The first home athletic event of the 2017 University of Tennessee school year has almost arrived.
Regal Soccer Stadium will likely be filled Thursday night with avid “Regal Rowdies,” as the Tennessee soccer team hosts East Tennessee State University.
Coming back to Knoxville after a 2-0 start to the season on the road, the Vols will open a two-game home stretch on Thursday. Head coach Brian Pensky knows that his players are ready for the challenge.
“Good start to the season. 2-0 is something we haven’t done since 2012,” Pensky said during a press conference on Tuesday.
A 1-0 victory over the U.S. Naval Academy last Thursday led to a same-scoring victory over George Mason University on Sunday before the soccer Vols traveled back to Knoxville to have a day of rest.
“Getting off to the right start, two wins to build our confidence as a group is obviously very important. We’ve got a great group of kids that are good, and they want to be good,” Pensky said.
A short preseason gives way to obstacles when it comes to preparation for the regular season, but Pensky said that his team has come in “more fit than ever” after this summer and that the short 16 days before the team’s first match have been meaningful.
“Our preseason is the shortest preseason of any NCAA sport. We train for 16 days before playing our first game, “ Pensky said. “Then it’s 19 days before playing your second game.”
Leaving most of the preparation in the hands of his players, Pensky, along with redshirt sophomore Maya Neal, is ready to see what Thursday brings.
“The Regal Rowdies bring great energy, as well as the student body,” Neal said. “The players are just as excited to see the fans as they [the fans] are to see us play.”
The Vols two early wins this season have come courtesy of Meghan Flynn and Ariel Kupritz. Those two players also lead the team in total points with two each.
The ETSU Buccaneers come into Thursday’s match with a 1-1 record so far in the 2017 season. The team notched an 8-0 win over South Carolina State, then recorded a 1-0 loss to Tennessee Tech University.
Pensky and Neal both hope to come out hot in front of their home crowd on Thursday, and to carry over the momentum from their opening-season away games. An important thing to Pensky is having great fan support, which has always been strong in numbers.
“The last couple of years we’ve averaged 1,300 per game and we hope that continues. Great fan support and great student support … hopefully those guys are ready to get back at it again,” Pensky said. “Obviously our players are ready to play the first game of the season in front of the home crowd.”
The Vols will kick off the match against ETSU at 7 p.m. on Thursday. The match will be streamed live online at watchESPN.com
