Aug. 31, 2016

Watch Live Stats Game Notes

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee soccer hits the road for the first time this season with trips to No. 10 BYU and American on Friday and Sunday.

GAME INFO

Tennessee at BYU

Opponent: #10 BYU Cougars
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 2 at 9 p.m. ET
Location/Venue: Provo, Utah/South Field (4,200)
TV: BYUtv
Radio: Cougar IMG Radio/ESPN 960
Live Stats: BYUCougars.com

Tennessee at American

Opponent: American Eagles
Date/Time: Sunday, Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. ET
Location/Venue: Washington, D.C./Reeves Field (1,500)
TV: Patriot League Network
Radio: None
Live Stats: AUEagles.com

TEAM INFO

Tennessee Volunteers (2-2)

Roster Schedule Stats

BYU Cougars (2-1)

Roster Schedule Stats

American Eagles (0-4)

Roster Schedule Stats

Need to Know

The Vols are coming off a 3-2 win over ETSU on Sunday night to improve to 2-2 on the year and complete a four-game homestand to start the season. Rylie O'Keefe had a career night, scoring the game-winning goal on a free kick in the 62nd minute while assisting on UT's other two goals. The sophomore midfielder is tied for 14th nationally with three assists and leads the team with five points.

Vols vs. Ranked Foes

Tennessee will face its first ranked opponent this season in Friday's match at No. 10 BYU. The Vols are 34-64-10 all-time against ranked teams with six wins over top 25 foes under Brian Pensky. A win over the Cougars would be the first for UT over a top 10 team since a 1-0 win over No. 9 Texas A&M on Oct. 19, 2012.

Getting Healthy

The Big Orange received a big boost last week with the return of three key players from injury. Hannah Wilkinson, Carlyn Baldwin and Mackenzie Gouner all made their season debuts last Thursday against Washington and all three started in Sunday's win over ETSU. Wilkinson, UT's active leader in goals (22) and points (54), led the team with three shots on goal against the Huskies and recorded her first point of the year with an assist on Sunday. Gouner played 67 minutes and 62 minutes, respectively, in the Vols' pair of games last week while Baldwin started both matches and averaged 78.5 minutes played.

Set Piece Success

The Vols have been extremely successful on set pieces so far this season. Three of the team's four goals have come off set pieces, including two on Sunday night. Maya Neal and Danielle Marcano have both scored off corner kicks while O'Keefe scored her lone goal of the year on a free kick. UT has generated 29 corner kicks already this season compared to only 18 for their opponents.

Vols Tabbed Ninth in SEC Preseason Poll

UT was picked to finish ninth in the SEC this season by the league's 14 head coaches in the preseason poll. Defending regular-season and tournament champion, Florida, was picked to win the league. View the entire preseason poll HERE.

Know the Foe

No. 10 BYU (2-1)

The Cougars are off to a solid start after a super successful season in 2015 that saw them win their fourth straight West Coast Conference championship. BYU returns all 11 starters from a team that went 16-3-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history.

The Cougars are coming off a 3-2 road victory against defending NCAA champion Penn State and are led by a quartet of All-WCC preseason selections in Ashley Hatch, Nadia Gomes, Elena Medeiros and Michele Vasconcelos. Hatch had a hat trick in BYU's win over Penn State and has scored all five of the team's goals so far this season. Gomes, last year's WCC Player of the Year, leads the team with three assists and was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List at the start of the year.

UT's All-Time Record vs. BYU: 1-2-0 (The Vols fell to the Cougars, 1-0, in the last meeting between the programs on Aug. 29, 2014)

American (0-4)

The Eagles will be looking for their first win of the season when they take on Monmouth in their home opener on Friday before hosting the Vols on Sunday afternoon. American opened the year with four straight road losses to UMBC, Campbell, George Mason and Mount St. Mary's. The Eagles were picked ninth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll after struggling to a 5-11-3 record a year ago. They are led by the senior duo of Marley Jennings and Allie Day. Jennings led the team with eight points last season while Day started all 19 games on the back line. American has had five different players score a goal already this season with sophomore forward Madie Light leading the team with three points.

UT's All-Time Record vs. American: 0-0-0 (This will be the first-ever meeting between the Vols and Eagles)

What's Next?

Tennessee returns to Knoxville for its SEC opener against Alabama on Friday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. UT will also host Middle Tennessee next Sunday at 2 p.m.