Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer

The Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer team represents the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville, Tennessee in NCAA Division I women's soccer competition as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Tennessee Lady Volunteers soccer
Founded1996; 28 years ago (1996)
UniversityUniversity of Tennessee
Athletic directorDanny White
Head coachJoe Kirt (4th season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationKnoxville, Tennessee
StadiumRegal Stadium
(Capacity: 3,000)
NicknameLady Volunteers
ColorsOrange and white[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2018
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2018, 2021
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023
NCAA Tournament appearances
2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2021
Conference Regular Season championships
2003, 2004, 2005

Along with all other UT women's sports teams, it used the nickname "Lady Volunteers" (or the short form "Lady Vols") until the 2015–16 school year, when the school dropped the "Lady" prefix from the nicknames of all women's teams except in basketball.[2] In 2017 the university announced the return of the “Lady Volunteer” name.[3]

Overview

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The University of Tennessee began sponsoring women's soccer in 1996 with Charlie MacCabe as head coach. Coach MacCabe was replaced by former North Carolina Tar Heel All-American Angela Kelly in 2000. Coach Kelly had taken the Lady Vols to four SEC Tournament championships and to the NCAA Tournament eight times.[4] Following the 2011 season coach Kelly would leave the program to take over the head coaching job at Texas. Shortly after her departure Brian Pensky was named the third head coach for the Lady Vols soccer team.[5] After winning the SEC conference tournament title in 2021, Pensky left in April 2022 to take the head coach position at Florida State University. Lady Vols Associate Head Coach Joe Kirt was hired to be the fourth head coach on Rocky Top in May 2022.[6] In Kirt's first season as head coach, he led the Lady Vols to their 3rd consecutive SEC East Championship, earning the team a #6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee was upset at home in the first round by Xavier 4–1 to end the year 11–6–2.[7] In both his second and third season he led Tennessee to 9-7-4 records, and back to back NCAA Tournament appearances. Advancing to the second round in 2023, and falling in the first round in 2024

Regal Stadium

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Regal Stadium, home of Tennessee soccer

Dedicated in 2007, Regal Soccer Stadium was built around the old Tennessee Soccer Complex. The new stadium seats 3,000 people and is named after Regal Entertainment Group, the main financial backer for its construction.[8]

Yearly record

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[9]

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Charlie MacCabe (Southeastern Conference) (1996–1999)
1996 Charlie MacCabe 6–13–1 3–5 5th (East)
1997 Charlie MacCabe 11–8 2–6 5th (East)
1998 Charlie MacCabe 12–8 5–3 4th (East)
1999 Charlie MacCabe 8–11–1 5–4 6th (East)
Charlie MacCabe: 37–40–2 15–18
Angela Kelly (Southeastern Conference) (2000–2011)
2000 Angela Kelly 12–8 7–2 2nd (East)
2001 Angela Kelly 11–6–1 7–2 T-2nd East NCAA First Round
2002 Angela Kelly 18–6–1 6–2–1 1st (East) NCAA Round of 16
2003 Angela Kelly 17–5–2 7–1–1 1st (East) NCAA Round of 16
2004 Angela Kelly 17–5–2 10–1 1st (East) NCAA Round of 16
2005 Angela Kelly 15–6–2 10–1 1st (East) NCAA Second Round
2006 Angela Kelly 12–7–4 6–3–2 T-2nd (East) NCAA Round of 16
2007 Angela Kelly 15–5–2 8–2–1 3rd (East) NCAA Round of 16
2008 Angela Kelly 10–11–2 5–5–1 4th (East) NCAA First Round
2009 Angela Kelly 8–9–3 4–5–2 5th (East)
2010 Angela Kelly 10–9–1 7–3–1 3rd (East)
2011 Angela Kelly 15–7 7–4 2nd (East) NCAA First Round
Angela Kelly: 160–84–20 84–31–15
Brian Pensky (Southeastern Conference) (2012–2021)
2012 Brian Pensky 14–5–3 9–3–1 2nd (East) NCAA First Round
2013 Brian Pensky 8–7–4 3–5–3 T-10th
2014 Brian Pensky 10–10–2 4–6–1 10th
2015 Brian Pensky 7–5–6 3–5–3 T-9th
2016 Brian Pensky 11–9–1 5–5–1 T-6th
2017 Brian Pensky 15–4–2 6–3–1 T-6th NCAA Second Round
2018 Brian Pensky 16–3–3 7–2–1 2nd NCAA Quarterfinals
2019 Brian Pensky 9–6–3 3–5–2 3rd (East)
2020 Brian Pensky 8–6–1 4–3–1 1st (East)
2021 Brian Pensky 20–3 8–2 1st (East) NCAA Round of 16
Brian Pensky: 118–58–25 52–39–14
Joe Kirt (Southeastern Conference) (2022–present)
2022 Joe Kirt 11–6–2 7–2–1 T-1st (East) NCAA First Round
2023 Joe Kirt 9–7–4 3–4–3 T-8th NCAA Second Round
2024 Joe Kirt 9–7–4 3–4–3 9th NCAA First Round
Total: 343–202–57

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

NCAA Tournament Results

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Source[10]

Year Seed Round Opponent Results
2001 First Round Duke T 1-1 (L PK)
2002 First Round Furman W 5-0
Second Round Cincinnati W 2-1
Round of 16 #2 North Carolina L 1-3
2003 #14 First Round Oklahoma W 1-0
Second Round Georgia W 1-0
Round of 16 #3 Florida L 0-1
2004 #11 First Round Furman W 2-0
Second Round UAB W 1-0
Round of 16 #6 Ohio State L 0-1
2005 First Round Wake Forest W 5-2
Second Round #2 Virginia L 0-3
2006 #4 First Round UAB W 4-0
Second Round Duke T 0-0 (W PK)
Round of 16 #1 North Carolina L 2-6
2007 #3 First Round Furman W 2-0
Second Round Clemson W 1-0
Round of 16 #2 Portland L 0-3
2008 First Round Charlotte L 0-2
2011 #4 First Round Ohio State L 0-3
2012 First Round Miami (OH) L 3-2
2017 First Round Murray State W 2-0
Second Round Washington State T 2-2 (L PK)
2018 #2 First Round Louisville W 2-1
Second Round Arizona W 3-2
Round of 16 #3 Texas A&M W 3-0
Quarterfinals #1 Stanford L 0-2
2021 #3 First Round Lipscomb W 3-0
Second Round Washington State W 2-0
Round of 16 #2 Michigan L 0-3
2022 #6 First Round Xavier L 1-4
2023 First Round #4 Xavier W 1-0
Second Round #5 Nebraska L 1-2
2024 First Round #7 Virginia Tech L 1-2

Individual honors

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All Americans

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  • Ali Christoph – 2005, 2006
  • Keely Dowling – 2002, 2003, 2004
  • Jaimel Johnson – 2007
  • Kylee Rossi – 2007
  • Hannah Wilkinson – 2012
  • Jaida Thomas – 2021
  • Wrenne French – 2021

References

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  1. ^ "General Information". UTSports.com. 14 June 2017. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  2. ^ Megargee, Steve (26 June 2015). "Tennessee set to make move to a lone 'Lady Vols' team". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
  3. ^ "University of Tennessee announces return of Lady Vols logo for all sports".
  4. ^ Media Guide 2011 p.1
  5. ^ "Brian Pensky Profile – UTSPORTS.COM – University of Tennessee Athletics". www.utsports.com. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Joe Kirt Formally Introduced as Head Coach of Tennessee Soccer". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  7. ^ "2023 Soccer Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  8. ^ Media Guide 2011 p.99
  9. ^ "2021 Tennessee Soccer Media Guide" (PDF). Tennessee Sports. p. 3. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  10. ^ "Tennessee Women's Soccer Year-by-Year Archive". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
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