Last week, the Tennessee Lady Vols soccer team traveled to College Station, Texas, to start SEC play against the nationally ranked Texas A&M Aggies.
The trip to College Station was not the start to SEC play that the Lady Vols wanted.
Tennessee struggled to keep possession throughout the game, and the Aggies rolled to an easy 3-0 victory Thursday night in stormy conditions.
The Lady Vols have a chance to redeem themselves for that loss and earn their first SEC win tonight at 7 p.m. against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Regal Soccer Stadium.
The team is emphasizing one specific word while preparing to face the Crimson Tide: connectedness.
Both Tennessee senior forward Hannah Wilkinson and Tennessee women’s soccer head coach Brian Pensky mentioned the word when discussing the upcoming game, and Pensky explained in detail what the word means.
“It’s always being in sync and being connected on both sides of the ball,” Pensky said. “Communicating constantly, talking the whole game out together.”
According to sophomore forward Amy Neal, achieving connectedness on the field begins with preparations off the field.
“We have been trying to do a lot more things off the field, not just things on the field,” Neal said. “It is really getting us to understand what kind of person we are and what we would like to have on the field.”
There is also another word that Pensky emphasized as a key to victory: urgency.
Pensky claimed that the Lady Vols need to have an urgency to keep possession and press them in the front half if they want to give themselves a good chance at their first SEC win.
Tennessee is not only looking for the victory, but they also are looking for an opportunity to avenge a disappointing loss against the Crimson Tide last season.
In that game, Alabama jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 4-2 victory over the Lady Vols.
Pensky plans to use the memory of that game as motivation for this season’s matchup.
“It is (last season’s game) at the forefront of our minds, and it is going to be at the forefront of the coaches’ tongues as we prepare for Friday night.”
In addition to avenging last year’s loss and earning an SEC victory at home, Neal is looking to achieve another goal on the soccer field Friday.
“We are a much better team than this country think we are and we need to prove that out on the field on Friday.” Neal said.
The Tennessee versus Alabama rivalry adds an extra dimension to the contest as earning a victory over an arch rival in front of a home crowd could provide momentum for the team going forward.
Neal certainly recognizes the value of defeating a rival.
“I get chills when I think about it,” Neal said. “I can’t even explain the joy that we are going to be feeling on the field if we win.”
Following their matchup against the Crimson Tide, the Lady Vols will face Mississippi State at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Regal Stadium.
