For the Lady Vol soccer team, anticipation of its Halloween night matchup against the University of Georgia might leave them with a sense of déjà vu.
In 2001, a youthful Tennessee team headed into the last game of the season – a contest at UGA – with everything on the line. A win would have sealed UT as the top seed in the 2001 SEC tournament.
The Lady Vols were unable to come away with a victory, though, and dropped to the third seed due to a format that gave the division leaders the top two seeds.
Tennessee finds itself with a more positive set of circumstances this season. A number of possible scenarios would give UT at least a share of the SEC regular season title and the top seed in next week’s tournament.
The No. 15 Lady Volunteers (12-4-1, 6-1-1) need to win at Georgia to secure the program’s first regular season title outright. An earlier defeat of Florida (5-1-2 SEC) has already secured the Eastern Division title.
Other scenarios require some help from Auburn, which leads the Western Division with a 5-1-2 conference tally. A UT tie against the Bulldogs would still result in a top seed for the Lady Vols if Auburn lost, tied, or won by less than a nine-goal margin. If Tennessee were to lose to Georgia, an Auburn loss or tie would still result in the Lady Vols taking top billing in the tournament.
Of course, winning at Georgia would be a first for Tennessee.
The all-time series is 4-4, but the Lady Volunteers have come up empty all four times they’ve gone to Athens.
Tennessee finds itself heading into the close of the regular season on a roll, though. Since a loss to Ole Miss Oct. 5, the Lady Vols have found a resurgence of offense and haven’t been defeated in their last six contests.
Head coach Angela Kelly said her team has just come together to finish out the season.
I think this team has finally started making the most of the opportunities we’ve had all season long, Kelly said. We have come together as a team and are really showing a high level of commitment to each other. I think that’s what has shown in an increased offense for us.
Kelly noted the return of senior forward Rhian Wilkinson has only added to the offensive resurge that began with a 2-0 victory over then-No. 5 Florida on Oct. 10.
Rhian has just helped us to really make even more of an effort in the attacking third of the field, Kelly said. She has really just helped us improve even further on the path we were already following.
Since her return from play with Team Canada in the World Cup, Wilkinson has tallied four assists and two goals in four games. Her numbers have vaulted her into third place on the career goal list and she has taken over the top spot in all-time points.
Georgia (11-7, 4-4) is led by 15 goals from senior forward Jessica Winton, a transfer from UCLA. The Bulldogs also find their season on the line in this contest a win would grant them an automatic spot in the tourney and a loss would leave them searching for some help.
We always look forward to playing Georgia each season, Kelly said. We obviously haven’t had success in winning on their field, but hopefully this will be the season that changes.
I think we’ll go in there and challenge them in this game, and try to finish out the regular season on a high note.
