⚽️Lady Vols Soccer Thread

#5,652
#5,652
turbovol said:
You can't give up goals like this and expect to win. we've been doing it all year. A keeper should never
leave her net unless she's certain of grabbing the ball when she comes out. Reason: Most collegiate players are not natural scorers,
so you're much better off staying in net and making an opponent beat you rather than running out and making a mistake and leaving
your net open. Zazzara was indecisive on the first goal. The 2nd goal was just lucky for them--complete luck.
Click to expand...
These announcers are slamming Joe!!! Lol...
 
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#5,656
#5,656
We've fallen from 20 wins two years ago to--since Kirt took over 11 wins last year and 8 wins this year. Telling.
He's very relucatant and slow to make adjustments--and that's been a serious problem with him, I would argue. He's made
decisions that have reduced our chances of success--not maximized them, as of course any coach is charged with doing.
One can say that injuries hurt us this year--and that is true--but it's also true that we had a team last year that had every starter
but one back from the 20-win team, including Rain and Huff, and only minor injury issues--and regressed to 11 wins. So while
injuries did hurt us, we also didn't play well enough with the pretty solid talent that we still had.

This year's team just gives up too many goals--and we have a habit of giving up lame goals. The second Auburn goal was just luck--she blops
the ball toward goal and it falls right through the upper 90 corner where Zazarra couldn't get to it. But the first Auburn goal was just more lame
defending by our centerbacks and Zazarra. You just can't give up goals like that and expect to win games--you can't. But we do. We gave up 3 goals to Miss. State, 4 to Texas AM, 3 to Arkansas, etc. Last year we had a 2-1 lead in the 2nd half against a good Duke team and then gave up two dumb goals and lost.

Just another disappointing season. I'll be surprised if we get into the NCAA--possible--but we're not really a good team, and if we're lucky enough to get in we'd probably be playing a good team in the first round.
 
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#5,657
#5,657
turbovol said:
Zazzara botched that first goal. You either come out and grap the ball or stay back in your net and defend. She came a little ways out and could do nothing. A completely dumb goal to give up. Our centerbacks have to be better than that--you can't the keeper kick all the down and the field and past you.

we give up the most ridiculous goals. The second one was weird, too. Zazzara isn't the most athletic keeper, and it showed on that 2nd goal.
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I thought the second one was more of a fluke. I don't even know she was trying to score but it definitely went to space where she couldn't get it.

I have no words for the first.
 
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#5,658
#5,658

Lady Vols Fall To Auburn In SEC Tournament, 2-1​


IMG_4569.jpeg

Box Score PENSACOLA, Fla. – The ninth-seeded Lady Vols fell to eighth-seeded Auburn in the first round of the SEC Tournament at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Park on Sunday, 2-1.

Sophomore Kameron Simmonds found the net for the Lady Vols (8-6-4, 3-4-3 SEC) to record her eighth goal of the season. In goal, redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara made three saves on the night.

Becky Contreras and Haley Duca were the goal-scorers for Auburn (8-6-5, 3-4-3 SEC). Keeper Maddie Prohaska logged two saves.

Simmonds put the Lady Vols on top early, running onto a deflected shot by Sizzy Lawton and one-touching the loose ball off the right goalpost and into the net.

The Tigers evened the score in the 38th minute when Prohaska sent a 50-yard serve into Tennessee's defensive third and Contreras ran onto it, sending a header at UT's goal. Zazzara came off her line and got a hand on it but was unable to stop it entirely, and it rolled into the net.

Auburn went up by one three and a half minutes later when the UT defense cleared a corner kick in the direction of Duca who lobbed a shot from 20 yards out into the top left corner of the net.

For the half, AU out-shot UT 7-3, posting three shots on goal to one by Tennessee.

In the 53rd minute, Lawson Renie got a head on the end of a UT free kick, but it was cleared by the Auburn defense.

The Lady Vols sent numbers forward in the closing minutes, and Lawton, Sarah Greiner and Maria Nelson all got shots off in the 84th minute, but AU packed players into the box and blocked each attempt.

With just under three minutes to go, Simmonds worked the ball to the corner and sent a cross through the box that Greiner dove to get a head on, but the shot glanced just wide of the goal, and time ran out with Auburn leading 2-1.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will return to Knoxville and await the results of the NCAA Tournament Selection show on Monday, Nov. 6.
 
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#5,659
#5,659
The jury has not returned a verdict on Coack Kirk. At last count he had eight players lost for the season including Jada Thomas. (The announcers implied that Jada will be back next year.) When you have that many players missing, perhaps it's unfair to render a verdict. Although, we slipped from being a division champion to 9th place, I do believe the injuries are a factor.

Last year Coach Kirk's team tied with SC for the East Division Championship. A good start! However, we faded at the end and lost the first game of the SEC tournament and the first game of the NCAA tournament. Disappointing and somewhat concerning.

All but one of our losses in conference play this year were by one goal. As the announcers said quoting Coack Kirk "We have to find a way to stop losing games."
It would serve no purpose to list the numerous ways we have managed to give games away this year.

Tonight we played a great first 10 and final 10 minutes. The other 70 were unimpressive. Our goal keeper had a tough outing!

Going forward, NCAA birth or not, Coach Kirk must recruit more speed. We very seldom ever win 50/50 balls.

Be a leader and decide on a permanent goal keeper. Who ever that is get them additional training from outside our staff.

Auburn's second goal was a lucky shot. However, it should never have been struck. We had three or four players who appeared to jog (seemingly in place) while the Auburn player took her time unmarked with a lot of space. Conditioning maybe an issue, I don't know but once again our defense was not good.

If true, I am disappointed with Coach Kirk's half time approach. The announcers said, (Paraphrased) He points out mistakes and what he wants to accomplish in the second half and then departs allowing the team to work out the details. A recipe for disaster in my opinion.

Let's hope we make the NCAA tournament and win a game or two. I think it's important for next years team.
 
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#5,662
#5,662
Aladywhovolunteer said:
The jury has not returned a verdict on Coack Kirk. At last count he had eight players lost for the season including Jada Thomas. (The announcers implied that Jada will be back next year.) When you have that many players missing, perhaps it's unfair to render a verdict. Although, we slipped from being a division champion to 9th place, I do believe the injuries are a factor.

Last year Coach Kirk's team tied with SC for the East Division Championship. A good start! However, we faded at the end and lost the first game of the SEC tournament and the first game of the NCAA tournament. Disappointing and somewhat concerning.

All but one of our losses in conference play this year were by one goal. As the announcers said quoting Coack Kirk "We have to find a way to stop losing games."
It would serve no purpose to list the numerous ways we have managed to give games away this year.

Tonight we played a great first 10 and final 10 minutes. The other 70 were unimpressive. Our goal keeper had a tough outing!

Going forward, NCAA birth or not, Coach Kirk must recruit more speed. We very seldom ever win 50/50 balls.

Be a leader and decide on a permanent goal keeper. Who ever that is get them additional training from outside our staff.

Auburn's second goal was a lucky shot. However, it should never have been struck. We had three or four players who appeared to jog (seemingly in place) while the Auburn player took her time unmarked with a lot of space. Conditioning maybe an issue, I don't know but once again our defense was not good.

If true, I am disappointed with Coach Kirk's half time approach. The announcers said, (Paraphrased) He points out mistakes and what he wants to accomplish in the second half and then departs allowing the team to work out the details. A recipe for disaster in my opinion.

Let's hope we make the NCAA tournament and win a game or two. I think it's important for next years team.
Click to expand...

Our coach's last name is KIRT (with a T)--not Kirk

What happened to Michel in this game?

I think Kirt could be coaching for his job--and that of his staff--next year. And should be. In my opinion he makes too many decisions that I think are bad or highly questionable, and he is reluctant, or slow, to make adjustments based on player and team performance. Injuries weren't an issue last year--and we went from 20 wins to 11. And this year down to 8. That's a trend in the bad-coach direction. He really has seemed to show high-school-coach type favortism to certain players over the last couple of years that is pretty shocking at major-college level, and not good for one's coaching career. He seems like a good guy and we all want to see our coaches succeed--but he hasn't been succeeding, and that ultimately will be the issue.
 
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#5,663
#5,663
jeebie said:
I think he needs to be given more time. Injuries devastated the team this season. And he has some very good talent coming in next year such as the two Bearden players.
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Last season we returned 10 of 11 starters from a team that won 20 games and was ranked about 10th nationally. Injuries were not an issue last year. We went from 20 wins to 11 wins---lost BADLY to bama and south carolina, then lost in both the first round of the SEC and NCAA tourneys--and looked pretty bad and disorganized at the end of the season. Kirt made an epically bad decision to fundamentally change a winning team--different formation, moved players from positions where they'd excelled the year before to new positions (a complete and utter coaching No-No) and inserted lesser players into their old positions, effectively. The changes didn't work and yet he made ZERO changes from beginning to end of the season, which is unheard of. This year the problem was more being loyal to and playing players who simply aren't very good soccer players--and in some cases, playing them a lot, while better players stood on the sidelines. He brought in transfers to help the team--and then uwisely short-changed their playing time. He had our best player standing on the sideline for half of every game while the starter ahead of her compiled 0 points in 9 SEC games. He played a defensive mid 45 minutes a game for most of the season who has NEVER been even close to a good soccer player. Injuries had nothing to do with those decisions. In 4 years Nelson had shown no real shooting or shot-making ability---at all. So we get a PK chance with 10 minutes to go in the Kentucky game--make it and we have great chance of winning--and he tells Nelson to take the PK. She does not make it--it's saved--andthe game ends tied. We have better shooters than Nelson. Again, not an injury-related decision. He made some adjustments--but only very late in the season. We're rapidly trending in the wrong direction even as the conferernce is getting much stronger top to bottom.

As for the Bearden players, you can't assume anything about players until you see how the adjust to playing at a much higher level of competition. That goes for ALL prospects, not just those two. I hope they're great.

We have TWO KEY positions problems for next year already. We have only 1 returning centerback on the team--and you need a minimum of 2 and really 3. We don't have any young centerbacks on this team. This means that we'll either be playing a CB with no experience or bringing in a transfer--and transfers can be hit or miss. Michel was a very good CB in-transfer for us this year. We need to find another CB of her quality--but that's not always easy. And we have the same problem at defensive mid. Didn't play any young players at the position, so have no idea who will be in the spot next year. And these are important spots where you need not just players but good players. It's no accident that the two best teams we had in the Pensky era--and they were very good teams--each had a very good defensive mid. Which is why when Kirt seemed quite determined and quite content to start a defensive mid this year who has never been a good player, I could only scratch my head.
 
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#5,664
#5,664
Aladywhovolunteer said:
The jury has not returned a verdict on Coack Kirk. At last count he had eight players lost for the season including Jada Thomas. (The announcers implied that Jada will be back next year.) When you have that many players missing, perhaps it's unfair to render a verdict. Although, we slipped from being a division champion to 9th place, I do believe the injuries are a factor.

Last year Coach Kirk's team tied with SC for the East Division Championship. A good start! However, we faded at the end and lost the first game of the SEC tournament and the first game of the NCAA tournament. Disappointing and somewhat concerning.

All but one of our losses in conference play this year were by one goal. As the announcers said quoting Coack Kirk "We have to find a way to stop losing games."
It would serve no purpose to list the numerous ways we have managed to give games away this year.

Tonight we played a great first 10 and final 10 minutes. The other 70 were unimpressive. Our goal keeper had a tough outing!

Going forward, NCAA birth or not, Coach Kirk must recruit more speed. We very seldom ever win 50/50 balls.

Be a leader and decide on a permanent goal keeper. Who ever that is get them additional training from outside our staff.

Auburn's second goal was a lucky shot. However, it should never have been struck. We had three or four players who appeared to jog (seemingly in place) while the Auburn player took her time unmarked with a lot of space. Conditioning maybe an issue, I don't know but once again our defense was not good.

If true, I am disappointed with Coach Kirk's half time approach. The announcers said, (Paraphrased) He points out mistakes and what he wants to accomplish in the second half and then departs allowing the team to work out the details. A recipe for disaster in my opinion.

Let's hope we make the NCAA tournament and win a game or two. I think it's important for next years team.
Click to expand...
I agree with what is said here. We do need more speed. Not having had an opportunity to watch many of the players who were hurt early on, were they perhaps where our speed was supposed to be? Of the familiar ones, Thomas and Runyon certainly had the speed. Hofmann was where she needed to be. In the past few games, it was obvious we were not possessing the ball as we had in the past. We used to control it well. In these last two games, the opponents were taking the fight to us and we seemed incapable of stringing two passes together. Frankly, the team seemed tired yesterday and at Vanderbilt. Was that a factor? Sore muscles don't respond very well on two days rest, and the Vanderbilt game was punishing.

We don't have a first-rate goal keeper. Both Zazzara and Reitz are, at this point, average. Neither is a game changer. Zazzara was marginally better. Can either be improved over the winter? Or do we need to go looking in the transfer portal or to the freshman class? Whatever we do, this business of using two keepers needs to end. Keepers need complete game experience and pacing. The defenders need the security of having the same keeper behind them an entire game. The entire season shouldn't be an audition.

Obviously, our defense isn't good. I leave it to others to recommend what should be done about it. To use a polite term, it is porous.

Lastly, I don't know Joe Kirt from Adam. The players are said to like working with him. But, if I had to judge him from his TV interviews, he emerges as sour, humorless, and looking and sounding as if he wishes he were anywhere but there. He mumbles a mile a minute, says nothing and makes little eye contact. Is he shy? He obviously does not enjoy media attention. That will be an ongoing problem. Also possibly a downside to his ability to recruit and coach. Coaches have to have a certain amount of grace and personality. Maybe he does in person. On TV, he doesn't.
 
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#5,665
#5,665
Now that the season is done they need to FIRE THAT INEPT SORRY EXCUSE FOR A COACH. GET EM OUT OF THERE.
 
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#5,666
#5,666
TomHoot said:
I agree with what is said here. We do need more speed. Not having had an opportunity to watch many of the players who were hurt early on, were they perhaps where our speed was supposed to be? Of the familiar ones, Thomas and Runyon certainly had the speed. Hofmann was where she needed to be. In the past few games, it was obvious we were not possessing the ball as we had in the past. We used to control it well. In these last two games, the opponents were taking the fight to us and we seemed incapable of stringing two passes together. Frankly, the team seemed tired yesterday and at Vanderbilt. Was that a factor? Sore muscles don't respond very well on two days rest, and the Vanderbilt game was punishing.

We don't have a first-rate goal keeper. Both Zazzara and Reitz are, at this point, average. Neither is a game changer. Zazzara was marginally better. Can either be improved over the winter? Or do we need to go looking in the transfer portal or to the freshman class? Whatever we do, this business of using two keepers needs to end. Keepers need complete game experience and pacing. The defenders need the security of having the same keeper behind them an entire game. The entire season shouldn't be an audition.

Obviously, our defense isn't good. I leave it to others to recommend what should be done about it. To use a polite term, it is porous.

Lastly, I don't know Joe Kirt from Adam. The players are said to like working with him. But, if I had to judge him from his TV interviews, he emerges as sour, humorless, and looking and sounding as if he wishes he were anywhere but there. He mumbles a mile a minute, says nothing and makes little eye contact. Is he shy? He obviously does not enjoy media attention. That will be an ongoing problem. Also possibly a downside to his ability to recruit and coach. Coaches have to have a certain amount of grace and personality. Maybe he does in person. On TV, he doesn't.
Click to expand...
Need to go looking in the NCAA coaching ranks for a new head coach
 
#5,671
#5,671
MAD said:
Clear to see that Runyon had a major injury.

Click to expand...


Incredibly injury prone this year---unbelievable, really. Program has got some bad juju going on....

Meanwhile, I stopped following the SEC tourney after our loss but did hear via Twitter that Georgia played with 10 women for nearly all of the game and yet still managed to beat kentucky, 2-1.
 
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#5,675
#5,675
Vol67 said:
Now that the season is done they need to FIRE THAT INEPT SORRY EXCUSE FOR A COACH. GET EM OUT OF THERE.
Click to expand...
He will get one more year but I just looked up his contract and if I’m reading it right, he no longer has a buyout starting January 1. So if he doesn’t turn it around next year, he can be fired for free.
 
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