⚽️Lady Vols Soccer Thread

#2,753
#2,753
mad4vols said:
FSU drops out of the top spot.
UNC takes over the top spot.
South Carolina up to #4
Arkansas drops out.
Tennessee goes down to #22
Click to expand...

All reasonable ranking changes imo. UT will not start to fulfill its potential until the the mids and forwards start to take personal responsibility for putting the ball in the net when opportunities occur. Unnecessary extra touches and needless passing in the final third are stalling an offense that was so much more purposeful last season. I'm not advocating for direct play down the field. I am suggesting, however, that once you get to the final third, often the quickest way into the net is a mostly straight line.

Honestly, I don't think the team was as good as UNC overall, but the score should not have been a 3-0 gap. The shutout was a gift to them. And, as turbovol noted above, the ladies should have demolished SMU on the scoreline. For my taste, there has been too much over thinking and "dithering" and not enough simple aggressive attacking in the final third. With a couple of exceptions, for the most part our mids and forwards seem to have shied from taking personal responsibility to take on and beat weaker defenders. There is an important role for a little selfishness in offensive soccer, especially when the players involved have evident talent - and UT has talented attackers, to be sure. This team can and should beat Duke. Go Vols!
 
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#2,754
#2,754
6B06EBFD-D1DE-41F0-A3FB-A200DDE49617.jpeg

Looks like our schedule just got even more difficult.

Arkansas is out of the Top 25 which we don’t face.

#4 South Carolina at Knoxville October 23
#12 Ole Miss @Oxford September 30
#16 Auburn @Auburn October 20
 
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#2,755
#2,755
We certainly have enough up-front talent to put pressure on Duke--assuming Huff plays. But Duke is a very disciplined team that moves the ball very well, and I think they could expose our defense, especially if Cooper plays. She returned from the U20 WC a few days ago, and so I expect her to play, and she can be a handful--strong, quick, can shoot. Pluck is a very good forward/winger--super-quick--who is also likely to cause us problems.

Defensively, though it's early, I don't think we're as good with the 3-centerback setup as we were last year with the 4-4-2. It means that Renie has to cover more of the field, and I don't think that plays to her strength. While we mostly dominated the game against SMU, she and our defenders had some iffy moments, giveaways, that came very close to being SMU goals. Last year, Renie and French covered the middle of the field together, back line--and they got a ton of help from Rain and Katz on the outside, plus Burnette, Huff and Fusco did a lot of defensive work in the middle of the field. That was a well-functioning defensive group.

Now Rain and Katz are playing deeper--as last-line defenders--and the players in front of them, who are charged with breaking up attacks before the ball gets into our defensive third--- are not as good as they were as our outside backs, in my opinion. Zalusky/Dipasupil work hard and are smart players--but neither of them is as athletic or fast or as good as Rain. Fact. And on the other side Nelson, while she has qualities, is not working, IMO, as a midfielder--just not quick and dynamic enough. She was not good against UNC, IMO. We saw North Carolina pile on the pressure on our right side in the second half of that game. Katz is very responsible and hard-working--but her strength is playing in the middle of the field (which is what she is--a natural mid). She excelled as a forward-lying outside back last year. Buyt she's not a natural last-line defender--not big enough, not physical and has a tendency to drop too far off the ball. Renie and Katz are good players--but I feel very confident in saying that neither of them would be starting at centerback for a top 5 program. Not Katz, for sure--and let me emphasize again, Katz is a very good player and was excellent for us last year. She's just not now playing a natural position for her. Coming into this season, I thought we might see Hennessey and/or Washington get some PT as centerbacks, as they are both defenders for us. Hennessey perhaps could be a good centerback. Washington has seemed slow to develop.

FSU won three national championships in the last 8 or 10 years largely because the "Noles had so many good individual defenders. They were boring at times, to be sure--but that program set the collegiate defensive standard, and the standard is: Can you play a top 5 program and not give up a goal? They did it a lot--didn't give up a goal in their last 4 NCAA games last year, holding an excellent BYU offensive team scoreless in the title match. That's a very high bar but one we have to aspire to if we want to get the program close to consistent top 5 level.
 
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#2,756
#2,756
I love the potential for dynamic play that a 3 back lineup can provide; however, as much as I like the formation, I don't see where UT has that special center back on this roster who can naturally anchor the middle alone and allow a 3 back set to effectively work without excess risk. Until that special type of player arrives in Knoxville, a 4 back set seems more prudent and I agree that some thought should be given to moving someone with size and pace into a second central defender role. In addition to Hennessey and Washington, I wonder if they've given consideration to Shell, Price or Brown, all of whom have good size and all of whom were decently rated defensively in high school. Dedicating an inexperienced freshman defender to the central back line may be risky for sure, but if one of them steps up, locking down the central defense could allow more natural wing players like Katz greater freedom to move and the central mids to feel more confident in supporting the attack without unnecessarily exposing the defense to counters. I'm not sold on the 3-5-2 with UT's present personnel especially against more talented offenses like we'll see in Duke, but it is new to them and maybe they'll prove me wrong.
 
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#2,758
#2,758
MATCH CENTRAL: #22 Tennessee vs. #5 DUKE

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 22 Tennessee is set for its third straight Top-25 matchup, hosting No. 5 Duke in a 7 p.m. ET contest at Regal Stadium on Thursday that will be broadcast on SEC Network.

Tennessee (0-1-1) is coming off 1-1 draw with #23 SMU on Sunday. Redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas found the back of the net for UT, scoring Tennessee's first goal of the season for the second year in a row. The Lady Vols, who were playing without seniors Lindsey Romig and Claudia Dipasupil and sophomore Taylor Huff, outshot the Mustangs 25-17 and took 17 corner kicks to SMU's five. In goal, redshirt-freshman Ally Zazzara made six saves on the day.

Duke is 2-0-0 on the season, most recently taking a 3-1 win over UNC Greensboro at home on Sunday.

UP NEXT: Tennessee will host Bowling Green for a 7 p.m. ET match on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The game will be streamed on SECN+.

SCOUTING DUKE: The Blue Devils, who finished the 2021 campaign 16-4-1 overall while making a run to the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals, return eight starters and 18 letterwinners from last year's squad. In the ACC Preseason Coaches' Poll, Duke was picked to finish first as voted on by the league's head coaches.

THOMAS MAKING MOVES: With her goal against SMU, Jaida Thomas moved into a tie for eighth place all-time in career goals scored at UT with 26. She ties Emily Redberg and Kayla Lockaby and trails No. 1 Kylee Rossi by 17 and No. 2 Hannah Wilkinson by just seven.

SIX LADY VOLS ON SEC WATCH LIST: Fifth-year seniors Abbey Burdette and Mackenzie George, senior Lindsey Romig, redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas, junior Lawson Renie and sophomore Taylor Huff were all named to the SEC Preseason Watch List. This is Romig's third straight appearance on the watch list, while George and Thomas are making their second straight appearances.

GUESS WHO'S BACK, BACK AGAIN: UT returns 10 starters from the 2021 SEC Championship squad, including Second Team All-American and First Team All-Region forward Jaida Thomas, 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year Taylor Huff, and First Team All-SEC forward Mackenzie George.

YOUNG GUNS: The Lady Vols welcomed the No. 6 signing class in the nation as rated by Top Drawer Soccer. The group features nine versatile field players and one goalkeeper with five players rated inside the IMG Academy Top-150 club player rankings. Freshmen Layla Shell and Macaira Midgley enrolled in January and gained valuable experience during UT's spring season.

TENNESSEE ON TOP: The Lady Vols were picked to finish first in the SEC as voted on by the conference's 14 head coaches. UT is coming off a 2021 campaign in which it won a program-best 20 games, clinching an SEC Tournament Championship and going 20-3 en route to the NCAA Round of 16.

THE KIRT ERA: Joe Kirt is looking for his first win as a head coach. Kirt, who joined the Tennessee Soccer staff under Angela Kelly in 2007, was promoted to head coach in April of 2022.

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#2,762
#2,762
What are our chances of winning this match? Will we have our optimum lineup, or are we going against a top 5 opponent missing multiple key players again?

I'M SO STRESSED!
 
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#2,763
#2,763
lvocd said:
What are our chances of winning this match? Will we have our optimum lineup, or are we going against a top 5 opponent missing multiple key players again?

I'M SO STRESSED!
Click to expand...
With Huff I think we might have a chance, without her Jaida is really going to have to have a great game. Who knows we might score on some corner kicks. 😃
 
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