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

#4,551
#4,551
3meeks2001 said:
She has a minor injury and should be back by the SMU game.
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Saw that in the Daily Beacon story. There was no mention of Katz, who's been a three-year starter for us.

Our forward situation is good in that we have some good depth at the position--but one potential problem is that we essentially have three
center-forwards in Thomas, Simmonds and Runyon. Simmonds played wide and somewhat deep last night, but wasn't great in the role. She should be closer to goal and is probably best suited to play in the middle. And that's where Runyon along with Fusco could be found last night a lot of the time--in the middle. We played only one person who seems a true wide forward--Diaz. The other issue is that they all want to score, they all want to drive at the goal and shoot, but you need chemistry and you need to be able to find teammates who are open around the box. Simmonds didn't do a great job of that last night. Thomas had only 1 assist last season. We'll see how it evolves.

We did get quite a bit of end-line/overlappying play from Nelson, Hofmann, and others who sent some crosses into the box--including the nice one from Hofmann that resulted in a goal.

Clemson had 3,800 fans at its game with South Carolina last night. That is a strong turnout. ACC teams have a deeper history, a stronger history in soccer, which is why they have bigger crowds. Something for SEC teams to shoot for. SC and Arkansas have had some sizeable crowds the last couple of years, and I think A&M gets good crowds. So we might get there. I went to the UT v. UNC game last season at UNC's new Dorrance stadium, and it was a fantastic atmosphere. Beautiful soccer stadium, big crowd, perfect weather....quite exciting.
 
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#4,552
#4,552
DeerPark12 said:
*Lady Vols
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Are you teasing or serious? I don't use the word "Lady" anymore---it's antiquated and, as I think someone else notes, I don't think there's another women's program in the /country/ that uses the term "Lady TK" anymore. Same with the LV logo--it needs to be retired.
 
#4,558
#4,558
@mad4vols I watched the Soccer game on SEC Network last evening nothing like Premier or World Cup..... Crowd was hard to find no enthusiasm kinda like watching grass grow... But I watched first half then watched the LLWS....
 
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#4,559
#4,559
turbovol said:
Are you teasing or serious? I don't use the word "Lady" anymore---it's antiquated and, as I think someone else notes, I don't think there's another women's program in the /country/ that uses the term "Lady TK" anymore. Same with the LV logo--it needs to be retired.
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That’s like knowing that someone’s name is John, but you choosing calling them Jack because you think the name John is antiquated. Your opinion on what they should be called is irrelevant. They are the Lady Vols. End of story.
 
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#4,560
#4,560
knoxvol52 said:
All but one of the Big 12 Ladies teams have taken the word Lady out from in front of their nicknames and Oklahoma State uses Cowgirls. According to some just using the last nickname as the Men's teams show equality in Sports at that institution....
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…according to some. As long as it’s good enough for Randy Boyd, Donde, AD White, Kellie, staff and current roster, it’s good enough for me. No rabble rousing over here… 🤐
 
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#4,568
#4,568
IMG_3434.jpeg

MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee at Lipscomb

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The Lady Vols will look to extend their win streak to two when they travel to the state capital on Sunday, facing off with Lipscomb in a 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT contest.

Tennessee is coming off a decisive 4-1 victory over Cal at home in its season opener on Thursday. Four different Lady Vols put a ball in the net for Tennessee, with three tallying their first career goals. Freshmen Kate Runyon and Sarah Greiner and redshirt-senior Maria Nelson all carded their first collegiate goals, while Kameron Simmonds rounded out the scoring.

In goal, redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara made the start, and redshirt-freshman Abby Reisz took over in the second half. Zazzara was not called on to make a save, and Reisz ended the night with one.

The Bisons enter the contest on the heels of a tough loss to Troy on Thursday, falling 1-0 on an own goal despite outshooting the Trojans 12-11 on the night.

VS THE ASUN: This is just the second meeting between in-state foes UT and Lipscomb, and the current series record stands at 1-0-1. In their last matchup, the Lady Vols took a 3-0 win over Lipscomb in the 2021 NCAA First Round. Tennessee holds a 6-0-2 all-time record against Atlantic Sun schools.

SCOUTING THE BISONS: Lipscomb, a three-time ASUN Conference Champion program, was again selected as the favorite in this year's ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll. The 2022 squad was dominant with an 11-5-3 overall record while outshooting their opponents 353-186. Three LU players earned preseason accolades with Kelli Beiler being voted as the unanimous ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Logan McFadden garnering ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, and Shelby Craft claiming the ASUN Preseason Midfielder of the Year title.

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.

TRACKING THOMAS: Jaida Thomas finished the 2022 season with 13 goals to rank second in the SEC. She enters the 2023 season with a career total of 38 goals, sitting within five of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 all time in career goals scored at UT.

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: Including two goals from the exhibition contest against #7 Alabama, UTís six goals thus far have been scored by six different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner and Kate Runyon, sophomores Kameron Simmonds and Jenna Stayart, redshirt-senior Maria Nelson and graduate Samantha Agresti have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange.

UP NEXT: UT will continue play within the Volunteer State, returning home for a 7 p.m. ET matchup against ETSU on Thursday.
 
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#4,569
#4,569
For a small-conference school, Lipscomb has had a good soccer program for a few years, if not longer. They did lose their first
game, to Troy, by a 1-0 score. Obviously, it's a game we should win. I wish our non-conference schedule were a bit stronger, as we
are also playing East Tennessee State and Radford, in addition to SMU (which should be a good, very competitive matchup, especially at their place)
and Indiana.

Given that this team has a lot of new players, including transfers, and given that the preseason practice time in collegiate soccer is notoriously short, and given that we've only played one exhibition game and one regular season game, and thus the team has not had that much game time together, the next few games would be an ideal time for Kirt to try some different lineup combinations in an effort to find UT's best 11, in terms of total team play. You can do it by practicing with different lineups--and by playing with different lineups. Searching for your best /team/ should always be an ongoing process: Who should start; who are our best and most dependable subs and how much should each play; what formation do we want to use if we need to score a goal; what formation do we play if we want to protect a lead late. I'm sure the coaching staff has done some of this, but Kirt was irrationally rigid last year--I won't go on--and we can only hope that he and the staff are more perceptive in assessing individual and team performance this season--and more flexible and adaptable in their thinking, if the need is there.

I think the back four looked quite good against Cal and could certainly be our best defensive quartet. Renie is experienced and athletic--not terrible quick with her feet--but solid; Michel is a good centerback, and both Hofmann and Hennessey were impressive. I like Hennessey's physicality---it is nice to have. Hofmann knows how to play soccer. We have some size and physicality, which is a nice thing when combined with good soccer. And up front, it's pretty clear that Thomas and Simmonds will be leading the line. Whether those two can play together, combine with the midfield, show some patience when needed and look to assist as well as score will be a big factor in this team's play.

It's only in the midfield where it might be beneficial to try different combinations in these games. I've given Washington a hard time but she was solid as our defensive mid. Her positioning seemed sound, she can be physical, and I liked that when she won the ball or it came to her, she made progressive passes--got the ball forward quickly. She is not flashy, to be sure, and she has the most relaxed running style of any soccer player I've ever seen, but she was ok. I think Sam Agresti as come in for her in the first two games Agresti was a four-year starter for Boston College in the ACC. BC was not a good ACC team--but starting four years in that conference is not to be sniffed at. It would be nice to see what she could do as a starter.

Midgley was likewise solid against Cal--she is small, but has good technical skills and is a good passer. She made some runs into the box, but nothing panned out and not sure if she's got goal-scoring potential or not. Nelson is not a natural midfielder--but I was impressed by her work ethic against Cal. She played hard, defended well, scored a goal (almost). Can't do much more than that, I suppose. Of the four, Fusco is the true midfield talent. I keep waiting for her to score goals, but she works hard, makes runs, makes passes--and will score if she gets the right passes from the forwards when she is open. So it's not a spectacular foursome, but....solid. Chatterton got 20-some minutes against Cal. I like her--she's quicker and more athletic than Nelson, and I kind of feel that she's never gotten enough minutes to show her qualities. Outside of Fusco, I'm not sure our midfield has enough attacking oomph. Stayart IS an attacking player--she can shoot--but Kirt brings her in for Fusco. What if she started with Fusco? What if Chatterton got a start? My point is, the coaches could use these next 2/3 games to mix and match 7 or so of the midfielders---fully explore the team's potential. I think it would be wise, but not sure if we'll see any tinkering.
 
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