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

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MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee at Missouri​


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Tennessee is back on the road, traveling to Missouri for a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) matchup with the Tigers on Thursday.

The Lady Vols (6-4-4, 1-3-3 SEC) are looking to bounce back after a 2-1 loss to Georgia at home on Friday. In that match, freshman Kate Runyon found the net for the Lady Vols just 30 seconds into play off an assist from junior Jordan Fusco. Redshirt-freshman Abby Reisz made the start in goal, and redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzaratook over in the second half, recording one save.

The Tigers (5-6-3, 1-5-1) are coming off a 1-0 loss at Vanderbilt.

THE LAST TIME WE MET: The 19th-ranked Lady Vols extended their win streak to three with a 2-0 win over Missouri in Regal Stadium on Oct. 6, 2022. Sophomore Taylor Huff and redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas found the net for Tennessee. In goal, senior Lindsey Romig recorded four saves on the night.

VS THE TIGERS: Tennessee owns an all-time record of 8-2-1 against UM. UT is a perfect 6-0 when playing at home and 2-2-1 in road matches.

SCOUTING MIZZOU: Missouri was picked to finish 11th in the SEC as voted on by the league's coaches. Last season, the Tigers went 5-8-4 overall and 2-5-3 in SEC play. Midfielders Milena Fischer and Leah Selm, defenders Grace Pettet and Rachel Kutella, and forward Kylee Simmons were selected to the 2023 Southeastern Conference Soccer Preseason Watchlist. Simmons leads the team with 10 goals and two assists on the season.

RUNYON RISING: With the goal against Georgia, freshman Kate Runyon moved into a tie with graduate Sizzy Lawton for second on the team in scoring and points with four and nine, respectively. She currently ranks third on the team with 30 shots and 15 shots on goal.

SECOND HALF TEAM: The Lady Vols have netted six goals over the last five contests, five of which have come in the second half. On the season, 16 of Tennessee's 27 goals have been scored in the second half, with nine of those coming in the final 20 minutes of the match.

IN THEIR OFFENSIVE THIRD: On the season, UT has taken almost twice as many shots as it has allowed, outshooting opponents 236-123, and taking 115 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just 40. Tennessee currently ranks fourth in Division I in corner kicks per game (8.14) and 26th in shots per game (17.00).

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: UT's 27 goals thus far have been scored by 11 different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon (4) and Keaton Mitchell, sophomore Kameron Simmonds (6), juniors Jordan Fusco (3) and Nolyn Bartholomew, redshirt-seniors Maria Nelson (2) and Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie and graduates Sizzy Lawton(4) and Nayeli Diaz have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange. Own goals by ETSU and MSU round out the total.

FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING: All four of UT's active freshmen have recorded at least one goal or assist on the season. Forward Kate Runyon has made nine starts, logging four goals and an assist. Fellow rookies Keaton Mitchell and Sarah Greiner have both tallied goals, and Linette Hofmann has started 12 contests, recording an assist in the season opener against Cal.

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 amassed 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).

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 final home game of the regular season on Sunday, hosting Texas A&M at 2 p.m. ET. Prior to the match, the Lady Vols will recognize 11 seniors in a Senior Day ceremony.
 
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Two UT commits help to lead Lady Soccer Dogs one win away from another state tourney​

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Nyla Blue and Alivia Stott are both committed to play soccer at Tennessee next year.

Rocky Top will always be home, sweet home to two Lady Bulldogs – Alivia Stott and Nyla Blue.

Stott and Blue are committed to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville to further their academic and athletic careers. This creates massive targets on their backs on the field while in high school, similar to last year when Brinley Murphy (Class of 2023) committed to the University of South Carolina.

The Lady Bulldogs won state titles in 2021 and 2022, and they have gone undefeated so far this season with one draw against another nationally ranked team, Albertus Magnus High School from Bardonia, New York. Stott and Blue have both been integral to the team’s success this year in addition to the consecutive state championships.

They will host West on Thursday at 6 p.m. for the region championship.

A win means the Lady Bulldogs will host a substate match on Saturday, and a loss means they have to travel. Regardless, Bearden will have to win Saturday to advance back to the state tournament. Science Hill and Dobyns Bennett will meet in the substate game opposite Bearden vs. West.

Stott and Blue join Breana Mendoza (University of Dayton) and Rylie Lucas (McKendree University) as seniors on the girls soccer team committed to playing in college.

The NCAA does not allow the recruitment of soccer players to start until after their sophomore year of high school, which can make the decision more stressful.

“My process was difficult.” Stott said. “I spent hours working to put myself in the spot I needed to be. It made me realize what I was worth as a player and what it means to love what you do.”

The extensive research on these colleges is another rough patch to run through as a player being recruited.

“I had to categorize during this research: their soccer program, the coaches, professional opportunities, scholarships, players in front of my class and in my recruiting class, the school, and my major of choice,” Blue said.

Blue and her family have had a full circle moment because one of her biggest supporters was a legendary athlete at Tennessee. Her mother Kristen Blue, known at UT as “Ace” Clement, was a star guard in Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols basketball program.

“A lot of people think I committed because my mom went there,” Blue said. “I honestly forgot she played there until people brought it up.

“Of course, I’m not playing the same sport as her, but being able to impact in a different sport at the same school is definitely something to be proud of.”

Stott’s family being close by definitely had an impact on her choice in school.

“I chose Tennessee because I love the people that come with it and the fact that my family can come watch me play,” Stott said. “I love the idea of being close to my friends and family.”

Once both had committed, they said they felt a weight lifted off their shoulders, and they began to reflect on the stress yet good times they had during the process.

“It was a very fun chapter of my life, and I’m glad to move on,” Blue said.

Added Stott: “It doesn’t matter if you commit on the first day of eligibility or two weeks before you graduate – it’s [always] attractive to see a hardworking player.”
 
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The article on Blue and Stott posted above is nice but thin--classic local journalism. I had to chuckle at the description of "Ace" Clement as a "legendary athlete" at UT. Uh, not to knock her, seriously, but she was just the opposite for the Vols women's basketball team. She averaged something like 35 points a game coming out of high school, but her shooting at UT was, er....let's be diplomatic and say very disappointing. In her defense, there were a number of players who came to UT with gaudy scoring credentials whose offensive capabilities pretty much completely disappeared while playing for Summitt--who of course was a fanatic about defense and rebounding. Let's hope her daughter has the skill to put the soccer ball in the net many times for the team.
 
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kregman said:
Nice finish by Lawton
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Kirt is not very smart. I'm not sure what's up with Runyon--but rest assured that were she available to play, he'd have rolled out the same forward group he's rolled out all year---meaning the ineffective Simmonds and Nelson at wide forward, with Lawton on the bench. Lawton would have gotten 20 minutes in the first half instead of more--and we'd probably be looking at 0-0 at the half instead of 1-0. It's still apparently not dawned on him that Lawton should be starting and playing 70 minutes. It's also not dawned on him--with the season 3/4 over--that Diaz should be starting and not Nelson. This is why we are where we are in the standings.
 
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kregman said:
Turbo is right Lawton has been criminally under used this year. Nelson has been criminally overused even with our injuries.
Click to expand...

Kirt enrages me. He's incompetent--seriously. He's completely bungled the forward selections ALL YEAR. Lawton with 2 goals and an assist tonight. Had Runyon been available, we probably don't get a win tonight because Lawton wouldn't have played enough to score 2 and create a 3rd goal with a beautiful assist.

Diaz should have been starting instead of Nelson all season. The thing is, we're not talking subtle difference. Lawton has OBVIOUSLY been our best performer all season--and on a team that's struggling to score goals, you don't have your best player sitting on the bench for half the game. DUH!

Nelson has worked hard but basically produced nothing in 8 SEC games--no goals, no assists, nothing. She doesn't have the speed for the position--that is obvious. It's a speed position and she's not speedy. Diaz HAS speed and more athleticism than Nelson--so why wouldn't you be playing her far more minutes than Nelson? Diaz has a goal in SEC play! Yet Kirt continues to start Nelson and give her minutes. He is seriously like a bad high-school coach, playing favorites. He brought in transfers and then short-changed them--and his team--all season. I can barely hold my tongue.
 
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#5,448
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kregman said:
Turbo is right Lawton has been criminally under used this year. Nelson has been criminally overused even with our injuries.
Click to expand...

Kirt enrages me. He's incompetent--seriously. He's completely bungled the forward selections ALL YEAR. Lawton with 2 goals and an assist tonight. Had Runyon been available, we probably don't get a win tonight because Lawton wouldn't have played enough to score 2 and create a 3rd goal with a beautiful assist.

Diaz should have been starting instead of Nelson all season. The thing is, we're not talking subtle difference. Lawton has OBVIOUSLY been our best performer all season--and on a team that's struggling to score goals, you don't have your best player sitting on the bench for half the game. DUH!

Nelson has worked hard but basically produced nothing in 8 SEC games--no goals, no assists, nothing. She doesn't have the speed for the position--that is obvious. It's a speed position and she's not speedy. Diaz HAS speed and more athleticism than Nelson--so why wouldn't you be playing her far more minutes than Nelson? Diaz has a goal in SEC play! Yet Kirt continues to start Nelson and give her minutes. He is seriously like a bad high-school coach, playing favorites. He brought in transfers and then short-changed them--and his team--all season. I can barely hold my tongue.

I hope Runyon and Hofmann are OK. We absolutely need to win our last two games.
 
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Hats off for tonight's game. The one thing I'll give this team is they've not given up. It's quite the feat they've even been competitive with eight players out for the year with injuries. They played two other men down tonight so without ten total tonight. I've been critical of Joe this year, but considering the injuries we have had, we may still make the NCAA tourney if pieces fall into place.
 
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Our offense dies when it goes to Nelson. Kirt subbed out Lawton and Fusco for too long. Simmonds for the last few games has no control with the ball. Yet we got a road win.
 
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