Tennessee soccer is heading back to the NCAA Tournament, where it will host North Carolina at Regal Soccer Stadium on Friday, Nov. 14. This marks the Lady Vols’ fifth straight tournament appearance.
Their first-round matchup, however, will be a challenging one.
Despite finishing the regular season unranked, the Tar Heels are the defending national champions. Tennessee already has experience against North Carolina this year, having upset the then-No. 1 Tar Heels to open the season.
“The opening game of the year was a long time ago,” head coach Joe Kirt said on Tuesday afternoon. “Both teams are a little bit different, but we still have some familiarity with who they are and what they do. They’ve evolved as we have as well.”
While Tennessee has some familiarity with North Carolina from its earlier meeting, the Lady Vols are focused on staying true to their own identity.
Their recent rematch with LSU proved how different a second meeting can be. After edging the Tigers 2-1 in the regular season, Tennessee fell 2-0 in the second round of the SEC Tournament.
“There are some things that we think we can take advantage of against them that maybe weren’t available in the first game, and how they’ve adjusted,” Kirt said. “I think it’s about reminding them (Lady Vols players) of things that allowed us to be successful and still looking to do those things when the opportunity presents, but also being aware of some of the things that they’ve changed.”
In their matchup earlier this season, redshirt junior forward Shae O’Rourke made all the difference. After a scoreless first half from both teams, O’Rourke netted two goals in the second half to lift Tennessee past the defending national champions.
Tennessee’s defense will be a key factor in the rematch. Sophomore goalkeeper Cayden Norris and the Lady Vols’ backline held the Tar Heels scoreless in their first meeting, one of only three times North Carolina failed to score this season.
Norris impressed in her first full season as Tennessee’s starting goalkeeper, allowing just nine goals and recording 45 saves in 17 games. She leads the SEC in shutouts with 11 and ranks second in goals against average (0.549) and save percentage (.833).
As much as the Lady Vols’ defense has been stellar, they still need to score goals to win games. In their last five games, Tennessee is 1-2-2 with one goal. The last time the Lady Vols scored multiple goals in a game was on Oct. 5 in a 4-1 win over Ole Miss.
However, the low-scoring output isn’t for lack of opportunity. Despite one goal, the Lady Vols have generated 85 total shots, 31 of which were on goal in those five games.
“It’s our players stepping up and making plays, whether it’s off a set piece or in the run of play,” Kirt said. “We’ve been creating chances, that hasn’t been an issue. But it’s finding a way to score. That’s the name of the game; you need to score goals to win. We’ve been inconsistent in taking some of those chances, but we created a ton and believe in our players to find a way when it matters most. Hopefully, we’ve been saving some for the end of the year.”
Luckily for Tennessee, its home-field advantage will play a big part on Friday. The Lady Vols are 14-3-1 at home in NCAA events and are also 7-0-1 at Regal Soccer Stadium this season, their best record since 2021 when they finished the season a perfect 10-0.
“We’re excited about the opportunity to protect our home field,” Kirt said. “It’s something we’ve been doing all year, so I think our team is seasoned and ready to go.”
The Lady Vols will kick off the NCAA Tournament against the Tar Heels on Friday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. ET.
