Lady Vols Soccer ⚽️ SEC TOURNAMENT 11/3-11/10

[MAD]

Don’t know where UT’s class ranks but looks like the East will be tougher next year.


South Carolina women's soccer head coach Shelley Smith announced the addition of 10 student-athletes to compete for the Gamecocks beginning with the 2022 season. The signing class was ranked in the top-10 by Top Drawer Soccer.

Women's soccer announces top 10 recruiting class

 

[MAD]

Looks like another 1 seed is getting eliminated. Duke down 0-2 in the second half

 

[MAD]

Some of you might be interested in this.


This years ‘Girls High School All-American soccer game’ has a couple of new Tennessee recruits playing in the match. It’s played in a different city every year. Last year Taylor Huff was selected for the match played in St. Louis. This year it’s being played in Knoxville. It’s also going to be live streamed.

Here is the roster Of the all Americans selected to play this year
Girls HS All-American roster for 2021 | High School Soccer News

Website for the event in Knoxville
https://www.highschoolsoccerallamerican.com/

Match will be played on Saturday, Dec. 11, at Bearden High School in Knoxville, Tenn. at 11 am

 

[MAD]

Senior Mackenzie George finished the 2021 campaign with a team-high 10 assists, landing in a five-way tie at #3 in the all-time single-season records at UT.

 

[Lurker]

yep. The soccer season is over and I thought you were referring to the just beginning basketball season. Sorry for the mistake.

I figured - of course it took some pondering because I can't "figure" very fast anymore! Have a great day!

 

[MAD]

It’s officially official for the former Lady Vols star.

Congratulations!

 

[turbovol]

Senior Mackenzie George finished the 2021 campaign with a team-high 10 assists, landing in a five-way tie at #3 in the all-time single-season records at UT.
View attachment 415543

George was huge again this year, earning corners and producing assists--but what I really noted is that she broadened her game a bit. She hardly scored at all in the previous two years--didn't shoot much and didn't hit the ball very well when she did shoot. Her game was pretty much relegated to beating her mark(s) and sending crosses or centering passing in front of the net, or getting deflections for corners. This year she continued to do those things, and do them extremely well, but she also took a few more shots, and hit the ball with more authority. She became a bit more multi-dimensional, which any good forward--any good attack--needs to be. We weren't JUST focused on getting the ball to Thomas in the box, though that will always be /a/ focus. You want forwards and mids who have chemistry and can combine with one another to create chances and score--and we did that. We had a number of people who could put the ball in the net, and that is a good thing. George has been a /huge/ asset since she arrived

 

[turbovol]

It's been rumored that Keidane McAlpine, the Southern Cal coach, might be interested in the Georgia job--or maybe the rumor is that Georgia is interested in him. The latter wouldn't be surprising--he's an excellent coach won a national title at Southern Cal maybe 3/4 years ago, and it would be a coup to get him. McAlpine is a native of Alabama who at one time was an assistant at Auburn. He'd surely make Georgia better, and I believe he's recruited a few of the many good players who come out of the Atlanta area to his SC program. Let's hope it doesn't happen. Georgia's previous coach, Billy Lesesne, a longtime assistant/associate coach at Duke before being hired by the dawgs, never could get the program over the hump. Georgia was bad for a few seasons but for the last three years had steadily improved. This year's Georgia team was the best he's had--but it wasn't good enough to earn an NCAA berth--Georgia was one of the last out--and that cost him his job. Had he beaten LSU in the first round of the SEC tourney, Georgia probably gets in the NCAA. But it lost on PKs, and after that the Georgia AD trundled out the French razor for the Unlucky Lesesne.

 

[MAD]

It's been rumored that Keidane McAlpine, the Southern Cal coach, might be interested in the Georgia job--or maybe the rumor is that Georgia is interested in him. The latter wouldn't be surprising--he's an excellent coach won a national title at Southern Cal maybe 3/4 years ago, and it would be a coup to get him. McAlpine is a native of Alabama who at one time was an assistant at Auburn. He'd surely make Georgia better, and I believe he's recruited a few of the many good players who come out of the Atlanta area to his SC program. Let's hope it doesn't happen. Georgia's previous coach, Billy Lesesne, a longtime assistant/associate coach at Duke before being hired by the dawgs, never could get the program over the hump. Georgia was bad for a few seasons but for the last three years had steadily improved. This year's Georgia team was the best he's had--but it wasn't good enough to earn an NCAA berth--Georgia was one of the last out--and that cost him his job. Had he beaten LSU in the first round of the SEC tourney, Georgia probably gets in the NCAA. But it lost on PKs, and after that the Georgia AD trundled out the French razor for the Unlucky Lesesne.

When I started reading this I was worried you were gonna say Pensky was leaving for USC. That’s impressive that coaches are leaving the PAC 12 for the SEC.

 

[turbovol]

McAlpine hasn't left USC yet...but one of his big Pac10 rivals IS jumping ship. UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell is leaving the Bruins to coach the Orlando Pride of the professional NWSL. Cromwell and her UCLA program were caught up in the big college admissions scandal of a couple years ago. She had a player on her roster who was not a soccer player. While some coaches and administrators at various schools were indicted, charged and convicted for taking bribes or other offenses, Cromwell wasn't charged with anything and kept her job--which is one of the best gigs in soccer--no doubt because she put the girl on the roster only because the former coach had asked her to do so, and the UCLA development office may have been involved as well. (Help the son/daughter of a rich family gain entrance to your university as a fake athlete, then you can ask them for major contributions later.) However, it's been said that Cromwell feels like she's been treated badly at the school since the scandal, and her situation became untenable. Whatever the case, the Orlando Pride job will be a step down: she'll be coaching a team that's not been good in a league beset with problems, for lots less money than she's been earning at UCLA. And she'll have far less job security.

 

[MAD]

McAlpine hasn't left USC yet...but one of his big Pac10 rivals IS jumping ship. UCLA coach Amanda Cromwell is leaving the Bruins to coach the Orlando Pride of the professional NWSL. Cromwell and her UCLA program were caught up in the big college admissions scandal of a couple years ago. She had a player on her roster who was not a soccer player. While some coaches and administrators at various schools were indicted, charged and convicted for taking bribes or other offenses, Cromwell wasn't charged with anything and kept her job--which is one of the best gigs in soccer--no doubt because she put the girl on the roster only because the former coach had asked her to do so, and the UCLA development office may have been involved as well. (Help the son/daughter of a rich family gain entrance to your university as a fake athlete, then you can ask them for major contributions later.) However, it's been said that Cromwell feels like she's been treated badly at the school since the scandal, and her situation became untenable. Whatever the case, the Orlando Pride job will be a step down: she'll be coaching a team that's not been good in a league beset with problems, for lots less money than she's been earning at UCLA. And she'll have far less job security.

That was some good scoop

 

[MAD]

WE LOVE THOSE GUYS.
Much deserved postseason honors for our coaches!

Tennessee Soccer Coaches Named Southeast Region Staff of the Year


KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee coaching staff was named the Women's Southeast Region Staff of the Year for Division I Institutions as announced by United Soccer Coaches on Tuesday.

As a regional staff of the year, head coach Brian Pensky and assistant coaches Joe Kirt, Jonathan Morgan and Hemant Sharma will be included on the National Staff of the Year ballot to be voted on by coaches across the country.

The recognition comes on the heels of a history-making 2021 campaign that saw UT amass a record of 20-3-0. The Vols, who were picked to finish fifth in the SEC preseason poll as voted on by the league's coaches, claimed an SEC East Division title during the regular season and won the SEC Tournament with a decisive 3-0 victory over #5 Arkansas. UT started the season with seven straight shutouts, setting a new single-season shutout record of 633:53, and recorded 20 wins for the first time in program history while advancing to the NCAA Round of 16.

The National Staff of the Year will be announced on December 17.

 

[turbovol]

It's official: Southern Cal coach Keidane McAlpine is the new coach at Georgia. That's a big hire for the dawgs and another indication of how seriously competitive SEC soccer is these days. Georgia has been on the upswing the last three years and McAlpine may accelerate that trend--we'll see. He might also learn that the SEC is a pretty damn tough conference. The challenge now for Pensky and his assistant/associate coaches is to take a good team and make it, say, 15 percent better.

 

[MAD]

It's official: Southern Cal coach Keidane McAlpine is the new coach at Georgia. That's a big hire for the dawgs and another indication of how seriously competitive SEC soccer is these days. Georgia has been on the upswing the last three years and McAlpine may accelerate that trend--we'll see. He might also learn that the SEC is a pretty damn tough conference. The challenge now for Pensky and his assistant/associate coaches is to take a good team and make it, say, 15 percent better.

Seems like South Carolina, Tennessee and now Georgia will all be strong in the east. Along with Florida and Vandy which are usually stronger. There was another team that fired their coach but can’t remember who.

 

[MAD]

Tennessee lands four on the All-Southeast Region First Team

Four Vols Earn First Team All-Region Honors



KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Seniors Mackenzie George and Wrenne French, redshirt-sophomore Jaida Thomas and freshman Taylor Huff were all named to the 2021 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I All-Southeast Region First Team as announced by the organization Monday afternoon.

It marks the second first-team accolade for Thomas and the first for French, Huff and George. George earned third-team honors following the 2020-21 season. Tennessee is the only school with four players to make the first team in the Southeast Region. The Vols have now had multiple players recognized as regional standouts for eight straight years.

As a fifth-year senior on Rocky Top, French anchored the UT back line that opened the season with seven straight shutouts to set a new single-season shutout record of 633:53 en route to a program-best 13 shutouts on the season. She was second on the team in minutes played with 1,862 on the year and scored two goals. In the SEC Championship match, she headed in the game-winner, earning SEC All-Tournament Team recognition.

George led the team in assists, dishing out 10 over the course of the season to land in a five-way tie for third in UT's single-season records. The First Team All-SEC forward started every game during the 2021 campaign and scored six goals, two of which were game-winners.

Just as she did during her breakout rookie campaign of 2020-21, Thomas led the team in goals, scoring 13 on the year while adding five assists. She was especially dominant in Tennessee's run to an SEC Tournament Championship, tallying five goals and an assist over three games to earn SEC All-Tournament Team honors.

Huff, the 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year, has played a pivotal role for the Vols in her first year at Tennessee, starting 22 of 23 games and finishing second on the team in goals scored with 10 while doling out five assists. Always cool under pressure, she scored nine of her 10 goals in the second half with four of those coming in the 85thminute or later, including a goal from 22 yards out to force the game into overtime against #11 Auburn and the game-winner in the 89th minute at #19 South Carolina.

 

[IluvdoubleD's]

Just wanted to congratulate the lady vols soccer team for absolutely MURDERING the competition this year and landing FOUR players on the all sec team. What a year!

If you don't know... Tennessee has some very, very fast lady athletes. Track and field is involved in that too.... world class speed.

 

[turbovol]

Seems like South Carolina, Tennessee and now Georgia will all be strong in the east. Along with Florida and Vandy which are usually stronger. There was another team that fired their coach but can’t remember who.

Kentucky fired its coach and now has hired the coach from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. I don't know anything about him but some knowledgeable soccer people think he's a good hire for them. Kentucky had a solid mid-tier program for a few years but let their coach go four years ago and promoted his assistant. Some think the assistant talked the AD into giving him the job. If so, poetic justice: The program plunged to the bottom of the conference, and the sneaky former assistant was sacked.

As for the East, Vandy is well-coached and is usually good. This was a down year for 'Dores, but the team lost its best player (transferred to Virginia) and was young. It will be better next season, I'd bet. In fact, Vandy has been our nemesis for several years--and of course beat us this year.

Florida will be a program to watch. The only SEC program to win a national title (1998). The best team in the conference for a lot of years up until 2010 or so under the only coach the program ever had, Becky Burleigh. (Tennessee was the SEC champion in 2003, 2004 and 2005 under coach Angela Kelly--former All American player at UNC). But starting about 5 years ago Florida's play really started to fall off and they've not been good for a few years. Pensky lost to the Gators four or five straight years after he took over but I think we've beaten Florida the last four or five years. In any case, Burleigh retired and Florida hired the former coach at Arizona, and we'll see how he does. I can't imagine that Florida will stay down--the program has so much history.

Kelly really had it going at Tennessee in the early 2000s--but she couldn't maintain the momentum. Recruiting fell off pretty badly starting about 2005/06 or so, and in 2010/11 she left to take the Texas job. She's lucky not to have been sacked by Texas as the program has not been very good until the last year or two. She apparently is tight with the Texas AD, or that school's Women's AD. She's now got a lot of talent and Texas had a pretty good team this past year.

I still do not know what SEC soccer is broken up into divisions. It's not needed and doesn't really make any sense.

 

[MAD]

Kentucky fired its coach and now has hired the coach from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. I don't know anything about him but some knowledgeable soccer people think he's a good hire for them. Kentucky had a solid mid-tier program for a few years but let their coach go four years ago and promoted his assistant. Some think the assistant talked the AD into giving him the job. If so, poetic justice: The program plunged to the bottom of the conference, and the sneaky former assistant was sacked.

As for the East, Vandy is well-coached and is usually good. This was a down year for 'Dores, but the team lost its best player (transferred to Virginia) and was young. It will be better next season, I'd bet. In fact, Vandy has been our nemesis for several years--and of course beat us this year.

Florida will be a program to watch. The only SEC program to win a national title (1998). The best team in the conference for a lot of years up until 2010 or so under the only coach the program ever had, Becky Burleigh. (Tennessee was the SEC champion in 2003, 2004 and 2005 under coach Angela Kelly--former All American player at UNC). But starting about 5 years ago Florida's play really started to fall off and they've not been good for a few years. Pensky lost to the Gators four or five straight years after he took over but I think we've beaten Florida the last four or five years. In any case, Burleigh retired and Florida hired the former coach at Arizona, and we'll see how he does. I can't imagine that Florida will stay down--the program has so much history.

Kelly really had it going at Tennessee in the early 2000s--but she couldn't maintain the momentum. Recruiting fell off pretty badly starting about 2005/06 or so, and in 2010/11 she left to take the Texas job. She's lucky not to have been sacked by Texas as the program has not been very good until the last year or two. She apparently is tight with the Texas AD, or that school's Women's AD. She's now got a lot of talent and Texas had a pretty good team this past year.

I still do not know what SEC soccer is broken up into divisions. It's not needed and doesn't really make any sense.

Why did Kelly leave Tennessee? Was there a fear of being sacked or was Texas a better job? In addition, why do you think Pensky came to Tennessee from Maryland, at the time, wasn’t that a downgrade?

 

[turbovol]

Why did Kelly leave Tennessee? Was there a fear of being sacked or was Texas a better job? In addition, why do you think Pensky came to Tennessee from Maryland, at the time, wasn’t that a downgrade?

I don't know precisely why Kelly left--but my bet would be that Texas offered her a significant pay raise. Texas is, I believe, the wealthiest state university in the country. That school has piles of money--and my sense is that Texas was ready to crank up its women's soccer program, liked Kelly's background at UNC (as a player) and her success at UT, and made her a good offer. I'm not sure why, but Kelly's recruiting really fell off during her last four/five years here; she probably knew it, had been at UT for about 15 years (4 years as an assistant, 11 as head coach) and so was probably ready for a change.

I suspect that Pensky's reasons were similar. I'm sure we offered him more money than he was earning as Maryland's women's coach, and also UT had just built its new soccer--and quite nice--soccer complex. That certainly must have helped sway him to Knoxville. Maryland has had a powerhouse men's program for something like 20 years--it won the national title 3 or so years ago. But UM athletics as a whole has been in the dump for 20 years. The school's athletic revenues apparently were lagging behind several other ACC schools, which is why it opted to join the Big10 in 2014--a rather strange move, really. It's women's soccer team didn't win a game this year. Jon Morgan, our soccer assistant coach, succeeded Pensky as coach of the Maryland's women's team, but didn't fare so well and was sacked after maybe four years. Pensky then hired him to assist here.

Early on Pensky recruited a lot of players, including some good ones, from the DC metro area (Maryland and northern Virginia), which has a lot of good prospects and where he of course had contacts from his Maryland coaching days. That's not been the case so much lately, though Abby Burdette is from Maryland. In recent years he's pulled a lot of players out of the midwest, especially Ohio--Huff and Fusco both played for the strong ECNL Internationals Soccer Club program in that state. The talented keeper we've got coming in, Abby Reisz, is from Ohio, and well-regarded midfielder Mac Midgely is from Michigan. Pensky also seems to have good ties to the Richmond United Soccer club--3 players from that club were just signed. But Pensky is pretty good at pulling players from anywhere. Jaida Thomas is from Texas and was originally a Texas A&M commitment--but Pensky somehow persuaded her that UT would be a better fit--and that turned out to be a major coup.

 

[MAD]

I don't know precisely why Kelly left--but my bet would be that Texas offered her a significant pay raise. Texas is, I believe, the wealthiest state university in the country. That school has piles of money--and my sense is that Texas was ready to crank up its women's soccer program, liked Kelly's background at UNC (as a player) and her success at UT, and made her a good offer. I'm not sure why, but Kelly's recruiting really fell off during her last four/five years here; she probably knew it, had been at UT for about 15 years (4 years as an assistant, 11 as head coach) and so was probably ready for a change.

I suspect that Pensky's reasons were similar. I'm sure we offered him more money than he was earning as Maryland's women's coach, and also UT had just built its new soccer--and quite nice--soccer complex. That certainly must have helped sway him to Knoxville. Maryland has had a powerhouse men's program for something like 20 years--it won the national title 3 or so years ago. But UM athletics as a whole has been in the dump for 20 years. The school's athletic revenues apparently were lagging behind several other ACC schools, which is why it opted to join the Big10 in 2014--a rather strange move, really. It's women's soccer team didn't win a game this year. Jon Morgan, our soccer assistant coach, succeeded Pensky as coach of the Maryland's women's team, but didn't fare so well and was sacked after maybe four years. Pensky then hired him to assist here.

Early on Pensky recruited a lot of players, including some good ones, from the DC metro area (Maryland and northern Virginia), which has a lot of good prospects and where he of course had contacts from his Maryland coaching days. That's not been the case so much lately, though Abby Burdette is from Maryland. In recent years he's pulled a lot of players out of the midwest, especially Ohio--Huff and Fusco both played for the strong ECNL Internationals Soccer Club program in that state. The talented keeper we've got coming in, Abby Reisz, is from Ohio, and well-regarded midfielder Mac Midgely is from Michigan. Pensky also seems to have good ties to the Richmond United Soccer club--3 players from that club were just signed. But Pensky is pretty good at pulling players from anywhere. Jaida Thomas is from Texas and was originally a Texas A&M commitment--but Pensky somehow persuaded her that UT would be a better fit--and that turned out to be a major coup.

I attended the final 4 in Cary North Carolina when Maryland won it in 2005. Their fans were so passionate. The team they beat was New Mexico which got rid of Mens soccer a few years ago which was surprise.

 

[Vol67]

Why did Kelly leave Tennessee? Was there a fear of being sacked or was Texas a better job? In addition, why do you think Pensky came to Tennessee from Maryland, at the time, wasn’t that a downgrade?

$$$$$

 

[MAD]

 

[kregman]

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.

 

[MAD]

Thomas and French Earn All-America Honors



KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee standouts Jaida Thomas and Wrenne French were both recognized as NCAA Division I Women's Soccer All-Americans, as released by the United Soccer Coaches Thursday night.

Thomas earned Second Team All-America accolades, while French took Third Team honors. It is just the second time in program history that two Volunteers were named United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) All-Americans in the same season. Prior to Bunny Shaw and Katie Cousins landing on the second and third teams, respectively, in 2018, no Tennessee team had produced a pair of United Soccer Coaches All-Americans.

Thomas, a redshirt sophomore from Irving, Texas, led the team in goals, scoring 13 on the year while adding five assists. She was especially dominant in Tennessee's run to an SEC Tournament Championship, tallying five goals and an assist over three games to become the first Volunteer to ever record two braces in the SEC Tournament in a career. With 25 goals over her first two seasons on Rocky Top, she has cracked the top 10 in career goals and is on track to become UT's leading goal scorer, trailing all-time goals leader, Kylie Rossi, by 18 and second-place Hannah Wilkinson by just eight.

French, a fifth-year senior from Franklin, Tenn., anchored UT's back line that opened the season with seven straight shutouts to set a new single-season shutout record of 633:53 en route to a program-best 13 shutouts on the season. She was second on the team in minutes played with 1,862 on the year, and she scored two goals, including the game-winner in the SEC Championship match. She finishes her career at UT with four goals and four assists, having played a total of 6,921 minutes while appearing in 82 matches and starting in 76 of those.

"We talk a lot about making memories in our program. So, as we sit here with two All-Americans in the same year for just the second time ever, it is yet another indication of how special this season was. Big congrats to Wrenne and Jaida on this honor. They are both humbled and honored and proud. This is of course a credit to their individual successes on the field this fall, as they both were phenomenal," said Tennessee head coach Brian Pensky.

"And I know they will be quick to give credit to their teammates and reflect on how good our entire squad was this year, so to that end, congrats to this team on another accolade earned this season."
Thomas and French are two of 47 Division I women's players to earn All-America honors. This year's All-Americans will be formally acknowledged for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at the Kansas City Convention Center in conjunction with the United Soccer Coaches Convention.



United Coaches (former NSCAA) All-America Team
Tennessee Recipients, All-Time
2002 - Keeley Dowling (2nd team)
2003 - Keeley Dowling (1st team)
2004 - Keeley Dowling (1st team)
2005 - Ali Christoph (1st team)
2006 - Ali Christoph (2nd team)
2007 - Jaimel Johnson (3rd team)
2012 - Hannah Wilkinson (3rd team)
2017 - Katie Cousins (3rd team)
2018 – Katie Cousins (3rd team), Bunny Shaw (2nd team)
2021 – Wrenne French (3rd team), Jaida Thomas (2nd team)

 

[DeerPark12]

Why did Kelly leave Tennessee? Was there a fear of being sacked or was Texas a better job? In addition, why do you think Pensky came to Tennessee from Maryland, at the time, wasn’t that a downgrade?

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.