Before Boomsday, the Vol Walk and the official kickoff of UT’s 2014 football season, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer team will play in their home opener Friday against the No. 23 BYU Cougars.
And two Lady Vols seniors can hardly wait to play their last home opener in a Lady Vol uniform.
Seniors Hannah Wilkinson and Allie Sirna expect a large turnout from the Volunteer faithful and expect the fans to give them a home field advantage.
“I am excited,” Sirna said. “Whenever we play in front of the home crowd, it is a totally different atmosphere. It is definitely a home field advantage; we have the best fans. I think tomorrow we are going to have a good turnout. It is going to be a good game.”
The Lady Vols will be entering the home opener with a 1-1 record, having split two games during their road trip to Madison, Wisconsin.
UT began their season with an electrifying performance against Milwaukee, cruising to a 5-0 victory last Friday. The Lady Vols, however, could not carry the momentum into the second game of the weekend against Wisconsin, losing in a 2-1 overtime thriller.
“I thought we did well,” said Tennessee head soccer coach Brian Pensky. “It was tough conditions, very hot, very humid. Both games were day games. I thought our commitment to doing all the right things was good.
“I thought on Sunday [against Wisconsin] we got a little impatient in our attack. We gave balls away that we didn’t need to give away.”
Tennessee will need to avoid committing the same mistake if they plan on stopping the formidable offensive attack of the Cougars.
“They are a fast team, quick team, athletic team, a high-pressuring team, a team that can be very direct and want to slit your throat right from the outset,” Pensky said. “They want to stuff the ball down your face as quickly and as often as possible.”
Despite the explosive offensive front the Cougars possess, Sirna – the leader of UT’s backline – and the rest of the Lady Vol defenders won’t change the way they play.
“We have been seeing that they are pretty quick, pretty fast forwards up top,” Sirna said. “We are going to be a little more cautious, but then again we are just going to play our game and hope to get the results that we want.”
On the other side of the field, Wilkinson realizes that BYU’s attacking power leaves the Lady Vols own attacking line with little margin for error.
“We have to get the ball wide, see what we can do with our crosses and make as many attacking opportunities as possible.”
Despite the challenges the nationally-ranked Cougars bring to the table, Sirna believes playing a ranked team makes the home opener all the more exciting.
“Anytime you play a ranked team, it brings a lot of people to the game,” Sirna said. “Just knowing that it is a good opponent and a good chance to prove ourselves, I think it is going to be a great game.”
