Soccer

No. 11 Soccer Opens SEC Play at Tennessee Friday; Hosts Grand Canyon on Sunday

September 14, 2023
Game Notes Brew Pig Sooie GCU Tickets

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – No. 11 Arkansas (3-2-1) will take on Tennessee (5-1-1) on Friday night to begin SEC play. The Hogs will return home on Sunday, September 17, to close out non-conference play with Grand Canyon (5-2-1).

The Razorbacks and Lady Vols will meet for the 22nd time on Friday. The two teams last met in the 2021 SEC Tournament championship match that Tennessee won, 3-0. Grand Canyon is making the return trip to Fayetteville after Arkansas earned a 3-0 victory in Phoenix last season.

Sunday’s match will coincide with Brew Pig Sooie, the first outdoor beer festival hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks. For more information, click here.

Tennessee Match Info

Opponent: at Tennessee (5-1-1)
First Kick: 6 p.m. CT
Streaming: SEC Network+, Andy Brock (play-by-play) and Brian Canever (analyst)
Links: All match links can be found here all season long.

Grand Canyon Match Info

Opponent: Grand Canyon (5-2-1)
First Kick: 1 p.m. CT
Streaming: SEC Network+, Brett Dolan (play-by-play) and Kelly Hellbusch (analyst)
Links: All match links can be found here all season long.

Scouting the Lady Vols

Tennessee is riding a three-match unbeaten streak after finishing its non-conference slate with a 5-1-1 record with a loss at SMU and a draw against Indiana.

The Lady Vols are led by Kameron Simmonds, who currently is tied to lead the SEC in goals (6), and goals per game (1.00). Over the last five contests, the Lady Vols have out-shot opponents, 110-24, and taken 45 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just seven. Averaging 9.43 corner kicks per game, Tennessee ranks first in the nation.

Scouting the ‘Lopes

Grand Canyon is coming off a 2-0 win against North Dakota on Sept. 10. It was the fifth shutout for the Lopes through the first eight games of the season. Junior goalkeeper DeAira Jackson now ranks third in the nation in shutouts while the GCU defense did not allow a shot on goal for just the third time in the Chris Cissell era.

After another strong road trip by the GCU defense, junior center back Aleisha Ganief was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week. Ganief logged all 180 minutes against South Dakota State and North Dakota as the Lopes did not allow a shot on goal against the Fighting Hawks.

Quick Kicks

  • The Hogs enter week five ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 17 in TopDrawerSoccer’s poll.
  • Since 2019, the Hogs are 19-10-4 on the road and have beaten four ranked teams. Arkansas is 4-6-2 in ranked road matches since 2019.
  • Arkansas will look to extend its 25-match home unbeaten streak, which dates back to 2021.
    • The Hogs have gone 23-0-2 at Razorback Field since beating No. 25 BYU on Aug. 30, 2021.
  • Dating back to 2016, Arkansas is 60-9-4 at Razorback Field
  • Arkansas has had 11 players score its 18 goals in 2023. Three of the 11 have come off the bench and two of the 18 goals were netted by goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde.
  • Graduate senior Anna Podojil enters the weekend as the DI leader in points (122) and ranks second in goals (46).
  • Podojil was named to United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch list and TopDrawerSoccer’s Preseason Best XI Third Team and the No. 29 player on their preseason top 100 watch list.
  • Podojil, Ellie Podojil, Bea Franklin, Kiley Dulaney, Ava Tankersley and Makenzie Malham joined the SEC Preseason Watch List

Up Next

 In week six, Arkansas will host No. 11 Alabama on Thursday, September 21, then travel to Texas A&M on Sunday, September 24. Both matches will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.

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

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