As the early September heat beat down at Regal Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the No. 10 Tennessee soccer team found themselves locked in to a battle with the UT Martin Skyhawks.
For UT Martin, they were battling for a marquee win against the flagship school they share a state with. For the Vols, they were fighting to live up to expectations and stay undefeated.
For Tennessee, once again, their depth prevailed, and they left the field with all of their season goals still ahead of them with a 2-0 win over the Skyhawks (3-2-0).
“We still faded a couple of moments,” head coach Brian Pensky said. “That’s where we got to get better. I thought the effort and the energy was much better in the second half.”
Tennessee wasted no time scoring on the offensive. Less than 10 minutes into the first period, senior forward Danielle Marcano notched her first goal of the season with a header to give the Vols a 1-0 lead.
“Honestly, it was a team effort,” Marcano said. “I couldn’t have done it without Katie (Cousins) and Anna (Bialczak). I was just there at the right time.”
Following Marcano’s goal, the game quickly settled into a defensive struggle, and UT Martin went to the half leading in shots, 5-3. It was the first time at home this season that the Vols trailed in that category at the intermission.
“It was a tale of two halves,” head coach Brian Pensky said. “I thought we were a little bit lethargic in the first half. That’s on me. I’ve got to inspire these kids to come out and jump on teams.”
The opening minutes of the second half provided another early opportunity for Tennessee to score, but the Vols came up short after four shot attempts in the same possession. However, the rest of the second half wouldn’t be as unkind to them as the first few minutes.
With just over 26 minutes left in the period, Marcano, who entered the day with no goals through the first five games, came through again with her second of the day to add just a little comfort to Tennessee’s lead, making it 2-0.
Pensky was pleased with the adjustments his team made in the second half.
“I think you saw a different team,” Pensky said. “Inside the first 20 seconds of the second half, I think we had four shots. That’s how we have to play all of the time.”
After falling behind in shots in the first half, Tennessee dominated the category to close out the game, attempting 19 and finishing with a 21-9 advantage. The Vols allowed just three shots in the final period. They have now posted five shutouts at home in 2018.
Senior goalkeeper Shae Yanez finished with three saves.
“Honestly, I think it just comes from practice,” Yanez said. “You can’t let up and you have to keep your foot on the gas. I just owe it all to the people in front of me. They’ve been doing well to block shots.”
Tennessee will next travel to the northeast corner of the Volunteer State to Johnson City where they will take on a familiar face in ETSU as part of a two-game road stand.
The Vols will again put their undefeated record on the line as they kickoff against the Buccaneers (1-5-0) at 7 pm at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City.
