Soccer

Soccer Set for Top-20 Battle at the Beach

November 1, 2023
Game Notes Bracket

PENSACOLA, Fla. – Top-seeded Arkansas (13-3-2, 8-1-1 SEC) is back in the SEC Tournament semifinals and will face No. 4 seed Mississippi State on Thursday, November 2 at 5 p.m. The match will air on SEC Network with Mike Watts (play-by-play) and Jill Loyden (analyst) on the call.

The two teams met exactly one week ago at Razorback Field in the regular season finale. The Hogs picked up their eighth SEC win with an 86th-minute goal from SEC Midfielder of the Year Bea Franklin.

Arkansas avenged its regular season loss to No. 8 seed Auburn on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, 4-0. The Hogs’ three graduates; Anna Podojil, Bea Franklin, and Morgan White, scored the first three goals of the match. Podojil netted her 50th career goal, which ranks second in NCAA Division I.  With six minutes left to play, Freshman Kate Carter became the 17th Razorback to score this season.

The Bulldogs advanced past No. 24 Alabama in a penalty kick shootout. The Tide missed four straight kicks to send Mississippi State to its first SEC Tournament semifinal appearance.

The Razorbacks and Mississippi State have never met in the postseason, but the Hogs own a 24-4-1 advantage in the series.

Both teams were ranked inside this week’s United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll, with the Razorbacks ranked No. 10, and the Bulldogs ranked No. 18. The Hogs currently sit at No. 11 in the NCAA RPI.

Arkansas missed last year’s semifinals after losing to Vanderbilt in penalty kicks in the quarterfinals.

Match Info

Opponent: No. 18 Mississippi State (10-4-5, 5-3-2 SEC)
First Touch: 5 p.m. CT
Television: SEC Network, Mike Watts (play-by-play) and Jill Loyden (analyst)
Links: All match links can be found here all season long.

Quick Kicks

  • Arkansas is 17-13-4 all-time in the SEC Tournament.
  • Arkansas and Mississippi State have never met in the postseason.
  • Seven Razorbacks earned SEC honors: Colby Hale – SEC Coach of the Year, Ava Tankersley – SEC Forward of the Year and All-SEC First Team, Bea Franklin – SEC Midfielder of the Year, Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year and All-SEC First Team, Anna Podojil – All-SEC Second Team, Ellie Podojil – All-SEC Second Team and Avery Wren – All-SEC Freshman Team
  • The Hogs enter the postseason ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 16 in TopDrawerSoccer’s poll.
    • Arkansas is ranked No. 11 in this week’s NCAA Soccer RPI.
  • Arkansas clinched at least a share of its fourth SEC regular season title in the last five seasons after defeating Ole Miss on October 22. The Hogs won the title outright after taking care of Mississippi State on October 26.
  • Arkansas has had 17 players score its 48 goals in 2023. Seven of the 17 have come off the bench and two of the 48 goals were netted by goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde via penalty kicks.
  • Since 2019, the Hogs have scored the most goals in the country with 267. Stanford ranks second (262) and North Carolina (259) ranks third. Arkansas is 69 goals ahead of Tennessee, the next closest SEC team.

For more information on Arkansas Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.

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