University of Tennessee Athletics
Familiar Challenge Produces Familiar Result
November 04, 2014 | Soccer
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- The position Tennessee found itself in coming out of the halftime break on Monday afternoon was relatively familiar.
UT trailed Alabama by a goal despite largely outplaying the Crimson Tide in the opening half. A myriad of close, but ultimately unfruitful, chances on goal had left a zero next to Tennessee's name on the scoreboard, while Alabama had a goal on their only serious scoring opportunity.
"Our team's backs have been against the wall for a couple of weeks now," head coach Brian Pensky said. "We really feel like we're a good team and our kids don't want the season to end. Unfortunately, I thought we were obviously a little slow out of the gate in general. The goal that they got in the first half was very unfortunate because the game was even. If anything, I thought we had a little bit better play."
But instead of a fired-up and focused effort out of halftime, the opposite happened. Seven minutes in, Alabama came through with its second goal.
A team that had not won an SEC Tournament game since 2011 and sat firmly on the NCAA Tournament bubble could have packed it in at that moment. But the second goal was a gut-check moment for UT that flipped the game.
"We came out flat in the second half and gave up the second one," said Pensky. "But, it was the thing that lit a fire under our kids and then, all of a sudden, we started dying for it."
Just over two minutes after the Alabama score, Emily Morrow served a ball for Hannah Wilkinson, who finished for her seventh goal of the season.
"Hannah's goal was massive because it was so quick," Pensky said. "Now, all of a sudden, we go from two down and in a really bad spot to thinking we're in this thing and we've got a chance."
Michelle Christy's goal in the 67th minute took that chance and made it a reality. Gabby Santorio's free kick set up Christy for the equalizing header, her second goal of the season.
"Gabby played a great ball in," Christy said. "I kind of lost my mark, so I just went for it and flicked it off the back of my head and it went in."
The new ballgame suited Tennessee, but Alabama was not done. A couple of quality chances for the Crimson Tide ended in the arms of UT goalkeeper Jamie Simmons.
After Wilkinson was taken down just outside of the box in the 80th minute, Christy sent a free kick in to the waiting head of Amy Neal for the eventual game-winner in the 3-2 victory.
The result was familiar for Tennessee, just as the circumstances were. UT entered the last two games of the regular season needing wins just to reach the SEC Tournament. They won both, a 3-0 shutout of Missouri on Senior Day and a come-from-behind 3-2 win in double overtime at Ole Miss on Thursday. The pressure of the situation has driven the team, and it's been a message from within that has turned that drive into results.
"We told our team about two or three weeks ago that the best teams are owned by the players and not owned by the coaches," Pensky said. "That's certainly happened in the last couple weeks. Our kids have taken absolute, total ownership of this group right now and are making great things happen."
Christy said the game was just another example of the fight that has defined the team in its stretch run. And it was more than enough reason to keep an eye on the opportunities they have given themselves in the three-match streak.
"The past few games, we've never given up, we just keep fighting," she said. "We're going to do great things, we've really opened the door for a long season left."
