SOCCER is BACK BABY!!!

[StrangeVol]

It's about time, too. Starting this afternoon at 2:00 at Alabama, televised by the SEC Network, we'll get our first look at what is in large part a team with more questions than answers. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from our side or 'bama for that matter. The lack of preseason matches has made it really hard to get a handle on what shape we are in.

Everyone is likely aware that graduation hit us really hard. We lost players at every level from defenders to wings. First, we lost our super-star defensive ace, Maya Neal with her blazing speed and gritty attitude. Then there is Katie Cousin, our all everything midfielder and the glue that held us together game in and game out. Next, we lost MA Vignola by far our most aggressive and effective wing, who was at times unstoppable with the ball at her feet. Finally, we lost both Claire Franks, a solid midfielder, who in my opinion, never realized her full potential, and Forward Salera Jordan the Middle Tennessee transfer who gave us solid minutes throughout the season.

That's a lot of talent to lose in one class. Several of the girls are playing professionally in Europe and other places. MA Vignola wound up playing in Iceland. Weird, at least to me. Who knew there was pro soccer in Iceland?

So that's the bad news but hold fast...there is good news too. First, one of my favorite players ever, Forward Erin Gilroy is back for her redshirt senior season complete with an industrial-grade knee brace. Erin, when healthy was really fun to watch and she was a ready scorer give even a tiny opening. I REALLY hope that Erin is healthy and enjoys a great senior season. Defender Wrenne French is also on her senior tour and she has big boots to fill given the absence of Maya Neal. Our sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Romig, was simply outstanding last season and I have little doubt she'll be equally capable this year.

Others will need to step up this year and I'd like to see them do just that. They include defender Abby Burdette, Midfielder Tara Katz that I expect great things from in the future, Forward/Midfielder Amy Thompson, and Midfielder Isabella Cook both have loads of potential.

In addition, there are two transfers that I am expecting to really step up this season. First, a transfer from Cal Poly last season Forward Mackenzie George should show up more her second season with the girls, and newcomer Booke Wilson a Junior Midfielder/Forward transfer from Arizona I expect to see something from early in the season. Brooke is thought by many to be a very talented player with a ton of potential.

There are a ton of other talented girls on the team, many of them freshmen and sophomores, that I didn't mention but I'm willing to bet coach thinks these girls have potential and are willing to work to get better. We'll see who stands out when it matters.

To me, the biggest question is who will step forward and take the place of Katie Cousins? Games are often won or lost in the midfield. We need big-time help there.

So, that's what I know and it isn't a lot. How will we play against Alabama? I have no idea. We'll just have to watch and see what happens.

GO LADY VOLS!!!!

 

[MAD]

It's about time, too. Starting this afternoon at 2:00 at Alabama, televised by the SEC Network, we'll get our first look at what is in large part a team with more questions than answers. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from our side or 'bama for that matter. The lack of preseason matches has made it really hard to get a handle on what shape we are in.

Everyone is likely aware that graduation hit us really hard. We lost players at every level from defenders to wings. First, we lost our super-star defensive ace, Maya Neal with her blazing speed and gritty attitude. Then there is Katie Cousin, our all everything midfielder and the glue that held us together game in and game out. Next, we lost MA Vignola by far our most aggressive and effective wing, who was at times unstoppable with the ball at her feet. Finally, we lost both Claire Franks, a solid midfielder, who in my opinion, never realized her full potential, and Forward Salera Jordan the Middle Tennessee transfer who gave us solid minutes from throughout the season.

That's a lot of talent to lose in one class. Several of the girls are playing professionally in Europe and other places. MA Vignola wound up playing in Iceland. Weird, at least to me. Who knew there was pro soccer in Iceland?

So that's the bad news but hold fast...there is good news too. First, one of my favorite players ever, Forward Erin Gilroy is back for her redshirt senior season complete with an industrial-grade knee brace. Erin, when healthy was really fun to watch and she was a ready scorer give even a tiny opening. I REALLY hope that Erin is healthy and enjoys a great senior season. Defender Wrenne French is also on her senior tour and she has big boots to fill given the absence of Maya Neal. Our sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Romig, was simply outstanding last season and I have little doubt she'll be equally capable this year.

Others will need to step up this year and I'd like to see them do just that. They include defender Abby Burdette, Midfielder Tara Katz that I expect great things from in the future, Forward/Midfielder Amy Thompson, and Midfielder Isabella Cook both have loads of potential.

In addition, there are two transfers that I am expecting to really step up this season. First, a transfer from Cal Poly last season Forward Mackenzie George should show up more her second season with the girls, and newcomer Booke Wilson a Junior Midfielder/Forward transfer from Arizona I expect to see something from early in the season. Brooke is thought by many to be a very talented player with a ton of potential.

There are a ton of other talented girls on the team, many of them freshmen and sophomores, that I didn't mention but I'm willing to bet coach thinks these girls have potential and are willing to work to get better. We'll see who stands out when it matters.

To me, the biggest question is who will step forward and take the place of Katie Cousins? Games are often won or lost in the midfield. We need big-time help there.

So, that's what I know and it isn't a lot. How will we play against Alabama? I have no idea. We'll just have to watch and see what happens.

GO LADY VOLS!!!!

Wow, excellent write up. Very informative. I'm so excited to finally have some Tennessee sports again, seems like it's been forever since everything suddenly just stopped. After reading your post I'm very excited about Romig, Wilson and Gilroy. Hope we take care of business against Bama. Thanks for bringing this back to Volnation.

 

[Special Ed]

I'll alert the media.

 

[fifties fan]

It's about time, too. Starting this afternoon at 2:00 at Alabama, televised by the SEC Network, we'll get our first look at what is in large part a team with more questions than answers. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from our side or 'bama for that matter. The lack of preseason matches has made it really hard to get a handle on what shape we are in.

Everyone is likely aware that graduation hit us really hard. We lost players at every level from defenders to wings. First, we lost our super-star defensive ace, Maya Neal with her blazing speed and gritty attitude. Then there is Katie Cousin, our all everything midfielder and the glue that held us together game in and game out. Next, we lost MA Vignola by far our most aggressive and effective wing, who was at times unstoppable with the ball at her feet. Finally, we lost both Claire Franks, a solid midfielder, who in my opinion, never realized her full potential, and Forward Salera Jordan the Middle Tennessee transfer who gave us solid minutes throughout the season.

That's a lot of talent to lose in one class. Several of the girls are playing professionally in Europe and other places. MA Vignola wound up playing in Iceland. Weird, at least to me. Who knew there was pro soccer in Iceland?

So that's the bad news but hold fast...there is good news too. First, one of my favorite players ever, Forward Erin Gilroy is back for her redshirt senior season complete with an industrial-grade knee brace. Erin, when healthy was really fun to watch and she was a ready scorer give even a tiny opening. I REALLY hope that Erin is healthy and enjoys a great senior season. Defender Wrenne French is also on her senior tour and she has big boots to fill given the absence of Maya Neal. Our sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Romig, was simply outstanding last season and I have little doubt she'll be equally capable this year.

Others will need to step up this year and I'd like to see them do just that. They include defender Abby Burdette, Midfielder Tara Katz that I expect great things from in the future, Forward/Midfielder Amy Thompson, and Midfielder Isabella Cook both have loads of potential.

In addition, there are two transfers that I am expecting to really step up this season. First, a transfer from Cal Poly last season Forward Mackenzie George should show up more her second season with the girls, and newcomer Booke Wilson a Junior Midfielder/Forward transfer from Arizona I expect to see something from early in the season. Brooke is thought by many to be a very talented player with a ton of potential.

There are a ton of other talented girls on the team, many of them freshmen and sophomores, that I didn't mention but I'm willing to bet coach thinks these girls have potential and are willing to work to get better. We'll see who stands out when it matters.

To me, the biggest question is who will step forward and take the place of Katie Cousins? Games are often won or lost in the midfield. We need big-time help there.

So, that's what I know and it isn't a lot. How will we play against Alabama? I have no idea. We'll just have to watch and see what happens.

GO LADY VOLS!!!!

Thanks for the info on non BB Lady Vols sports. Our local sports outlets have no interest.

 

[MAD]

Saw this posted by the team.

Orange shirts
Orange shorts
Orange socks

Can you guess our favorite color?

 

[MAD]

It's about time, too. Starting this afternoon at 2:00 at Alabama, televised by the SEC Network, we'll get our first look at what is in large part a team with more questions than answers. Honestly, I have no idea what to expect from our side or 'bama for that matter. The lack of preseason matches has made it really hard to get a handle on what shape we are in.

Everyone is likely aware that graduation hit us really hard. We lost players at every level from defenders to wings. First, we lost our super-star defensive ace, Maya Neal with her blazing speed and gritty attitude. Then there is Katie Cousin, our all everything midfielder and the glue that held us together game in and game out. Next, we lost MA Vignola by far our most aggressive and effective wing, who was at times unstoppable with the ball at her feet. Finally, we lost both Claire Franks, a solid midfielder, who in my opinion, never realized her full potential, and Forward Salera Jordan the Middle Tennessee transfer who gave us solid minutes throughout the season.

That's a lot of talent to lose in one class. Several of the girls are playing professionally in Europe and other places. MA Vignola wound up playing in Iceland. Weird, at least to me. Who knew there was pro soccer in Iceland?

So that's the bad news but hold fast...there is good news too. First, one of my favorite players ever, Forward Erin Gilroy is back for her redshirt senior season complete with an industrial-grade knee brace. Erin, when healthy was really fun to watch and she was a ready scorer give even a tiny opening. I REALLY hope that Erin is healthy and enjoys a great senior season. Defender Wrenne French is also on her senior tour and she has big boots to fill given the absence of Maya Neal. Our sophomore goalkeeper Lindsey Romig, was simply outstanding last season and I have little doubt she'll be equally capable this year.

Others will need to step up this year and I'd like to see them do just that. They include defender Abby Burdette, Midfielder Tara Katz that I expect great things from in the future, Forward/Midfielder Amy Thompson, and Midfielder Isabella Cook both have loads of potential.

In addition, there are two transfers that I am expecting to really step up this season. First, a transfer from Cal Poly last season Forward Mackenzie George should show up more her second season with the girls, and newcomer Booke Wilson a Junior Midfielder/Forward transfer from Arizona I expect to see something from early in the season. Brooke is thought by many to be a very talented player with a ton of potential.

There are a ton of other talented girls on the team, many of them freshmen and sophomores, that I didn't mention but I'm willing to bet coach thinks these girls have potential and are willing to work to get better. We'll see who stands out when it matters.

To me, the biggest question is who will step forward and take the place of Katie Cousins? Games are often won or lost in the midfield. We need big-time help there.

So, that's what I know and it isn't a lot. How will we play against Alabama? I have no idea. We'll just have to watch and see what happens.

GO LADY VOLS!!!!

After reading this post again, I didn’t realize we had lost so many players from last year. It’s almost like a whole new team.

 

[MAD]

 

[MAD]

 

[sccshortstop]

Yep Strange we are glad you have risen! I knew we lost a heap of very good players but could not name them all like you did. I too think Cook will rise to the occasion and our keeper is getting better every day from what i hear. Always glad to read your thoughts and insights about the soccer program as well as the other LV teams. Hope volleyball is exciting again this year and always the softball program.

 

[MAD]

 

[StrangeVol]

Rough start. Brooke Wilson going down with a knee injury in her first game really sucks. More later.

 

[StrangeVol]

Well...that wasn't pretty soccer, on our part at least. Our defense and mid field play (not going back to help our defenders) when Alabama's pressing attack was flooding the scoring area constantly pretty much sealed our fate. I'm not going in to a lot of detail due to the fact it is so early in the season and we are such a young team experience wise.

Suffice to say, our defense needs lots and lots of work not only on defending in our area but also in getting the ball across mid field efficiently. We spent far too much time passing the ball around among the defenders and not moving it forward into the mid field.

In the mid field we did okay except for helping more on defense inside the box. The Alabama game plan was to press hard up field and overwhelm our defense with numbers. They did that consistently and our response was just not sufficient.

Offensively, I thought we played pretty well and but for the loss Brooke Wilson early I think we could have made it a real contest. I loved that Erin Gilroy scored our only goal, lord knows after all she's been through she deserved it. I had a good feeling about McKenzie George coming into the season and she showed up and had some opportunities that she couldn't quite make work. We do have to get better at capturing the scoring opportunities that are there for us. We just can't miss open shots as we did a few times today.

I have to give a shout out to Claudia Dipasupil, who came off the bench and gave a good account of herself after Wilson went out. She's a slight young lady but plays with a lot of heart. Good on ya Claudia.

So that's all I got for today.

Next Sunday @ 2:00 we have Vandy at Regal, television via ESPNU. Here's hoping we see some improvement and I hope Coach Pensky gets clear from isolation soon.

 

[sccshortstop]

Well...that wasn't pretty soccer, on our part at least. Our defense and mid field play (not going back to help our defenders) when Alabama's pressing attack was flooding the scoring area constantly pretty much sealed our fate. I'm not going in to a lot of detail due to the fact it is so early in the season and we are such a young team experience wise.

Suffice to say, our defense needs lots and lots of work not only on defending in our area but also in getting the ball across mid field efficiently. We spent far too much time passing the ball around among the defenders and not moving it forward into the mid field.

In the mid field we did okay except for helping more on defense inside the box. The Alabama game plan was to press hard up field and overwhelm our defense with numbers. They did that consistently and our response was just not sufficient.

Offensively, I thought we played pretty well and but for the loss Brooke Wilson early I think we could have made it a real contest. I loved that Erin Gilroy scored our only goal, lord knows after all she's been through she deserved it. I had a good feeling about McKenzie George coming into the season and she showed up and had some opportunities that she couldn't quite make work. We do have to get better at capturing the scoring opportunities that are there for us. We just can't miss open shots as we did a few times today.

I have to give a shout out to Claudia Dipasupil, who came off the bench and gave a good account of herself after Wilson went out. She's a slight young lady but plays with a lot of heart. Good on ya Claudia.

So that's all I got for today.

Next Sunday @ 2:00 we have Vandy at Regal, television via ESPNU. Here's hoping we see some improvement and I hope Coach Pensky gets clear from isolation soon.

I could not agree more! Our first game jitters only matters because it is only 7 more to play if i am not mistaken. Someone has to step up and help in the scoring area. I really hoped to pull out this first match but it is what it is. I think we may be way to young to scare anyone this year except maybe ourselves. I thought the ladies played hard even after being down by 3. Vandy will be tough next Sunday!

 

[Indianrick]

Um, what ya'll talking bout

 

[MAD]

Well...that wasn't pretty soccer, on our part at least. Our defense and mid field play (not going back to help our defenders) when Alabama's pressing attack was flooding the scoring area constantly pretty much sealed our fate. I'm not going in to a lot of detail due to the fact it is so early in the season and we are such a young team experience wise.

Suffice to say, our defense needs lots and lots of work not only on defending in our area but also in getting the ball across mid field efficiently. We spent far too much time passing the ball around among the defenders and not moving it forward into the mid field.

In the mid field we did okay except for helping more on defense inside the box. The Alabama game plan was to press hard up field and overwhelm our defense with numbers. They did that consistently and our response was just not sufficient.

Offensively, I thought we played pretty well and but for the loss Brooke Wilson early I think we could have made it a real contest. I loved that Erin Gilroy scored our only goal, lord knows after all she's been through she deserved it. I had a good feeling about McKenzie George coming into the season and she showed up and had some opportunities that she couldn't quite make work. We do have to get better at capturing the scoring opportunities that are there for us. We just can't miss open shots as we did a few times today.

I have to give a shout out to Claudia Dipasupil, who came off the bench and gave a good account of herself after Wilson went out. She's a slight young lady but plays with a lot of heart. Good on ya Claudia.

So that's all I got for today.

Next Sunday @ 2:00 we have Vandy at Regal, television via ESPNU. Here's hoping we see some improvement and I hope Coach Pensky gets clear from isolation soon.

That was a very disappointing result, not gonna lie. Appreciate your insights on the match, some of the things you mentioned give me hope for the future.

 

[StrangeVol]

This may be a season that we are glad is very short. Next year we'll have more experience and maturity with which to compete.

I'm not throwing in the towel entirely but things are what they are. We have a bunch of things to fix and not a lot of time to fix them. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best!

 

[sccshortstop]

Anyone have update on Brooke Wilson?

 

[StrangeVol]

Haven't heard a word. Judging fro looks she didn't appear to be in a lot of pain so I'm hoping it was a sprain. Really unfortunate for both her and the team as you could tell in the first 20 minutes that she is a player!

 

[sccshortstop]

No real pain did i see either and maybe just twisted or sprain as you alluded to.