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

#5,012
#5,012
MAD said:
Congratulations Breahn Fisher



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Ensworth's Breahn Fisher commits to Tennessee soccer​


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Ensworth soccer's Breahn Fisher has committed to Tennessee, she announced on the X platform, formerly Twitter.

The junior midfielder visited Tennessee two weekends ago. She solidified herself as one of the state's top players last season and helped lead Ensworth reach the TSSAA Division II-AA quarterfinals.

Fisher has scored nine goals and added five assists in seven games this season for Ensworth (5-2-1). She had a hat trick and an assist in a 4-1 win over CPA last Thursday.

Tennessee is 5-2-1 going into Thursday's match against Florida. The Volunteers are trying to reach the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in seven years. It would be the program's 15th NCAA appearance since UT's first season in 1996.

UT finished tied second in the Southeastern Conference with an 11-6-2 record last season.

Ensworth hosts Summit on Tuesday.
 
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#5,014
#5,014
orange beard said:
Where is she from?
Click to expand...

I think she's a goalkeeper from the state of Washington, but haven't found a lot of info on her--partly because there is a very good pro player named Morgan Weaver who went to Washington State University. She now plays for the Portland Thorns. I actually saw her (very good) WSU team beat Virginia in the NCAA tournament a few years ago. There's a lot of info on the pro player, less so on this 16/17-year old--but the MadMan will find more!

Getting commitments is one thing, getting results in games is another.
 
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#5,020
#5,020

MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee vs. Florida​


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Tennessee will continue SEC play at home, hosting Florida in a 7 p.m. ET matchup on Thursday.

The Lady Vols (5-2-1, 0-1 SEC) are coming off a hard-fought 3-1 loss to No. 11 Arkansas on Friday. A crowd of 1,794 came out to watch UT's SEC opener, the kickoff of which was delayed 45 minutes from the original 7 p.m. ET start time due to UA travel issues. Senior Lawson Renie was the goal scorer for UT (5-2-1, 0-1 SEC). Redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara made the start in goal, earning four saves, and redshirt-freshman Abby Reisz took over in the second half. For the Razorbacks, Bea Franklin scored two goals, and Sophia Aragon landed the third.

Florida (4-2-2, 0-1 SEC) enters the match on the heels of a 3-2 loss to Missouri at home last Friday.

Admission is free for all preseason and regular-season soccer matches. For fans planning to attend, note that Tennessee's clear bag policy will be in effect again this season.

GAME PROMOTIONS:

  • Regal Rodeo Night
  • Lady Vols cowboy hat giveaway (first 250 fans)
  • $1 Hot Dog night is back!
  • Food trucks: Gohan Japanese Grill and Irvey's Ice Cream
  • Country themed halftime games
THE LAST TIME WE MET: The Lady Vols opened SEC play on the road against the Gators last season on Sept. 16, taking a 2-1 win.

VS THE GATORS: Tennessee's all-time record against UF is 14-18-3, with UT riding a six-game winning streak dating back to Oct. 4, 2018. When playing in Regal Stadium, the Lady Vols own a 7-5-1 advantage.

SCOUTING UF: The Gators were picked to finish 13th in the SEC as voted on by the league's coaches. Florida added 18 newcomers and returned 18 players from the 2022 squad that finished 2-14-1, making it the second-largest roster in UF program history. Four Gators were named players to watch this season, with Florida's top returning player, senior Delaney Tauzel, and transfers Lauren Donovan, Daviana Vaka, and Emily Yaple making the list.

IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY: Simmonds, who has tallied a team-leading six goals and two assists thus far in her sophomore campaign, would rank third in single-season program records for points per game (1.75) and fourth in goals per game (.75).

THOMAS IN THE RECORD BOOK: Before suffering a season-ending injury, redshirt-senior Jaida Thomas moved her career total to 39 goals to trail UT's leading career scorer, Kylie Rossi, by just four goals. Thomas ammassed her 39 goals in just 59 games for a goals-per-game average of .66 to rank third all-time at Tennessee behind only Bunny Shaw (0.77) and Allison Campbell (0.70).

IN THEIR OFFENSIVE THIRD: The Lady Vols outshot the Razborbacks 16-10 and took eight corners to their four. Through the last six contests, UT has out-shot opponents 126-34 and taken 53 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just 11. Tennessee currently ranks first nationally in corner kicks per game (9.25) and 13th in shots per game (19.38).

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: UT's 19 goals thus far have been scored by 10 different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon and Keaton Mitchell, sophomore Kameron Simmonds (6), juniors Jordan Fusco (2) and Nolyn Bartholomew, redshirt-seniors Maria Nelson (2) and Jaida Thomas, senior Lawon Renie 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.

FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING: 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. Hofmann and Runyon have both made appearances in the starting lineup, and all four freshmen have played significant minutes this season.

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 play its first SEC road game, traveling to No. 7 South Carolina for a 7 p.m. ET match. That contest will be broadcast on ESPNU.
 
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#5,023
#5,023
🗣 MATCH DAY AT REGAL!!

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MATCHDAY ⚽️

Continuing SEC play, @Vol_Soccer will host Florida at 7pm TONIGHT!

🆓 Admission
🤠 Lady Vols Cowboy Hat for the FIRST 250 fans
🌭 $1 Hot dog night
 
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#5,024

​



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Lady Vols soccer will face Florida on Thursday night at home, looking to record their first SEC win.

Tennessee (5-2-1, 0-1 SEC) struggled against Arkansas on Friday night, losing 3-1. The Gators (4-2-2, 0-1 SEC) lost their SEC opener as well, falling to Missouri 3-2.

With Jaida Thomas out for the season due to injury and Kameron Simmonds unavailable due to international duty, scoring goals becomes a much more significant challenge.



“We’ve done a good job all year of sharing the wealth,” head coach Joe Kirt said. “Kameron started off really consistent. Jaida coming back and scoring against Indiana was a big deal, too. We need to continue to create chances for anyone in the front five and take advantage of set-piece opportunities.”

Because Simmonds moved to a more central role after Thomas’ injury, several of the wide players, whose roles were previously limited because of Simmonds’ ability, took on a much more important role within the team.

One of those players is Maria Nelson. Nelson has two goals and one assist on the season and has become an important part of Tennessee’s attacking presence.

“She’s confident in terms of her decision-making on the ball, both in and out of possession,” Kirt said. “I feel good about Maria getting balls in dangerous spots.”

Nelson’s play in the wide areas facilitated play for players in the center, allowing for the creation of goal-scoring opportunities. Combined with Sizzy Lawton’s presence on the left and Jordan Fusco’s play in the middle, Tennessee will continue to press forward and create chances.


As the Lady Vols do in any game, they will look to impose their style of play on Florida. For Tennessee, that style is one of pushing the ball forward and creating plenty of chances.

However, in order to do that, the Lady Vols must break quickly on the counter-attack and take advantage of opportunities that their opponents present.

“Our speed of play has to be good,” Kirt said. “If our pressure is good, can we turn them over in the front half?”

Florida’s strength comes from its defensive ability. The Gators have only allowed five goals in their eight games this season. However, three of those goals came in Friday’s meeting with Missouri, which is a sign that conference opponents may have an easier time against the back line.

However, Florida’s defensive strength must be respected, which makes chance creation much more important.

“They are organized,” Kirt said. “They cover space well, but if our speed of play is good and we can get around them, we can get balls across the face of goal and give ourselves a good chance.”

At a time when Tennessee is without its two strongest attacking players in Thomas and Simmonds, Florida presents a unique challenge. The Gators allow less than five shots per game, which means the Lady Vols have to prioritize finishing, which is an area they struggled.

In order to get its first win of the conference season, Tennessee will need to be strong in this area.
 
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