After back-to-back heart breaking losses against Wisconsin and BYU, the Tennessee Lady Volunteer soccer team has a golden opportunity to get back on track against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers on the road this evening.
The Lady Vols also have an opportunity to avenge a disappointing performance against the Hilltoppers last season, when they were held scoreless, eventually tying after two overtime periods.
Even though the game did not go on the loss record for the Lady Vols, the game certainly did not feel like a win either.
“It was a tie, but it sure felt like a loss,” Tennessee head soccer coach Brian Pensky said. “I think that will serve as plenty motivation for all the kids that played in the game last year. There is absolutely no question about it.”
The 2014 Hilltoppers are off to a solid 2-0 start to the season, deafeating early season opponents Lipscomb and Mercer.
The Lady Vols will be looking to put a dent in the Hilltoppers’ loss column as they strive to be the first team to score against WKU this season.
“The biggest key for us is to be patient, yet urgent in our attack,” Pensky said. “We can’t play slowly if they get numbers behind the ball and just want to slow the game down. We are going to have to switch the point of the attack really quickly, and get it in the wide areas.”
Pensky also noted crossing and finishing are imperative to the team’s success.
“Our MO (mode of operation) so far this year has been crossing and finishing,” Pensky said. “We have five goals in the run of play, four of those five have come off of crossing and finishing. That has become our bread and butter, and that is where we have to be good.”
Sophomore forward Anna McClung also said the team learned several lessons in the loss against BYU and they can apply them to their game against Western Kentucky.
“From BYU, I think we need to focus on getting the ball wide and attacking through the flanks,” McClung said. “I think we tried to force some balls and I think this week we have done a lot in preparing for that.”
The Lady Vols will face off against the Hilltoppers at 7 p.m. and then return to Knoxville to play Tulsa inside Regal Stadium on Sunday at 6:30 p.m.
