⚽️Lady Vols Soccer Thread

#3,284
#3,284
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No. 19 Lady Vols Log Second Straight Shutout With 2-0 Win Over Mizzou

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 19 Tennessee extended its winning streak to three on Thursday, taking a 2-0 victory over Missouri in Regal Stadium.

Sophomore Taylor Huff and redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas found the net for Tennessee (8-3-1, 4-1 SEC). In goal, senior Lindsey Romig recorded four saves on the night.

Mizzou (4-6-2, 1-3-1 SEC) was led by Grace Pettet who took two shots, putting one on frame. Bella Hollenbach had four saves in the net.

The Lady Vols had the momentum offensively in the opening minutes, with Thomas nearly putting UT on the board five minutes into play when she blasted one off the right goalpost.

Ten minutes later, sophomore Jordan Fusco ripped a screamer from the top of the box, missing just inches high.

The Lady Vols got another chance before the half when Huff streaked into the box to get a head on a cross from Sydney Hennessey, but she couldn't quite turn it back toward goal, and the game went into halftime tied at zero.

The Tigers mounted an attack 10 minutes into the second half, crossing a ball behind the Tennessee defense, but Romig got off her line in time to shut down the attack before a Missouri forward could run onto it.

The Lady Vols went up 1-0 in the 57th minute when Huff scored her fourth goal of the season, placing a header into the side net off a cross from Dipasupil.

The Tigers responded by sending more players into the attack, getting all four of their shots on goal in the final 18 minutes of the game.

Romig recorded her first save of the match in the 72nd minute, denying a header from eight yards out by Pettet.

She made another three minutes later, tipping a blast by Megan Oduyoye over the crossbar.

Redshirt-junior Maria Nelson won the ball at midfield with four minutes left in the contest and drove down the right sideline, beating a defender and putting a shot on frame, but Hollenbach was able to make the save.

UT got its final goal in the 88th minute when George worked through a host of Tiger defenders on the baseline before crossing the ball through to Thomas who redirected it into the back of the net.


UP NEXT: Tennessee heads to Athens for a 4 p.m. ET matchup with Georgia on Sunday. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

HAPPY TO ASSIST: With her assist against Mizzou, Mackenzie George has now logged an assist in three straight matches, tying Taylor Huff to lead the team in assists at five on the season.

TRACKING THOMAS: Jaida Thomas has scored goals in three straight games, moving her season total to 11 and career total to 36 to pull within seven goals of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 all-time in career goals scored at UT.
 
#3,285
#3,285
This game was a struggle for the Vols. We had a lot of the ball in the first half but our possession play was sloppy and pedestrian. We generated a lot of corners--but of course did nothing with them save for the one shot by Thomas, after a failed clearance by Missouri, that almost went in. We don't play fast enough and don't switch the field of play enough: we constantly try to force the ball up the touchline and constantly lose the ball trying to do that when Burdette and Fusco are open and calling for the ball in the middle of the pitch.

In the 2nd half we got the game-winning goal by Huff--and it was an excellent header given how low she had to go to get to the ball--but otherwise did very little in attack and I thought Missouri was the better team. They had more of the ball, and created more chances--but our defense was solid, Romig made the good save off the long shot (very similar to the save she made against Ole Miss late in that game) and we got that 2nd goal very late in the contest off the good play and assist by George.

Missouri looked like a well-coached team. They don't have a lot of attacking talent--but they were quick to loose balls, anticipated our passes and made it hard for the Vols all night. We made way too many bad passes. Katz gave the ball away a lot--not one of her better games--and 3 of her back-passes to Romig were so softly hit that a Missouri player nearly got to them before our keeper. She's got to pass the ball with some pace. Thomas gave the ball away a lot in the second half--she has got to be a better passer.

We're 4-1 in the SEC now, and I should be fairly happy. But I'm not at all sold on this team--or Kirt, for that matter. I'm not sold on the 3-5-2 because it's not made us a better team; we're still clearly not as good as last year's team. I don't know why Kirt doesn't use subs a bit more. We've got a tough away game against a very solid Georgia team on Sunday and Kirt played Huff the full 90 and Fusco 82'. How much will they have in the tank come the second half on Sunday? I hope enough as our next two opponents are good and we need to keep winning.

A word on Pensky: I thought he and the Noles might struggle this year given the number of starters who left the program when Krikorian resigned. But the former Vol coach and the Noles have done well. They are ranked 3rd in the country and beat a very good No. 2 ranked UVA tonight 1-0. FSU is undefeated--9-0-2--and are scoring goals. After scoring in the first minute of the game, FSU basically played defense the entire second half. Didn't have much possession--and in that sense did not look at all like Krikorian's FSU teams--but managed to hang on and win the game.
 
#3,286
#3,286
Jaida did turn it over a lot but she was not alone. The lack of corner execution is mind blowing. That should have been a major point in the off season. Missouri doesn’t give up many goals so we did alright. Not yet peaked by any means.
 
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#3,287
#3,287
kregman said:
Jaida did turn it over a lot but she was not alone. The lack of corner execution is mind blowing. That should have been a major point in the off season. Missouri doesn’t give up many goals so we did alright. Not yet peaked by any means.
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We could have the worst corner-kick conversion rate among major-college teams. It's not just that we don't score goals off of corners, which is admittedly hard to do, we rarely have a player that gets her head on the ball. I think in our first four corners last night, nobody got a head on any of them. I'm guessing we got a head on 2 of our 10 corner kicks. We waste SO many opportunities.

Missouri was impressive defensively. Unlike in the Mississippi game, we had very little room to operate. Part of the problem is that we don't switch the field of play enough--which means getting the ball from one side of the field where defenders are congregated to the other side of the field, where there is space. Huff did it a few times against Ole Miss--some excellent cross-field passes. Last night we constantly lost the ball along the touchline (sideline). Players with the ball will get trapped along the touchlline, and to avoid that you need players who can dribble away from pressure and get into space or get the ball out to a central mid. We often had Burdette standing alone near the center of the field but never looked to get the ball to her. Our passing and decision-making was not very good, overall. Katz gave the ball away too much--she is a good midfielder winger whom Kirt has turned into a mediocre centerback--and Thomas passed the ball to Missouri three straight times in the second half.

On the positive side, Dipasupil has been playing better. She's been more active, as actually dribbled away from pressure on the touchline a couple of times in the last two games--and she's been more physical. And of course she's assisted on both game-winning goals. Renie has been good the last two games--in the right places, reading the game well, composed. Encouraged by her play. Our central mids are the strength of our team and are good almost every game, but all three were less influential last night then they've been in a while, I thought. Speaking of Burdette, it's hard to overstate how important she's been to this team over the last two years--just a stud defensive midfielder. I hope the coaches are thinking about who can adequately replace her. Right now G. Washington replaces her--our substitute defensive mid. She's got the size and physicality that you want in a defensive mid, but the rest of her game doesn't begin to resemble that of a good midfielder. Loping around a half-speed does not cut it.

Our first five SEC games were the easier part of our conference schedule---what with Kentucky and Florida near the bottom of the league, Missouri somewhat mediocre and Ole Miss solid but overrated. The next five games will be tougher, for sure, starting Sunday. I know I've been obsessed about it, but I continue to be astounded that Kirt continues to stick with his 3-back system that clearly hasn't worked that well. If he'd put Hennessey in Katz's centerback spot and moved Katz up to winger, where she belongs, I think we'd be better--but Kirt thinks otherwise. If he'd pair Hennesey with Renie at centerback and went back to the 4-4-2, I think we'd be better. Kirt thinks otherwise. He of course knows the team a helluva lot better than I do--but the proof is in the pudding. I wonder if Kirt is sticking with the 3-back as a way to put his mark on the team--he's not just replicating what Pensky did. Yea, maybe--but the end of the day you gotta make the team as good as it can be. We'll see how it unfolds over the next 3 weeks. I hope he proves me very wrong--but I haven't seen it so far.
 
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#3,296
#3,296
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#3,297
#3,297
Given his public comments it seems Coach Kirt is of the opinion that his 3-5-2 allows the team to be more dynamic offensively than a 4-4-2. If he had the right personnel, that might be right. But he doesn’t. It’s not that his backs are bad players, they’re solid, but not for a 3 back set. Raines is the only one of the three regulars with the athleticism to make it work, imo. I like both Katz and Renie, but neither are suited to a 3 back defense. Katz should be an outside mid and Renie needs a partner in the middle. She’s super smart and she reads the field well, but she does not have the physical attributes to own the centerback slot without help.

Last year’s offense flowed directly from an unbelievably stout defense. It was a 4-4-2 and it was potent. No gimmicks, just sound soccer.

I wish Coach would give it a try again.
 
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#3,299
#3,299
Lurker said:
Given his public comments it seems Coach Kirt is of the opinion that his 3-5-2 allows the team to be more dynamic offensively than a 4-4-2. If he had the right personnel, that might be right. But he doesn’t. It’s not that his backs are bad players, they’re solid, but not for a 3 back set. Raines is the only one of the three regulars with the athleticism to make it work, imo. I like both Katz and Renie, but neither are suited to a 3 back defense. Katz should be an outside mid and Renie needs a partner in the middle. She’s super smart and she reads the field well, but she does not have the physical attributes to own the centerback slot without help.

Last year’s offense flowed directly from an unbelievably stout defense. It was a 4-4-2 and it was potent. No gimmicks, just sound soccer.

I wish Coach would give it a try again.
Click to expand...


Precisely what I've been saying since the start of the season.
 
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#3,300
#3,300
turbovol said:
Precisely what I've been saying since the start of the season.
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It was pretty obvious early on. It will get more obvious as the ladies play stronger opponents. I agree with building around a core of Burdette, Huff and Fusco. But, some rearranging would be prudent if they want to reach this team’s true potential. And that potential is very high, imo.
 
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