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

[orange beard]

Nice win Go Lady Vols....

Mempho is hanging lsu 2-0 after 11 minutes

 

[turbovol]

Memphis has scored two goals on LSU in the first 3 minutes of the game....

Took a peek at Brown's game today to get a look at the mysterious Layla Shell, the defender who spent a year with us but never even suited
up, I don't think, and transferred to Brown--the best team in the Ivy League. She plays defensive midfield for Brown, which I find rather ironic since that was a need position for us coming into this season. Didn't watch enough to get a real bead on her ability: she's a big kid who reminds me of Washington--meaning not the most active player on the field, by any stretch--but she was honorable-mention All Ivy League as a frosh, so that is saying something. And the Ivy League plays some good soccer: Let's not forget that we've gotten two good transfers from the Ivy League--Alozie, from Yale, who never really got to fully display her talent for us as she didn't start--but should have. She's very speedy and athletic and having a very impressive pro career as a forward in the NWSL. It shows the problem with transferring to a school with returning players who are, in the coach's mind, established starters. McKenzie George was a three-year starter for us at forward--and did a lot of good things, was an impressive assist person--and yet Alozie was clearly more athletic and talented, overall. And of course Lawton--who has been able to show her talent after starting the season on the sidelines--came from Penn.

 

[MAD]

Almost all the matches are complete and the favorites have won every game except for Tennessee upsetting the 4 seed and UCLA losing to Irvine.

Coincidentally Nebraska needed both upsets in order to host next week.

 

[knoxvol52]

Almost all the matches are complete and the favorites have won every game except for Tennessee upsetting the 4 seed and UCLA losing to Irvine.

Coincidentally Nebraska needed both upsets in order to host next week.

Really not much of a difference between a #4and #5 seed...Tennessee will have a legitimate shot vs Nebraska..

 

[MAD]

Really not much of a difference between a #4and #5 seed...Tennessee will have a legitimate shot vs Nebraska..

I’m hoping #5 seed Nebraska starts looking ahead to the Elite 8.

Their path looks easy, unseeded Tennessee, and then eithe unseeded UC Irvine, unseeded Idaho or #8 seed Gonzaga.

 

[MAD]

Lady Vols Take Down #17 Xavier In NCAA First Round​

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Lady Vols took down No. 17 Xavier on the road Saturday, winning 1-0 in double overtime to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The victory over the fourth-seeded Musketeers marked the program's first win when opening the NCAA Tournament on a seeded opponent's home turf.

Redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara had a career night, racking up 15 saves to tie the Tennessee single-game record set by Sarah Shivley against No. 8 Florida on Nov. 7, 1996. Graduate Sizzy Lawton found the net for Tennessee, and Kameron Simmondsearned the assist.

On the night, Xavier put up 41 shots to the Lady Vols' 11.

"It was a gritty result against a really talented Xavier team," said Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt.

"Tonight was a complete team effort, anchored by Ally (Zazzara) in the goal. I'm incredibly proud of the fight and competitiveness from our team. Their resilience and grit showed through, and I'm excited to take the field again with this group against Nebraska."

Tennessee started out aggressive on offense, getting the ball to Simmonds at the halfline who drove down right flank into the Xavier box to put a shot on frame less than a minute into the game. Maria Galley made the save, and Lawton ran onto the rebound, but her putback was a foot wide of the post.

Xavier countered in the 10th minute when Regan Dancer went one-on-one with Ally Brown at the top of the box and blasted a shot toward the goal, but Brown was able to knock it down and the UT defense cleared.

In the 13th minute, Simmonds beat a defender and passed the ball to Macaira Midgley before breaking into the box. Midgley threaded a pass between two defenders back to Simmonds at the penalty mark, but her shot sailed high.

Xavier then went on the offensive, going ahead in the shot count 14-4 before the end of the half, with Zazzara logging three massive saves to hold the Musketeers scoreless.

The Lady Vols came out swinging in the second half, ripping off four shots in the first six minutes of the second half, two of which were blocked and the other two were wide.

Brooklynn Miltenberger got a header that would have been on target on a set piece in the 55th minute, but Kennedy Pricecame up with the block.

Three minutes later Madison Ayson put a header on frame off a lob into the box, but Zazzara was there to collect a career-high-tying seventh save of the day.

Zazzara came up clutch again in the 73rd minute, punching a rocket from Shelby Sallee over the crossbar.

With just under a minute left in regulation, Simmonds charged a Xavier defender who was shielding the ball on the baseline to force a corner kick that Midgley placed in front of the goal, but UT wasn't able to convert, and the game went into overtime.

Xavier got off 10 shots during extra time to Tennessee's one, but that's the only shot UT needed, as Lawton blasted a shot from 12 yards out that ricocheted off a Musketeer defender and into the side net in the 102nd minute.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will face fifth-seeded Nebraska for the NCAA Second Round on Friday. Kickoff time has not been announced.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The win improves the Lady Vols NCAA Tournament record to 17-12-3 and marks the 10th time UT has advanced to the NCAA Round of 32.

 

[MAD]

We love a good celly

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

Our fans showed out for the away match in Ohio.

 

[MAD]

Memphis has scored two goals on LSU in the first 3 minutes of the game....

Took a peek at Brown's game today to get a look at the mysterious Layla Shell, the defender who spent a year with us but never even suited
up, I don't think, and transferred to Brown--the best team in the Ivy League. She plays defensive midfield for Brown, which I find rather ironic since that was a need position for us coming into this season. Didn't watch enough to get a real bead on her ability: she's a big kid who reminds me of Washington--meaning not the most active player on the field, by any stretch--but she was honorable-mention All Ivy League as a frosh, so that is saying something. And the Ivy League plays some good soccer: Let's not forget that we've gotten two good transfers from the Ivy League--Alozie, from Yale, who never really got to fully display her talent for us as she didn't start--but should have. She's very speedy and athletic and having a very impressive pro career as a forward in the NWSL. It shows the problem with transferring to a school with returning players who are, in the coach's mind, established starters. McKenzie George was a three-year starter for us at forward--and did a lot of good things, was an impressive assist person--and yet Alozie was clearly more athletic and talented, overall. And of course Lawton--who has been able to show her talent after starting the season on the sidelines--came from Penn.

LSU got one back. 2-1 Memphis about 10 minutes left.

 

[turbovol]

Nate Lie was very gracious in defeat, especially given the nature of the defeat--and make no mistake, he is a very good, young coach who we'd be crazy to not have high on any candidate list, should things not work with Kirt. Probably one of the best young coaches in the game--and Cincy is in an area/state/region with a lot of good soccer players.

 

[MAD]

One more first round match left. Noon tomorrow, Rutgers @ 8 seed Columbia.
Out of the 31 first round matches, the seeded team won all but 2.

The only 2 upsets.
UC Irvine over UCLA
And
Tennessee over Xavier

 

[MAD]

Tennessee defeats Xavier first round of NCAA Tournament​

Tennessee soccer defeated Xavier 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. The Lady Vols will face No. 5 seed Nebraska (15-3-3) on Friday.
The Lady Vols (8-6-4) traveled to Cincinnati to take on the fourth-seeded Xavier Musketeers (14-3-4) on the heels of a disappointing exit in the SEC tournament.
“Incredibly proud of our program against a very good opponent,” head coach Joe Kirt said. “Finding a way to win on the road in a tough environment.”

Ally Zazzara starred in goal for the Lady Vols making 15 saves. The mark is a program record.
“I kind’ve just had to relax and make the big plays when I was expected to,” Zazzara said.
The first half began in typical Tennessee fashion as star forward and Jamaican National Team player Kameron Simmonds found space outside the Xavier box less than a minute in.
Simmonds unleashed a thunderbolt that was well saved by Musketeer goalkeeper Maria Galley, but was pushed into the path of Sizzy Lawton.
The ball fell kindly but Lawton’s shot was just wide, an early let off for Xavier.
The next 10 minutes were a rather cagey affair as both teams failed to cement themselves as the aggressor.
However, the game opened up in the 13th minute with Simmonds once again heavily involved.
Powerful running from Simmonds led to a one-two with Macaira Midgley with Simmonds’ shot rising just over the crossbar.
Simmond’s shot served as a catalyst for the game as the rest of the first half was decidedly more open than the first 15 minutes.
Xavier found their first chance of the game when out of nothing Musketeers forward Emma Flick had an ambitious go at the Lady Vols’ goal.
From well outside the box, Flick’s effort was heading for the top corner before an Zazzara hand tipped the shot onto the crossbar.
"Tonight was a complete team effort, anchored by Ally (Zazzara) in the goal," Kirt said. "I'm incredibly proud of the fight and competitiveness from our team. Their resilience and grit showed through, and I'm excited to take the field again with this group against Nebraska."
Xavier outshot Tennessee 14-4 in the first but it was Tennessee who had the better chances.
Perhaps the best chance of the half fell to Lady Vols’ midfielder Midgley in the 27th minute.
A deflected cross found the feet of Midgley who ghosted into the box unmarked but her first time effort was high.

Although the stats strongly favored the Musketeers in the first half, it will be Tennessee who feel they should’ve found the net on at least one occasion.
It was once again the Lady Vols who opened up on the front foot as the second half began.
Tennessee’s best chance in these early moments came from a corner that the Musketeers struggled to clear.
Eventually Xavier was able to clear the ball off the goal line as the Lady Vols came agonizingly close to opening the scoring.
Momentum swung again however in the 55th minute as Xavier began to impose their will.
The Lady Vols were bailed out by Zazzara. The Tennessee goalkeeper save three big chances in a two minute span.
After a short period of Xavier dominance, the game balanced itself out with the last 30 minutes being a largely end to end affair.
Both teams threatened but it was Zazzara who was called on once again.
A thundering strike from the Musketeers' Shelby Sallee was well saved by the Tennessee goalie, one of her 10 saves in regular time.
Xavier mustered an incredible 31 shots in regular time but failed to find the back of the net, and with the game tied 0-0 the two teams headed into extra time.
The story was largely the same in the first period of extra time as Xavier continued to test the Tennessee defense.
The best chance of the game presented itself to the Musketeers in the final minute of the first period of extra time.
After a shot and another Zazzara save, the ball dropped right into the path of Madison Ayson, whose shot was wide from just a few yards away from goal.
Xavier would come to regret their wastefulness as the Lady Vols struck completely against the run of play.
Just one minute into the second extra time period, a Lawton effort from distance was deflected and found the back of the net, her seventh of the season.
Tennessee’s goal came on just their second shot on target. Xavier pushed to get the equalizer but was unable to create anything of note.
Time expired with the Lady Vols winning 1-0 and moving to the second round of the tournament despite conceding 41 shots, 15 of which were on target.
“We knew they were gonna get chances,” Kirt said “And I think we found the moments we needed

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

HUSKERS TO HOST NCAA SECOND AND THIRD ROUNDS​

The Nebraska soccer team will host the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championships Second and Third Rounds with a pair of matches on Friday, Nov. 17 followed by a Sweet 16 matchup on Sunday, Nov. 19. All matches will be played at Barbara Hibner Stadium.

Action begins Friday when UC Irvine (9-7-6) faces the winner of Gonzaga/Idaho at 3:30 p.m. (CT). The fifth-seeded Huskers (15-3-3) will then battle Tennessee (9-6-4) at 7 p.m. (CT).

Sunday’s third round match will take place at 1 p.m. (CT) and feature the winners of Friday’s contests.

Ticket information for the second and third rounds of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Division I Soccer Championships will be available on Huskers.com. Tickets will go on sale Monday at 12 p.m (CT).

 

[turbovol]

---Great defensive effort by everybody. In particular, IMO Agresti and Brown were especially good today. Agresti's positioning
is super-solid and she is the best one-touch passer and header on our team. She had a header off one of our first-half corners that was cleared off the line by an Xavier defender. It's scary to think that our coaches were playing her sparingly in the first 10 games of the season. Coaches have to be better. Brown was good today--put in a lot of work. Centerbacks were solid--and Price has been an effective defender since coming in for Hofmann.

---It looked very much like Lawton's game-winning goal deflected off of Fusco then looped past the Xavier keeper and into the next.

---Love Lawton's fiery competitive spirit. What a difference she made this year. Simmonds worked her tail off today. She had a gold-plated chance in the first half, not long after that first shot she took, when Midgley slotted a perfect pass to her about 6 yards directly in front of goal. You've got to score with a chance like that--but she skied it over the net. Let's hope that she was just cramping late in the game and nothing more than that.

Not long after, Midgley had a good chance off a Lawton cross right at the six-yard box; she took the ball out of the air with her left foot--as she had to do--but hit it over the net. If you haven't noticed, players who are adept at scoring at pretty rare in collegiate soccer. Midgley was good today---an excellent midfielder. Fusco was bottled up today by the Xavier defense, just could not find any room to operate in the attacking half.

---Great to see Eskin get some minutes today in place of Nelson. She has hardly played at all this year, and not sure why she was inserted today, suddenly, and not Diaz. Eskin gave the Vols some qualities minutes as a winger two years ago, and could have been played more this year---she is fast--but, again, the coaches. Nelson works hard defensively but she is not an effective forward; she did nothing today. Had a chance to cross the ball early in the second half but opted to pass back to Price and kicked the ball out of bounds. Had a chance to make something happen later in the half off a pass from Midgley--probably should have belted a shot; instead, apparently tried a cross but it went to...nobody. Kirt has so overrated her abilities for two years that it's almost comical. Just inept talent evaluation. We'd be better off playing Greiner, Diaz in the spot--both faster, Greiner much faster.

--Kirt has basically fallen into getting better personnel on the field this year. It took Washingon getting a knock for him to start playing Agresti more, like, 10 games into the season. And then it eventually dawned on him and the other coaches that Agresti was the better player (much better).

Likewise, Lawton--our best player---spent most of the season as a substitute, playing 45 minutes when a blind man could see that she should be starting and playing 75. It was only because of injuries to our center-forwards that he finally started her at left forward.

And he still making a mistake at right foward.

Let's go beat Nebraska. I read today that the Cornhuskers were originally called the Bug Eaters. If true, very funny.










---I said it earlier: Xavier plays like Arkansas. They eschew buildup and possession play and just like to send the ball toward the opponent's box--or to a wide forward--and then send players forward, a lot of players. In this way they put a lot of pressure on a defense. Not too attractive but can be effective.

---It was mentioned earlier: If Zazzara doesn't make that great tip save off the Xavier corner, the ball would have hit Price's hand--which she reflexivey shot up to stop the ball---and been a PK for Xavier. Close call.

---Surprised that Xavier plays on a turf field--soccer is meant to be played on grass. One can see what appear to be lacross markings on the field--blacked out, it seemed--so maybe that is why. A grass field on which two teams practice/play would be very hard on the field.

 

[MAD]

Still buzzing about last night’s OT win.

 

[brittannica]

Still buzzing about last night’s OT win.

View attachment 594914View attachment 594915

This is Kirt’s first win as a head coach, correct?

 

[MAD]

This is Kirt’s first win as a head coach, correct?

First playoff win, yes.

 

[turbovol]

Kirt has made it to the second round of the NCAA in spite of himself and his tendency to make terrible personnel decisions.

Seriously.

Were it not for injuries, Kennedy Price wouldn't be playing at all, and yet she's shown herself to be a solid defensive player--better than who we had starting at outside back for most of the year. She's not giving us much in attack, going forward, but you want your outside backs to be, first and foremost, good defensively.

Likewise, Brown was on the sideline in the early part of the year. Agresti and Lawton should have been starting from game one--but Agresti spent the first third of the season playing 20/25 minutes behind a player who's clearly not very good. Lawton should have been starting at left forward--much more productive playing wide than Simmonds--and then Simmonds rotating with Runyon in the middle. Nelson should never have started--but still is. She is not productive as a forward--just not very good. Oh, the irony.

As for Nebraska, based on their results this year, and box-score totals, it is another pretty potent attacking team, like Xavier. They were near the top of the nation in goals-per-game average. The team scored 2/3/4 goals regularly, and generates a lot of shots. They've got a forward named Dale that had 6-9 shots in most every game box score I checked--and I checked at least six. They'll be playing at home, home crowd, and will be amped up.

We'll have to be at our best. There is no way that we can give up a ton of shots again and expect to win. Zazarra is a good shot-stopper, but if we give up 20-30 shots again we'll lose. Nebraska does seem to give up a fair number of shots itself, so we'll see. If the game starts to look like yesterday's game in which we are spending too much time in our defensive half, trying to fend off attacks, Kirt should ditch the 4-3-3, pull Nelson out of the game, add a fourth midfielder and go to a 4-4-2, thereby trying to better control the middle of the field and get more on the front foot. You can't play three forwards if you are getting out-numbered in the middle of the field and spending most of the time in your defense half.

 

[MAD]

Rutgers might be the third upset win in the tournament
They are leading 8 seed Columbia 1-0 with 24 minutes left

 

[turbovol]

Just checked in on the game on ESPN+ and see that Columbia rallied to win it, 2-1, scoring the game winner with 90 seconds
remaining. Columbia is my graduate-school alma mater, so very happy to see the university enjoy some athletic success. It is usually pretty
awful in most sports. UT played Columbia, in NYC, maybe 5 years ago--I think it ended in a tie. Soccer has become the only sport that the Ivy League is relatively competitive in, nationally, I think--and even that is recent. You'd ordinarily never expect an Ivy to beat Rutgers.

 

[MAD]

Just checked in on the game on ESPN+ and see that Columbia rallied to win it, 2-1, scoring the game winner with 90 seconds
remaining. Columbia is my graduate-school alma mater, so very happy to see the university enjoy some athletic success. It is usually pretty
awful in most sports. UT played Columbia, in NYC, maybe 5 years ago--I think it ended in a tie. Soccer has become the only sport that the Ivy League is relatively competitive in, nationally, I think--and even that is recent. You'd ordinarily never expect an Ivy to beat Rutgers.

I watched, it was a fun ending. Pretty sure they said it was their first NCAA Tournament win ever.

 

[MAD]