Tennessee soccer fell to LSU in the second round of the SEC tournament, losing 2-0 on Tuesday night in Pensacola, Florida. The Lady Vols (12-3-3, 6-3-2 SEC) will return to Knoxville and wait for the NCAA Tournament, where they will likely be hosting a match.
LSU (12-5-3, 6-2-3) gets its revenge from a 2-1 loss to the Lady Vols earlier this season and extends its unbeaten streak to nine (7-0-2). The Tigers will advance to the semifinals, facing Mississippi State on Thursday, Nov. 6.
Both teams were thrown off their rhythm, even before the game started. After the Kentucky-Georgia game went to a penalty shootout, it delayed the tournament schedule. Arkansas-Mississippi State started nearly an hour and a half after its scheduled time, moving Tennessee’s match back from 8 p.m. to 9:35 p.m.
The time change affected both teams as they started the match. Neither side could find its rhythm early, taking two shots each through the first 17 minutes. LSU nearly capitalized in the 28th minute, but sophomore goalkeeper Cayden Norris knocked a header away to keep the score at 0-0.
LSU seemingly had the upper hand in attacking through the first half, but as the clock expired, Tennessee had seven shots to the Tigers’ five. Each team could manage just one shot on goal, both of which were saved.
“It took us a little bit to settle in,” head coach Joe Kirt said on SEC Network at halftime. “But I thought we did well and got the ball into good pockets. We’ve got to have a better mentality in and around the box and get a little more quality there, but once we were able to settle down, we could move the ball and find some space. Overall, I think we’re doing well but we have to pick up the intensity a little bit and a little more quality in the attacking third.”
With 45 minutes separating Tennessee from the SEC tournament semifinals, disaster struck.
A great pass downfield in the 46th minute set the Tigers up with an attacking opportunity. They capitalized, sending a ball rolling just inches left of Norris’ outstretched arm for the first goal of the match.
While Tennessee was still reeling after conceding a goal, disaster struck once more.
Norris couldn’t pull down a pass through the goal area, bouncing off freshman Milee Zych and finding an open Tiger who netted the shot to make it a 2-0 lead for LSU in the 48th minute.
With their backs against the wall, the Lady Vols still struggled to generate offense. When the final buzzer sounded, Tennessee had 11 shots in the second half, only three of which were on target. Tennessee also had 10 corner kicks to LSU’s three, but couldn’t piece together any good looks.
The Lady Vols will head back to Knoxville to begin preparation for the NCAA Tournament. They’ll have to find a way to shake the negative momentum, as they’ve only won one of their last five matches. They will find out who they’ll face in the NCAA Tournament on Monday, Nov. 10, at 4 p.m. ET during the NCAA selection show.
