University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee's Resolve Makes Case For NCAA Bid
November 09, 2014 | Soccer
By Brian Rice
UTSports.com
ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- When your game is defined by never giving up and being there to rally from a deficit, eventually one of those deficits will catch up with you.
It did catch up to Tennessee Friday night in a 3-2 loss to 20th-ranked Kentucky the SEC Tournament semifinal, but the furious comeback from down 3-0 late in the second half once again put the team's resolve on full display.
Of course, Brian Pensky would have preferred that his team never faced the deficit at all.
"I am very disappointed," he said. "We came out a little bit passive and kind of allowed them to have their way with us a little bit in the first half. Unfortunately, we gave away a third goal to dig ourselves into an even deeper hole to start the second half."
UT largely dominated play in the second half, down 2-0. A foul called on the right side of the box gave Kentucky a penalty kick, which the Wildcats converted to pull ahead 3-0. No one could have blamed Tennessee for packing it in at that point, being satisfied for an amazing run, but knowing that it had come to an end. But that is just not the way this team is wired.
Tennessee turned up the intensity, a rush that put Kentucky on its heels. Michelle Christy served a ball ahead for Hannah Wilkinson for her eighth goal of the season with just over 15:00 remaining. Wilkinson, who learned after Wednesday's match that she had been granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA, added her second goal of the game 10 minutes later to draw within a score.
"We've got some kids who don't want and haven't wanted their season - and, in some kids' cases, their careers - to end," Pensky said. "They left it out there."
The Volunteers continued their push for the equalizer over the game's final five minutes. Chance after chance was turned away. A whistle on an attack up the left side of the box appeared for a moment to give Tennessee an opportunity with just over a minute remaining. But the referee's arm raised the opposite direction, the contact ruled to be initiated by UT. The Orange and White never got that close again over the final minute. The magical run was over, but not until the team had once again given every ounce that it had in it.
"I continue to be so proud of our team and I really thought we were going to get a third goal there. We still gave ourselves a chance. We have a group of competitive kids who are dying for it. Now, all we can do is hope that maybe we'll be rewarded with an NCAA bid because I think this group can get into the tournament and win some games in the NCAA Tournament."
Now the question stands, did the team do enough down the stretch to earn that NCAA bid? Tennessee spent five matches of the conference schedule without Wilkinson, who led UT with nine goals despite missing that five-match stretch. The NCAA selection show is Monday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Recent results against top-50 RPI opponents certainly suggest that Tennessee has a bid-worthy resume. UT had a tie at Auburn during the stretch without Wilkinson. Wither her back in the lineup, the Volunteers defeated a top-25 team in Missouri, punched their ticket to the SEC Tourney with a 2OT win at Ole Miss and tied ninth-ranked Florida before advancing on penalty kicks.
"If you look at late-season surges, I think our team is obviously a team that has had a surge," Pensky said. "If you look at teams that have the potential to do well in the NCAA Tournament, certainly I think we've proven over the last two weeks that we can get in and not just get in and play one game and be done. I think we can get in and do some damage in the tournament, as well."
