Lady Vols Soccer ⚽️ Tennessee @ Virginia Tech 11/15 Friday 7PM Blacksburg VA ⚽️ NCAA TOURNAMENT First Round ESPN+

#4,884
#4,884

Lady Vols Take Down Highlanders, 3-1​


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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee improved to 4-1-1 on the season on Thursday, defeating Radford in Regal Stadium, 3-1.

Radford (3-3-1) scored early, but the Lady Vols responded with three unanswered goals, maintaining possession for 66 percent of the match and outshooting the Highlanders 26-2.

Redshirt-senior Maria Nelson, sophomore Kameron Simmonds, and graduate Sizzy Lawton were the goal-scorers for UT. All three of Tennessee's keepers made appearances, with Abby Reisz earning the start, but no saves were recorded.

Alexeis Kirnos found the net for RU.

Radford came out aggressive on offense, scoring 35 seconds into play when Kirnos capitalized on a turnover in UT's defensive third, taking a touch and sending the ball into the back of the net from 15 yards out.

Tennessee leveled the score early in the 17th minute when junior Jordan Fusco gained possession of the ball in the midfield and drove through the RU defense before finding Simmonds who one-touched it across the box to Nelson as she ran unmarked to the back post. Nelson settled it before calmly beating the keeper with a bullet to the far post.

Simmonds gave the Lady Vols a one-goal advantage with 16:44 left in the first half, collecting the ball 35 yards out and dribbling through the Highlanders defense before driving a shot to the opposite side net from the top of the 18-yard box.

UT nearly added a third five minutes before halftime when freshman Kate Runyon weaved her way into the RU box and played the ball forward for redshirt-sophomore Jenna Stayart, who couldn't get quite enough on it before the Radford defense collapsed and knocked it wide, sending the game into the break with Tennessee leading 3-1.

The Lady Vols came out fast in the second, ripping off three shots inside the box in the 49th minute, the last of which Lawton one-touched into the far net to round out the scoring.

UP NEXT: Tennessee will close out its non-conference slate on the road, traveling to Florida Atlantic for a 1 p.m. ET matchup on Sunday. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.

SIMMONDS BY THE NUMBERS: With a goal against Radford, Simmonds moved her goal count to a team-leading six on the season. She has scored those six goals on just 23 shots, and she is currently tied for first in the SEC with Jordyn Rhodes of Kentucky in goals (6), goals per game (1.00), and points (12).

CREATING CHANCES: Over the last four contest, the Lady Vols have out-shot opponents 95-23 and taken 38 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just six.

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#4,891
#4,891
Further to my earlier post about Arkansas and its unusual, not very attractive, direct and effective style of play:

The No. 9 Clemson Tigers shutout No. 7 Arkansas 1-0 at Historic Riggs Field as graduate Caroline Conti scored the lone goal and goalkeeper Halle Mackiewicz picked up her sixth clean sheet of the season.

“This is a game where you have to be 100% anticipating stuff that is going on, you can’t be flat-footed and you can’t wait, you have to expect it and I thought we did a really good job of that. I thought our kids in the backline played outstanding; Arkansas is a very unique team to play against, it’s difficult when the ball keeps coming at you and and credit to our group, we never switched off,” Head Coach Eddie Radwanski said. “We never switched off, we never got caught in any moments and that’s 90 minutes of concentration, so that was a high-level performance out there.”


Radwanksi is a good coach, Clemson a good program, and they obviously a good job off defending against Arkansas, shutting out the razorbacks. It's not easy to do because Arkansas likes to thump the ball down toward its opponents goal, chase down the ball with numbers, and basically try to overwhelm the opponents' defenders, or create havoc, and score. It's going to be a very tough challenge for our defenders, partly because we aren't quite as athletic and pacey in the back as you'd ideally want. As Radwanski noted, you have to be on your game defensively from start to finish.
 
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#4,893
#4,893
Renie has never been a top centerback--she doesn't have the speed or agility. But I agree her game seems a bit
off this season. Vols need her to be be quicker with her movement and decision-make from here on.
 
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#4,895
#4,895

MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee at Florida Atlantic​


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The Lady Vols will close out their non-conference slate on the road, facing Florida Atlantic in a 1 p.m. ET matchup on Sunday.

Tennessee (4-1-1) enters the match on the heels of a 3-1 victory over Radford at home on Thursday. The Highlanders scored early, but the Lady Vols responded with three unanswered goals, maintaining possession for 66 percent of the match and outshooting the Highlanders 26-2. Redshirt-senior Maria Nelson, sophomore Kameron Simmonds, and graduate Sizzy Lawton were the goal-scorers for UT. All three of Tennessee's keepers made appearances, with Abby Reisz earning the start, but no saves were recorded.

The Owls (3-2-2) are coming off a 1-0 win against Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday.


VS THE AAC: This is the first-ever meeting between the Lady Vols and the Owls. Among American Athletic Conference schools, Tennessee owns a 7-3-1 overall record.

SCOUTING FAU: The Owls return five starters from a 2022 squad that went 11-8-3 and finished fifth out of 11 teams in the AAC. This season, they were picked to finish third in the east division of the AAC in the 2023 preseason coaches poll, tying Temple with 48 votes. Midfielder Morgan McDonald, forward Mia Sennes, and defender Jodi Smith were all named players to watch.

SIMMONDS BY THE NUMBERS: With a goal against Radford, Simmonds moved her goal count to a team-leading six on the season. She has scored those six goals on just 23 shots, and she is currently tied for first in the SEC with Jordyn Rhodes of Kentucky in goals (6), goals per game (1.00), and points (12). Her 1.00 goal-per-game average ties for 15th among NCAA D1 players.

CREATING CHANCES: Over the last four contest, the Lady Vols have out-shot opponents 95-23 and taken 38 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just six. Averaging 9.83 corner kicks per game, UT ranks second in the nation.

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: UT's 16 goals thus far have been scored by eight different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon and Keaton Mitchell, sophomore Kameron Simmonds (6), junior Jordan Fusco, redshirt-seniors Maria Nelson (2) and Jaida Thomas, and graduate Sizzy Lawton (2) have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange. An own goal by ETSU rounds out the total.

TRACKING THOMAS: Scoring her first goal of the season against the Hoosiers, Thomas moved her career goals scored to 39, pulling within four of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 in program history.

FRESHMEN FINDING THEIR GROOVE: In the Lady Vols' first two contests, all four of UT's active freshmen recorded a goal or assist. Forwards Kate Runyon and Sarah Greiner each logged goals, and defender Linette Hofmann tallied an assist in the season opener against Cal, while midfielder Keaton Mitchell put her name on the scorecard with a goal at Lipscomb.

NEW FACES: Tennessee added 10 newcomers in its 2023 signing class. All 10 are versatile field players with six enrolling as freshmen and four arriving as transfers with multiple years of collegiate experience.

BACK AGAIN: The Lady Vols return five starters and 20 letterwinners from the 2022 team that clinched an SEC East Division title for the third straight season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Redshirt senior Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie, juniors Sheridan Michel and Jordan Fusco, and sophomore Kameron Simmonds were all named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.

UP NEXT: Tennessee will open SEC play at home, welcoming #7 Arkansas to Regal Stadium in a 7 p.m. ET match on Friday.
 
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