching somewhere. We're family friends. Good memories.
Good notes. I knew all of those girls well. I THINK several of them knew each other through youth national team stuff before college and that got Pensky in the door with them. Baldwin and Cousins he had been recruiting when he was at MD. Bialczak as well. All great players too. Shae is super cool, and I could tell she was going to be a great keeper. She was all business from day 1. She came in with another goalie recruit who didn't pan out and transferred but their mentalities were night and day different when they got to campus. Shae was always working and never hung out with us. I think she came with us once to get dinner or something lol. Katie Cousins I think is still playing in Iceland. She's been in NC most of the winter at Snowbird. Still a camp counselor over there. Carlyn is still playing in Portugal. Anna moved back to MD. I think you meant Gouner and O'Keefe* were from CO, I didn't get to know them very well. I think Meghan retired after graduation. Nicole Seaman transferred to Oregon and finished her career there and might be back in AZ now. Salera Jordan is not very active on SM but I think she's still in TN. Probably coaching somewhere. We're family friends. Good memories.
History of Tennessee soccer cont.
Hiring a new coach
As you know Angela Kelly left for a new head coaching position at the University of Texas.
She took one of her assistants with her Keeley Dowling.
New coach Brian Pensky
View attachment 619223
Record
Pensky's Coaching Career
Pensky's Head Coaching Record
Year School Position 1996-98 Bullis School (Potomac, Md.) Boys' Soccer Head Coach 1998-2000 George Washington University Women's Soccer Assistant Coach 2001 Loyola College Men's Soccer Assistant Coach 2002-04 Maryland Men's Soccer Assistant Coach 2005-11 Maryland Women's Soccer Head Coach 2012- Tennessee Women's Soccer Head Coach
Year School Record Pct. Conf. Pct. Final Rank NCAA Tournament 2005 Maryland 5-11-3 .342 3-5-2 .400 --- --- 2006 Maryland 5-9-4 .333 1-6-3 .250 --- --- 2007 Maryland 6-9-3 .417 1-8-1 .150 --- --- 2008 Maryland 7-10-1 .417 3-7-0 .300 --- --- 2009 Maryland 14-6-2 .682 4-4-2 .500 11th Sweet 16 2010 Maryland 18-2-3 .848 7-2-1 .750 10th Second Round 2011 Maryland 12-6-4 .636 4-4-2 .500 11th Sweet 16 Total 7 Years 67-52-20 .554 22-36-11 .381 3 Rankings 3 NCAA Berths
Tennessee soccer history cont.History of Tennessee soccer cont.
2012 season
2012 was the beginning of the Pensky era.
He hired a new assistant, Joe Mallia.
Mallia the 5 year Head Coach at Loyola Marymount left to join Pensky. Prior to his time at LMU, Mallia spent two years as the assistant head coach at UCLA, helping the Bruins to consecutive appearances in the NCAA College Cup. He also served as the head coach at Loyola College (Md.) for seven years. Brian Pensky, served as an assistant coach to Mallia in 2001 at Loyola College. (Mallia is the current head coach again at Loyola College in Maryland.)
Joe Kirt stayed at Tennessee after Angela Kelly departed for Texas. 2012 marked his sixth year as an assistant coach in Knoxville.
Pensky’s big signing was Hannah Wilkinson from New Zealand.
View attachment 619581
View attachment 619582
With 11 shutouts and seven overtime matches, the 2012 Lady Vols were a resilient, grind-it-out team that thrived in head coach Brian Pensky's first year leading the program. Bolstered by strong senior leadership, UT enjoyed wins over ranked opponents Missouri and Texas A & M and finished third in the SEC.
The 2012 Lady Vols featured arguably the best defense in program history with a school-record 0.69 goals-allowed average and UT's longest shutout streak ever (533:22).
Tennessee was knocked out of the SEC Tournament by Auburn in a penalty shootout.
The Lady Vols made the NCAA Tournament and faced Miami of Ohio in Knoxville. Nine seconds away from victory. That's how close the Lady Vols were to advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament To face Duke.
With victory all but in sight, the Lady Vols watched a one goal lead slip away as Miami (OH) sophomore midfielder Kelsey Dinges scored an equalizer goal with nine seconds remaining to force overtime, where the Redhawks would advance on the goal by junior midfielder Kayla Zakrzewski.
Question
I noticed that out of our 10 incoming freshman that 3 play for ECNL FC Alliance and 3 play for ECNL Richmond United. Is it common to have so many players coming from the same club? Also, is it a plus or minus when so many players are familiar with each other going into college?
Like you wrote in the past, it's difficult to predict how high school players will transition into college play --so many variable, some soccer related some life changes related. I will say that Tennessee clubs, nationally, aren't that good (Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Jersey, west coast are mostly legit). Glad to see Kirt do a write up for freshman, it's an important achievement for these ladies (whether a player plays or not, getting to the sec is a big achievement). Would be nice if we had squads that could easily divide time and have stellar consistent play. It would help with player recovery and keep us strong all the way through the season and beyond. In order for that to happen, everyone (especially the coaches) have to buy into it.In theory it could be a plus if a couple of players from the same club played their club positions in college and were on the field together: There should be some chemistry between the two since they've played together a lot previously. We could see synergy between the Miller twins, should they play together at UT. They were both midfielders whom I know played together in high school and I'd bet were midfield starters for Richmond United. And they're twins! It can't get any more synergistic than that. But we'll see if it happens. We've got a lot of midfielders, and who knows how much either will play. We had two other midfield sisters from Richmond United a few years ago, as it happens. But that didn't work out. Paige Frank, a 4-star recruit, was unlucky: we had some good mids when she arrived (around '16, '17, 18' period) and never got to play midfield--which was her natural position. Pensky tried to play her at other positions for which she was not suited and she transferred after two years. Her sister Claire, a year younger, as I recall, went on to start for a year or two for us as a midfielder, ironically, though was not a standout player.
I just watched a bit of the girls All America soccer game that was played in December. I'd seen a bit of the ECNL (club) All-Star game, in which Mattern and Prime played--and each scored a goal. The All America game is more for high-school stars. Nyla Blue and Stott played for the West--Blue at centerback and Stott at forward. Blue looked solid: She is not very tall but has a nice build, moves well, good (but not great) pace, seems to read the game well. She let an East forward--the biggest and best athlete on the field and an FSU commit (naturally)--get behind her early on, but recovered and moved over to block a shot by another East player. She looked like a sound player. Stott played half of both halves--as all the players did. In the second half she had two shots that I saw from her right forward position--and hit them both well with her left foot, but didn't score on either. The announcer mispronounced her name throughtout, calling her "Stout." She seems to move well and she appears to be a pretty good shooter. Not a lot to go on, but something. There were a lot of pretty impressive players/athletes. East won the game. It was played on artificial turf with football lines and yard numbers all over the field, which is always annoying.
Like you wrote in the past, it's difficult to predict how high school players will transition into college play --so many variable, some soccer related some life changes related. I will say that Tennessee clubs, nationally, aren't that good (Texas, Michigan, Virginia, Jersey, west coast are mostly legit). Glad to see Kirt do a write up for freshman, it's an important achievement for these ladies (whether a player plays or not, getting to the sec is a big achievement). Would be nice if we had squads that could easily divide time and have stellar consistent play. It would help with player recovery and keep us strong all the way through the season and beyond. In order for that to happen, everyone (especially the coaches) have to buy into it.