Soccer Preview: 5-seed #25 Arkansas vs. 9-seed Texas

PENSACOLA, Fla. – 5-seed No. 25 Arkansas (8-5-5) will face the 9-seed Texas (9-4-6) in the SEC Tournament Semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 12.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. and the matchup will be televised live on SEC Network with Mike Watts (play-by-play) and Jill Loyden (analyst) on the call.

HOGS AT THE BEACH

Arkansas is making its 11th straight trip to the SEC Tournament and 20th overall. The Hogs have been to seven of the last 11 championship matches but have failed to hoist the trophy. With the shootout win on Tuesday, the Razorbacks return to the semifinals for the first time since 2024 and the ninth time in the last 11 tournaments. Arkansas is 9-2-0 in the semifinals all-time and 7-1-0 under Colby Hale. The Hogs hold a 20-16-5 record in the tournament. The Razorbacks will be the No. 5 seed for the first time ever after missing a top four spot for the first time since 2017, the second of six straight trips to the championship game. Arkansas hasn’t faced a 9-seed since the 2021 tournament, a 2-1 win over LSU in the quarterfinals. The Hogs won the other appearances against a 9-seed, 4-0 over Ole Miss in 2017.

ON THE LONGHORNS

9-seed Texas returns to the semifinals for the first time since 2024 after a 2-1 win over top-ranked Vanderbilt on Tuesday. The Longhorns took down Mississippi State in penalty kicks in the first round. Texas is unbeaten in five of its last six matches and has climbed up to 19th in the RPI following the win against Vanderbilt. The Longhorns placed three on the All-SEC teams, with forward Ava McDonald and midfielder Amalia Villarreal on the first team and midfielder Caroline Swann on the freshman team.

SERIES HISTORY

Arkansas and Texas will meet for the second time this season and the second time in the semifinals in the last three SEC Tournaments. The Hogs won this year’s first meeting over then-No. 19 Texas 3-1. In the 2024 tournament, Texas got the 2-1 double-overtime win after Lauren Lapomarda scored the winner with 1:22 left in the game. The teams also met in the regular season in 2024, a 4-3 win for the Hogs in Austin. Arkansas’ all-time record against: In Fayetteville: 2-1-1 In Austin: 1-2-1 Neutral: 0-1-0 All-time: 3-4-2

LAST TIME OUT

Arkansas advanced to the SEC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2024 and the ninth time in the last 11 tournaments after a PK shootout win over Kentucky on Tuesday. Junior Kyndal Ewertz scored the lone goal for the Hogs in regulation in the 18th minute and Kentucky tied it in the 85th minute on a penalty. Neither team scored in overtime despite each having a penalty opportunity. Arkansas’ was saved and Kentucky’s was overturned on review. Freshman goalkeeper Emily Jenkins replaced Keegan Smith for the shootout and made the winning save. Zoe Susi, Aniyah Nurse-Whyte, MacKenzie Gwin, Bella Field and Ivy Harding made their kicks. The shootout win was Arkansas’ second all-time. The first came in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament against Memphis.

ALL-SEC

Bella Field (2nd Team), Aniyah NurseWhyte (3rd Team) and Lauren Van Rhein (freshman) earned All-SEC honors.

TOUGH SCHEDULE

As of this week’s poll, Arkansas played four ranked teams in the regular season: No. 2 North Carolina (L, 2-0), No. 8 Alabama (L, 2-0), No. 8 Baylor (L, 4-1), and No. 24 Auburn (W, 1-0). The Hogs also faced one other team that was ranked on match day: then-No. 19 Texas (W, 3-1). All three Power-4 non-conference opponents appeared in the NCAA Tournament last season, with Clemson finishing in the second round and UNC and Baylor making it to the Sweet 16. In total, eight of Arkansas’ 2026 opponents appeared in last year’s NCAA Tournament: UNC, Baylor, Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Kentucky. As of this week’s RPI run, Arkansas owns five top 50 RPI wins, the third most in the SEC behind Vanderbilt (9) and Alabama (7).

KEEPING IT FRIENDLY

The Razorbacks played two preseason exhibitions prior to the first week of games against Kansas City and No. 21 Memphis. Arkansas defeated the Roos, 3-0, and lost to Memphis on the road, 2-0. Returning sophomore Vailana Tu’ua scored a four-minute brace followed by a header from senior Bella Field five minutes later. Arkansas played five matches in the spring and outscored opponents 15-1, including a 2-0 win on the road at TCU, a team that went to the College Cup in 2025. Aniyah Nurse-Whyte led the squad with three goals, followed by Zoe Susi, Natalie Wagner, Vailana Tu’ua and Lauren Van Rhein with two.

HIGH ON THE HOGS

Arkansas entered the first week of matches ranked No. 10 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason top 25. The Hogs received the No. 18 ranking in TopDrawerSoccer’s preseason top 25 and were predicted to finish second in the SEC by the league’s head coaches. Before Week 4, Arkansas had been ranked in every United Soccer Coaches poll since September 13, 2022, 215 weeks ago. In 2024, the Hogs received their first No. 1 ranking in program history and the first for an SEC team since 1998.

KEEPER KEEGAN

Arkansas junior goalkeeper Keegan Smith has quickly cemented herself as one of the program’s best after just one season between the pipes. In her debut season in 2024, Smith tied former Razorback Grace Barbara (2022) for the single-season shutout record (11) and finished with the second-lowest goals-against average (.62) behind former Hog and current Racing Louisville FC keeper Katie Lund (.48, 2019). The Bath, New York native shut out seven of Arkansas’ 10 SEC regular season opponents and two of three NCAA Tournament opponents (Oklahoma State and Cal) to lead the Razorbacks back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2022. She allowed just six goals at Razorback Field to help the Hogs to an unbeaten home record of 11-0-2. Keegan was the first freshman goalkeeper in program history to receive All-SEC honors. She finished the 2024 season ranked the No. 3 freshman in the nation and was placed on the Best XI Freshman Team by TopDrawerSoccer. During the offseason, Smith was called up to the U-19 U.S. Women’s National Team training camp in Spain in February of 2025. She was called up a second time in June of 2025, this time for the U-18/19 U.S. YNT combined training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia. Smith picked up her first shutout of 2025 in the 2-0 win over Georgia Southern on August 24. Smith added another clean sheet, her 13th overall, on September 2 at BYU. She tied her career high with 9 saves, including several highlight-reel saves that garnered attention on social media. Smith missed 11 games due to a hip flexor muscle issue and made her return on Nov. 14 for the NCAA Tournament opener against Dartmouth. She recorded three saves and her 14th career shutout. She started in Arkansas’ second-round game against 4-seed Washington, a 1-0 loss.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Arkansas is unbeaten in 59 of its last 65 matches at Razorback Field, dating back to 2021. The Hogs have gone 52-6-7 at Razorback Field since beating No. 25 BYU on Aug. 30, 2021. Arkansas is also unbeaten in its last 31 SEC home matches, dating back to 2020. The six losses came on November 17, 2023 against Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, on Aug. 14, 2025 against No. 13 Iowa, Aug. 28, 2025 against No. 3 Duke, on Aug. 12, 2026 against Baylor, on Aug. 20, 2026 against No. 7 North Carolina and on August 27, 2026 against Clemson. The Razorbacks have outscored opponents 220-55 at Razorback Field during this stretch.

FAMILIAR POSITION

This year’s ranking marks the seventh straight season Arkansas has been placed inside the top two of the preseason poll. 1. Vanderbilt 2. Arkansas 3. Georgia 4. LSU 4. Tennessee 6. South Carolina 7. Texas 8. Florida 9. Alabama 10. Oklahoma 11. Auburn 12. Texas A&M 13. Kentucky 13. Mississippi State 15. Ole Miss 16. Missouri.