⚽️ Tennessee Lady Vols Soccer

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

Clemson announced their spring schedule and they will be visiting Knoxville on April 7.

Tigers Announce 2024 Spring Schedule

CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers are ready to get back on the pitch as they announce their 2024 spring schedule, with one away match and four games set to be played at Historic Riggs Field.The Tigers will open up spring competition by hosting Georgia Southern on Saturday, March 2 at 6 p.m...

clemsontigers.com

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Alabama announced their spring schedule.
UA and Tennessee go head-to-head on March 23 as the two league opponents meet in a neutral site contest in Huntsville, Ala.

Alabama Announces Spring Soccer Schedule - University of Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Alabama soccer team announced its 2024 spring schedule Friday. The schedule features a pair of home matches at the Alabama Soccer Stadium

rolltide.com

 

[chuckiepoo]

Last year Kirt announced the spring schedule around the twenty second of February.

…around, about or exactly?

 

[MAD]

…around, about or exactly?

Depends on your time zone, don’t want to confuse our Australian members.

 

[MAD]

Congrats to #8 LVFL Sonia Ouchene a starter with Montpellier

 

[MAD]

Tennessee soccer history cont.
2010 Season

Another bad season for Angela Kelly and the Lady Vols.
Back to back seasons of going out in the first round of the SEC Tournament and no at large bid for the NCAA Tournament.

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Photo of the season opener against Western Kentucky at Regal

Tennessee soccer history cont.
2011 Season

A season highlighted by wins over SEC opponents Florida, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, had the 2011 Lady Vols soccer team poised to make a run at the Women's College Cup.

With the conclusion of the 2011 season, Angela Kelley stepped down as head coach of Tennessee soccer following her 12th season.





After two of the worst years under Angela Kelly, the 2011 was a a fun team to watch and exceeded their expectations, especially after the SEC coaches predicted the Lady Vols to finish 4th in the East.

Finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament

Started out 7-1, ranked near the Top 10 and had 5 straight shutouts.

This video was from their 5th straight shutout.

These girls were ballers.




Next we will discuss Angela Kelly leaving Knoxville.

 

[MAD]

The two Michigan transfers in Ann Arbor doing fitness training.

 

[MAD]

LVFL Maya Neal

 

[MAD]

This is big news, I suspect a lot of players will be able to now play in the US instead of going to Iceland.

USL Super League Receives Division One Sanctioning from U.S. Soccer​

• Division One sanctioning represents major milestone in USL Super League’s commitment to operate at the highest level for women’s soccer in the United States.

The USL Super League is thrilled to confirm today that it will compete at the highest level for professional women’s soccer in the United States, following the U.S. Soccer Federation’s approval of its Division One sanctioning application.

This decision aligns with the league’s commitment to the highest operational standards in bringing professional women’s soccer closer to home for more players, more fans, and more communities across the United States.

“This is a tremendous moment for the USL Super League and for women’s sports,” said USL Super League President Amanda Vandervort. “Receiving Division One sanctioning further showcases the work that our ownership groups, our clubs, and the league are doing to create a professional environment for top-level talent to compete. This is a crucial step toward realizing our vision to be a global leader in women’s soccer on and off the field. We cannot wait to see our clubs take the field when we kick off in August 2024.”

“Congratulations to the USL Super League on receiving its sanctioning as a Division One professional women’s soccer league,” said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone. “The USL Super League is looking to grow the women’s game and to expand the opportunities for women to compete at the highest professional level. As with all our professional leagues, we look forward to collaborating with the USL Super League and extend our best wishes to the clubs as they gear up for the upcoming season this August.”

The USL Super League will play on the international calendar and operate a connected women’s pathway from youth to professional. The “fall-to-summer” calendar – unique in American soccer – aligns the USL Super League with the global game and prioritizes player welfare and performance. The youth-to-pro pathway creates development and advancement opportunities for players, coaches, referees, and front office employees while uniting communities and growing the sport at all levels across the United States.

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

Tennessee soccer history cont.
2011 Season

A season highlighted by wins over SEC opponents Florida, Arkansas, and Vanderbilt, had the 2011 Lady Vols soccer team poised to make a run at the Women's College Cup.

With the conclusion of the 2011 season, Angela Kelley stepped down as head coach of Tennessee soccer following her 12th season.



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After two of the worst years under Angela Kelly, the 2011 was a a fun team to watch and exceeded their expectations, especially after the SEC coaches predicted the Lady Vols to finish 4th in the East.

Finally made it back to the NCAA Tournament

Started out 7-1, ranked near the Top 10 and had 5 straight shutouts.

This video was from their 5th straight shutout.

These girls were ballers.




Next we will discuss Angela Kelly leaving Knoxville.

History of Tennessee soccer cont.



The end of the Angela Kelly era.

Kelly had been with the Lady Vols since its inception in 1996.
First 4 years she was an assistant. She became the head coach in 2000.




Past posts discussing the reason Angela Kelly left for Texas.

If I remember the Kelly story right it was during Dave Hart's time no fan of women and she over played her hand. Went to him tell him Texas had made her an offer and expected him to give her a raise. The story goes he shook her hand and congratulated her on her new job which she really had no plans on taking leaving her speechless. And that was that.

She was offered a 20% raise and a five-year contract by Texas. She gave Tennessee the opportunity to match it, but Dave Hart declined, in part because she was coming off a first round NCAA tournament loss at home, which followed two seasons of not making the tournament at all in 2009 and 2010, and one prior making it with a losing record as a result of winning the 2008 SEC tournament.

Pensky came to Tennessee because Maryland, at the time, was in a financial crunch and was not giving the non-revenue sports the full support they needed to compete with the other top-tier programs in the ACC. That financial crunch is the biggest reason they ended up leaving the ACC for the Big Ten.

SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas

SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas - University of Tennessee Athletics

Dec. 17, 2011 By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer

utsports.com

Excerpt:

After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer program and 16 overall as a member of the program's coaching staff, Angela Kelly announced on Saturday that she is leaving the Lady Vol program to accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas.




This was recorded after being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by OSU. I can’t tell if she knew if her time in Knoxville was over or not.

 

[MAD]

Congratulations to LVFL Danielle Marcano getting a call up for the Puerto Rican National Team.




Call for the Senior Women's National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup Prelims to be played on February 17 against Haiti at the Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, California

 

[brittannica]

History of Tennessee soccer cont.



The end of the Angela Kelly era.

Kelly had been with the Lady Vols since its inception in 1996.
First 4 years she was an assistant. She became the head coach in 2000.

View attachment 618956View attachment 618957


Past posts discussing the reason Angela Kelly left for Texas.









SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas

SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas - University of Tennessee Athletics

Dec. 17, 2011 By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer

utsports.com

Excerpt:

After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer program and 16 overall as a member of the program's coaching staff, Angela Kelly announced on Saturday that she is leaving the Lady Vol program to accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas.




This was recorded after being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by OSU. I can’t tell if she knew if her time in Knoxville was over or not.

Thanks to everyone for answering some lingering questions I’ve had about the soccer program! I saw Kelly’s early coaching success at Tennessee coupled with the fact she was still coaching and wondered how that transpired. Very insightful!

 

[DeerPark12]

History of Tennessee soccer cont.



The end of the Angela Kelly era.

Kelly had been with the Lady Vols since its inception in 1996.
First 4 years she was an assistant. She became the head coach in 2000.

View attachment 618956View attachment 618957


Past posts discussing the reason Angela Kelly left for Texas.









SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas

SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas - University of Tennessee Athletics

Dec. 17, 2011 By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer

utsports.com

Excerpt:

After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer program and 16 overall as a member of the program's coaching staff, Angela Kelly announced on Saturday that she is leaving the Lady Vol program to accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas.




This was recorded after being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by OSU. I can’t tell if she knew if her time in Knoxville was over or not.

All these years later, I'm still conflicted by this and how it played out.

Dave Hart had just been hired in September of that year and had completed an internal review of all of the programs on campus. Not like an investigation, but basically a SWOT analysis of the coaches, teams, facilities, etc. He had an unwritten policy that missing the tournament in three straight seasons was an automatic dismissal (though he would leave Dave Serrano dangling for longer because he wouldn't spend real money on baseball), and he didn't count winning a conference tournament as making it if the team wouldn't have without it.

So he had Kelly by that analysis as someone he would have fired after the previous year. But Joan Cronan had hired her, believed in her and had stood by her through the struggles. Many of the issues over those three seasons were ACLs, including a top-5 recruit that tore hers the summer before enrolling and never played a minute for UT, but the results were what they were. She also had Pat Summitt in her corner. They had a relatively mediocre season in 2011, but hosted an NCAA Tournament game under the then-new 32 first round sites deal. The recruiting was ok, but not nearly on the level it was when she was pulling top classes every year. I think a lot of people in the department thought the program had peaked. Remember, this was all the December before Hart purged so many LV employees in the department consolidation.

I think when Texas made an offer, Kelly didn't want to leave and saw the offer as validation that she was still a big name in coaching and proof to a skeptical Hart that she could still build a winner. It was a reverse Rick Barnes situation, just with the schools reversed. She also didn't have Pat Summitt at full strength to advocate for her. So she presented the offer of an increased pay package AND a four-year contract (when UT didn't do deals longer than three years outside of FB and M/WBB) to Hart and he told her it was a good offer and she should take it.

The Pensky deal was a little different, UT could have acted earlier to extend him and he might not have listened to FSU. The person that botched that was later let go by White for a list of things that included that. But if FSU had reached him, I still don't know that UT would have matched the financial package FSU put together for him. FSU HAD to have him and everyone knew it.

 

[brittannica]

All these years later, I'm still conflicted by this and how it played out.

Dave Hart had just been hired in September of that year and had completed an internal review of all of the programs on campus. Not like an investigation, but basically a SWOT analysis of the coaches, teams, facilities, etc. He had an unwritten policy that missing the tournament in three straight seasons was an automatic dismissal (though he would leave Dave Serrano dangling for longer because he wouldn't spend real money on baseball), and he didn't count winning a conference tournament as making it if the team wouldn't have without it.

So he had Kelly by that analysis as someone he would have fired after the previous year. But Joan Cronan had hired her, believed in her and had stood by her through the struggles. Many of the issues over those three seasons were ACLs, including a top-5 recruit that tore hers the summer before enrolling and never played a minute for UT, but the results were what they were. She also had Pat Summitt in her corner. They had a relatively mediocre season in 2011, but hosted an NCAA Tournament game under the then-new 32 first round sites deal. The recruiting was ok, but not nearly on the level it was when she was pulling top classes every year. I think a lot of people in the department thought the program had peaked. Remember, this was all the December before Hart purged so many LV employees in the department consolidation.

I think when Texas made an offer, Kelly didn't want to leave and saw the offer as validation that she was still a big name in coaching and proof to a skeptical Hart that she could still build a winner. It was a reverse Rick Barnes situation, just with the schools reversed. She also didn't have Pat Summitt at full strength to advocate for her. So she presented the offer of an increased pay package AND a four-year contract (when UT didn't do deals longer than three years outside of FB and M/WBB) to Hart and he told her it was a good offer and she should take it.

The Pensky deal was a little different, UT could have acted earlier to extend him and he might not have listened to FSU. The person that botched that was later let go by White for a list of things that included that. But if FSU had reached him, I still don't know that UT would have matched the financial package FSU put together for him. FSU HAD to have him and everyone knew it.

The Pensky move to FSU always pained me but also made sense for him both financially and professionally. It would have been nice to try to retain him though since I question Joe Kirt’s ability to be a head coach at this level. All the insight into Angela Kelly is great. Texas isn’t a demonstrably better soccer program so the logistics of her departure never made sense to me. Also gives a bit of insight into the basketball program’s trajectory as well in some ways.

 

[turbovol]

All these years later, I'm still conflicted by this and how it played out.

Dave Hart had just been hired in September of that year and had completed an internal review of all of the programs on campus. Not like an investigation, but basically a SWOT analysis of the coaches, teams, facilities, etc. He had an unwritten policy that missing the tournament in three straight seasons was an automatic dismissal (though he would leave Dave Serrano dangling for longer because he wouldn't spend real money on baseball), and he didn't count winning a conference tournament as making it if the team wouldn't have without it.

So he had Kelly by that analysis as someone he would have fired after the previous year. But Joan Cronan had hired her, believed in her and had stood by her through the struggles. Many of the issues over those three seasons were ACLs, including a top-5 recruit that tore hers the summer before enrolling and never played a minute for UT, but the results were what they were. She also had Pat Summitt in her corner. They had a relatively mediocre season in 2011, but hosted an NCAA Tournament game under the then-new 32 first round sites deal. The recruiting was ok, but not nearly on the level it was when she was pulling top classes every year. I think a lot of people in the department thought the program had peaked. Remember, this was all the December before Hart purged so many LV employees in the department consolidation.

I think when Texas made an offer, Kelly didn't want to leave and saw the offer as validation that she was still a big name in coaching and proof to a skeptical Hart that she could still build a winner. It was a reverse Rick Barnes situation, just with the schools reversed. She also didn't have Pat Summitt at full strength to advocate for her. So she presented the offer of an increased pay package AND a four-year contract (when UT didn't do deals longer than three years outside of FB and M/WBB) to Hart and he told her it was a good offer and she should take it.

The Pensky deal was a little different, UT could have acted earlier to extend him and he might not have listened to FSU. The person that botched that was later let go by White for a list of things that included that. But if FSU had reached him, I still don't know that UT would have matched the financial package FSU put together for him. FSU HAD to have him and everyone knew it.

Interesting take on the Kelly situation. If it's true, in hindsight one could say that Hart was both wrong and right. On the one hand Kelly certainly had had enough success to justify Hart matching the Texas offer and letting her carry on with the Vols, in my opinion. She had had some very good teams. On the other hand, there is some validity to his sense that the program had peaked under her. Her recruiting had fallen off, and pretty drastically.

If you're effectively going to let go of a coach who's had success, you'd better damn will find a good coach to replace her, and to Hart's credit he did hire a strong replacement in Pensky. It took Pensky quite a bit to time to build the program back up--it was slow but steady progress. Certainly, one could see that his recruiting classes, and the team's talent level, were getting better with each subsequent season...but it was definitely an incremental climb. And then, when we seemed on the cusp of being a consistently top 15 program, he gets the offer from Florida State. I was very surprised--I didn't have any firm ideas about who FSU might hire but for some reason I didn't think it would be Pensky. But he's a savvy, extremely competitive guy and a good recruiter, had just come off an outstanding season--and of course he had ACC experience at Maryland before Hart hired him.

I don't think there was any way we could have kept Pensky. FSU was at that time, and remains, the best collegiate soccer program in the country. The Noles had won 3 national title in, what, the previous 10 years or so. They'd eclipsed mighty UNC. And while I don't know what Pensky is earning at FSU, there's no doubt he got a very good financial offer--one that White wouldn't have made, or matched. Unlike Hart, White doesn't appear to have made a smart replacement hire; in fact, it could be just the opposite. White made a quick, easy and inexpensive decision, and if there were uncomfortable reminders of the H.Warlck women's BB hire from the moment the annoucement was made, they've only gotten much more pronounced after the first two years. Kirt's got to get it together and start making better decisions this year or his tenure will be short. SEC soccer is very competitive. He can claim that we've been in the last two NCAA tourneys, but the team's record and performance level fell significantly both years. How we even got in last year's tournament was one of those weird RPI miracles, which we followed with a miracle win against Xavier, giving up an almost unheard of 40 shots but finding a way to win the game, and then having a chance to win our second-round match against an overrated Nebraska team, until our anemic offense caught up with us. Let's hope we can put a strong team on the field in the fall.

 

[DeerPark12]

The Pensky move to FSU always pained me but also made sense for him both financially and professionally. It would have been nice to try to retain him though since I question Joe Kirt’s ability to be a head coach at this level. All the insight into Angela Kelly is great. Texas isn’t a demonstrably better soccer program so the logistics of her departure never made sense to me. Also gives a bit of insight into the basketball program’s trajectory as well in some ways.

What does what I had to say there have anything to do with the basketball program?

 

[brittannica]

What does what I had to say there have anything to do with the basketball program?

Nothing directly, It just gives insight into the history of the athletic dept. For example, I didn’t even know who Dave Hart was let alone that he had these unspoken metrics for performance by coaches/teams. Or that he oversaw the combination of men’s and women’s athletic departments (also new info to me). A lot of my work is on organizational behavior and strategic management so I’m always interested in what’s happening at higher levels. It’s also only my second year here so there’s a ton I don’t know.

 

[DeerPark12]

Nothing directly, It just gives insight into the history of the athletic dept. For example, I didn’t even know who Dave Hart was let alone that he had these unspoken metrics for performance by coaches/teams. Or that he oversaw the combination of men’s and women’s athletic departments (also new info to me). A lot of my work is on organizational behavior and strategic management so I’m always interested in what’s happening at higher levels. It’s also only my second year here so there’s a ton I don’t know.

Well, there have been two completely different leadership teams and organizational structures since then, so I’m not sure how he did it is particularly relevant to the current situation. But I do think that two years without a tournament appearance in any sport is likely to result in a dismissal.

 

[MAD]

 

[turbovol]

Well, there have been two completely different leadership teams and organizational structures since then, so I’m not sure how he did it is particularly relevant to the current situation. But I do think that two years without a tournament appearance in any sport is likely to result in a dismissal.

Perhaps---but that shouldn't be the only, or even principal metric--for evaluating a coach. You can be a completely mediocre or worse coach
and still get your teams into the NCAA in some or most sports. We've seen that, for sure. And you're not going to sack a coach taking over a program in bad shape for not getting in the tourney in his/her first 2-3 years.

Memories do play tricks. I just checked and we actually had a good team in 2012--Pensky's first year. We were 14-5-3 overall, 9-3-1 in the SEC and got into the NCAA tourney--losing in the first round to, yikes, Miami of Ohio in overtime. We didn't score a lot--but had a /very/ good defensive team: We played mighty UCLA in LA and only lost 1-0. We were like South Carolina has been for years--won 4/5 SEC games by a 1-0 score. We gave up 2 goals only 3 times all season--and then gave up 3 goals in the OT loss to Miami. So we couldn't have been totally bereft of talent--at least on defense--as most of the players would have been Kelly recruits.

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.

 

[brittannica]

Well, there have been two completely different leadership teams and organizational structures since then, so I’m not sure how he did it is particularly relevant to the current situation. But I do think that two years without a tournament appearance in any sport is likely to result in a dismissal.

Oh, I agree it might not be directly relevant to our current situation since there have been other admins since then. Again, was just commenting on how this scenario kinda fills in some pieces in the decades-long Lady Vols story, which I appreciate. I tell my students all organizations are in some ways a story, and so this is a chapter I knew nothing about and it’s cool to learn more about leadership, priorities, etc.

 

[MAD]

Happy Birthday LVFL M.A. Vignola

 

[brittannica]

Happy Birthday LVFL M.A. Vignola

View attachment 619202

Hope she shines this season and gets some call ups to the national team.

 

[MAD]

History of Tennessee soccer cont.



The end of the Angela Kelly era.

Kelly had been with the Lady Vols since its inception in 1996.
First 4 years she was an assistant. She became the head coach in 2000.

View attachment 618956View attachment 618957


Past posts discussing the reason Angela Kelly left for Texas.









SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas

SOC's Angela Kelly Accepts Head Coaching Position at Univ. of Texas - University of Tennessee Athletics

Dec. 17, 2011 By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer

utsports.com

Excerpt:

After 12 years as the head coach of the University of Tennessee soccer program and 16 overall as a member of the program's coaching staff, Angela Kelly announced on Saturday that she is leaving the Lady Vol program to accept the head coaching position at the University of Texas.




This was recorded after being knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by OSU. I can’t tell if she knew if her time in Knoxville was over or not.

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


Record

Pensky's Coaching Career

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

Pensky's Head Coaching Record

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