⚽️ Lady Vols Soccer

Ha, ha: Happy that any Vol gets recognized, but you can bet that nobody involved in that designation actually watched the games....
 
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Thomas Named To United Soccer Coaches Players To Watch List

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Redshirt-senior Jaida Thomas has been named a forward to watch during the 2023 season by the United Soccer Coaches.

Thomas finished the 2022 season with 13 goals to rank second in the SEC. She enters the 2023 season with a career total of 38 goals, sitting within five of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 all time in career goals scored at UT.

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A 2021 All-America selection, she has led UT in scoring during all three of her seasons on Rocky Top, recording 12 goals as a freshman and 13 in her sophomore and junior campaigns.

In addition to eyeing the UT career goals record, she has also cracked the top five in other offensive categories, sitting at third in goals per game (0.67) and fourth in total points (84), points per game (1.47), and game-winning goals (11).

Thomas is one of 36 fowards listed by the United Soccer Coaches on the 2023 Players To Watch List.
 
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MATCH CENTRAL: #25 Tennessee vs. ETSU

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The 25th-ranked Lady Vols face another in-state foe on Thursday, hosting ETSU in a 7 p.m. ET contest.

Tennessee is a perfect 2-0 on the season, winning 3-0 at Lipscomb in its most recent outing. Junior Jordan Fusco, freshman Keaton Mitchell, and sophomore Kameron Simmonds all found the back of the net for UT. Redshirt-senior Maria Nelson and sophomore Ally Brown recorded assists.

ETSU also enters the match undefeated, taking a 2-0 win over Davidson on Sunday and having played Kennesaw State to a 0-0 draw on Thursday.

Admission is free for all preseason and regular-season soccer matches. For fans planning to attend, note that Tennessee's clear bag policy will be in effect again this season.

GAME PROMOTIONS:

  • $1 Hot Dog Night
  • Food Trucks: Gohan's Japanese Grill & Irvey's Ice Cream
  • Halftime Waffle Eating Contest
VS THE BUCCANEERS: This will mark the eighth meeting between the two schools, with UT owning a 7-0 all-time record and a 4-0 record when playing in Knoxville.

SCOUTING ETSU: The Buccaneers finished the 2022 season with an overall record of 5-6-6 and a 3-3-3 mark in SOCON play. This season, they were voted to finish seventh in the SOCON by the league's coaches.

FRESHMEN FINDING THEIR GROOVE: In the Lady Vols' first two contests, all four of UT's active freshmen have recorded a goal or assist. Forwards Kate Runyon and Sarah Greiner each logged goals, and defender Linette Hoffman tallied an assist in the season opener against Cal, while midfielder Keaton Mitchell put her name on the scorecard with a goal at Lipscomb.

STOUT DEFENSE: UT's back line has conceded just one goal on the season and has limited opponents to eleven shots, only three of which have been on frame.

IN THE RANKINGS: After being unranked in the preseason poll, the Lady Vols jumped into the rankings in the Week 1 United Soccer Coaches Poll, landing at #25.

SIMMONDS SNIPING: Kameron Simmonds has scored a goal in both games thus far, leading the team in shots taken with six, all of which have been on frame for a perfect shot-on-goal percentage. She earned SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts.

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: Including two goals from the exhibition contest against #7 Alabama, UT's nine goals thus far have been scored by eight different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon and Keaton Mitchell, sophomores Kameron Simmonds (2) and Jenna Stayart, junior Jordan Fusco, redshirt-senior Maria Nelson and graduate Samantha Agresti have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange.

TRACKING THOMAS: Jaida Thomas finished the 2022 season with 13 goals to rank second in the SEC. She enters the 2023 season with a career total of 38 goals, sitting within five of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 all time in career goals scored at UT.

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.

UP NEXT: UT will head west for an 8 p.m. ET matchup at SMU on Sunday.
 
PRO VOLS


There have been 13 VFLs active in the professional ranks in 2023:


  • Michelle Alozie - Houston Dash (NWSL)
  • Carlyn Baldwin- SC Braga (Portugal)
  • Abbey Burdette - UMF Selfoss (Iceland)
  • Katie Cousins - Angel City FC (NWSL)
  • Mackenzie George - FH Hafnarfiordur (Iceland)
  • Danielle Marcano - Ankara Fomget (Turkey)
  • Maya Neal - Afturelding FC (Iceland)
  • Sonia Ouchene Salón - Montpellier HSC Féminines (France)
  • Bunny Shaw - Manchester City (United Kingdom)
  • Hannah Tillett - Sundsvalls DFF(Sweden)
  • MA Vignola - Angel City FC (NWSL)
  • Hannah Wilkinson - Melbourne City (Australia)
  • Shae Yanez - San Diego Wave (NWSL)
 
Mad: Where did you get the info about Marcano and Neal? Marcano left Fenerbahce recently and she doesn't mention signing
with another team on either her Twitter or Instagram account.

Same with Neal. I thought she was out of soccer, effectively, as I don't think she's played in 2 years, ever since Le Havre got relegated in the French league.
 
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Good finds, Mad. Glad Neal and Marcano are with new clubs. I was hoping Marcano would have moved up from the Turkish league,
but at least she'll be competing in the Champions League, which will be against good competition and give her some good exposure, assumiing
she plays. And good to see Neal back in uniform; there are now a few VFL's in Iceland, including George. It will be a big Vol reunion up there.
 
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Watching the Penn State v. West Virginia match: Two good teams, longtime rivals, fast pace of play. 1-1 with about 20 minutes to play.

The West Va. broadcast on ESPN+ is impressive--at least two cameras and substitution graphics: Who's IN/Who's Out. Very helpful.
 
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We played well enough in the first half to have at least 3 goals, if not more--but we lack precision in the attacking third. Fusco
has GOT to improve her shooting: She gets decent/good shots but constantly shoots the ball directly at the keeper; even her goal against Lipscomb was right at the keeper---it went through her legs. I love her as a player--but she's got to take a split second and put the ball where the keeper isn't. It's become a recurring problem with her--and she's our attacking mid. We are counting on her to score--but she's not showing the shooting skill needed to score.

Having a true freshman at center-forward is another problem. Runyon has a lot of potential but she plays too slow, doesn't look up at see the field
before receiving the ball, tries to dribble through 3 people. If we had Simmonds at CF instead of Runyon--and I don't know why we don't---we'd have more goals.

Just a bit off with most everything in the attacking third. Nelson crosses the ball into the box, players are open--but it's too long. Hennessey has an open shot from a great spot and hits it over the crossbar.

I liked Kirt starting a different group. I have no idea why he didn't do this earlier. Agresti is an improvement over Washington in possession and attack. Stayart is better in attack than Midgley but is a bit slow making decisions with the ball. Diaz had an assist but her first touch seems a bit suspect. Chatterton was making too many speculative passes down the field. I didn't see what happened to her--hope she's ok. Same with Hofmann!

Lastly, we continue to be awful on corners. We try to get the ball to Renie, I believe--but Renie, while tall, is simply not a good header. She's too timid: You've to get up in the air and get your forehead on it--and be aggressive. She's just doesn't go after the ball aggressively.

Hope we can break this open in the 2nd half. Hope our injured players are OK!
 
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Helluva pass from G. Washington to Simmonds on that last goal--perfectly weighted, which is not something we're very good at. Best play of the night. Good for her.

I saw Katz standing on the sideline with some sort of leg sleeve on and on crutches. I hope it's not a knee, but that's a possibility. Not having her has hurt as we are playing SO many inexperienced people. I also saw Thomas on the sideline--no crutches, no nothing, looked fine.

Let's hope that Hofmann and Chatterton are OK--but we won't ever really know. I've been a fan of Chatterton---like her quickness and energy--but she's almost too hyper on the field. We have people who play too slow--but she's a bit too excitable.

We need to possess the ball more. Our centerbacks keep making these firm 20-25 yard passes to forwards or mids coming back for the ball, and they can't control the pass because it's been hit too hard to cover the long distance. And so the ball bounces off the foot of our receiving player and we lose it. That has happened a lot.

Whoever tweets out our starting lineup has got the graphic wrong for the 2nd or 3rd week in a row. It shows Fusco and Stayart at forward and Simmonds and Diaz at midfield and of course they all need to be switched. No sure how s/he gets that wrong.
 

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