Gearing Up For NCAA Tournament 2nd Round
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas soccer team will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., for its third NCAA Tournament second round match in four years as they face Clemson at the University of North Carolina’s Fetzer Field.
Slated for a 2 p.m. CT kickoff on Friday, the matchup between the No. 17 Razorbacks and No. 12 Tigers marks the first time they’ve ever squared off. The contest will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and streamed on ACC Network Extra via the WatchESPN app.
Arkansas In The NCAA Tournament
• Arkansas is 4-1-1 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with three of four victories on the road or at a neutral site.
• All three NCAA Tournament appearances in program history have come under head coach Colby Hale in 2013, 2014 and 2016.
• This season, Arkansas is 3-1 in neutral site matches with victories against VCU at Harrisonburg, Virginia, and against Vanderbilt and Auburn at Orange Beach, Alabama during the SEC Tournament.
• Arkansas is one of 20 Division I women’s soccer programs to win an NCAA Tournament match three of the last four years and just one of four SEC schools to do so.
• Of the teams that advanced to the second round in the NCAA Tournament, the Razorbacks are among five teams with 18 wins or more and one of two SEC teams. Only Connecticut at 19-2-1, South Carolina at 19-1-1 and West Virginia at 20-1-1 have more wins.
• Out of the six SEC schools that qualified for the NCAA Tournament, Arkansas is among five institutions that moved on to the second round (South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Texas A&M).
Balanced Attack
Arkansas will enter Friday’s game sixth in the nation in total goals with 51, with 13 different players contributing a goal. The Razorbacks are one of just two teams in the nation (Georgetown) with four players that have eight or more goals. Below are some more notes on Arkansas’ potent and balanced offensive attack:
• Arkansas has scored a goal in 30 of 46 halves in regulation and has been held scoreless in back-to-back halves just four times.
• Arkansas has scored in the first half 15 of 23 games as well as in the second half (15 of 23).
• The Razorbacks have been shut out just once this season and have scored at least one goal in 17 consecutive games, good for the second-longest streak in program history. The longest streak of 18 games came at the end of 2012 into the 2013 season under coach Hale.
• Arkansas’ four players with eight or more goals leads the SEC. No other SEC program has more than two players with eight goals.
• Six different players have scored a game-winning goal.
Record Win Totals
• Arkansas’ 18 wins are tied for the sixth-most by an SEC team since 2011.
• With a win, Arkansas would have 19 wins for the first time in program single-season history while that total would be tied for the second-most by an SEC team since 2002. (Will be third-most if South Carolina defeats Colorado).
Postseason NCAA Accolades
• Senior Lindsey Mayo was named NCAA Tournament First Round Team of the Week by TopDrawerSoccer.com. She proved to be instrumental in Arkansas’ 2-1 overtime win against Memphis on Nov. 11 by assisting Hartzler with the equalizer in the 88th minute and scoring the game-winner during the 92nd.
• If Arkansas advances to the Sweet 16 for only the second time in program history, it will face the winner of No. 6 North Carolina and Kansas on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 12 p.m. CT.
For more information about Razorback Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
