Tennessee Drops 3-1 Decision To No. 9 Texas A&M

Friday, October 23

Knoxville, TN

7:00 PM

University of Tennessee

2-3-1, 2-3-1

Texas A&M

4-1-0, 4-1-0

Texas A&M

Tennessee

Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

October 23, 2020 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score Photo Gallery

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee soccer struggled to slow the SEC's top scoring offense Friday night, as the Vols fell 3-1 to No. 9 Texas A&M at Regal Soccer Stadium.

Redshirt-senior forward Erin Gilroy gave UT some life late in the second half, scoring her ninth career goal in the 82nd minute. But Texas A&M's three-goal advantage proved insurmountable.

"I'm really proud of our team," head coach Brian Pensky said following the match. "They competed their tail off for 90 minutes. I thought we had a good game plan, and they followed it. Obviously we gave away some possession, which we knew we were going to do, but I thought our kids played hard.

"Texas A&M is arguably, along with a couple of other teams, one of the top teams in this league right now. Everybody's talking about how this is the best team they've had in five to 10 years. I thought our kids showed well for themselves, so I'm really proud of our team."

Neither side created any chances over the first 25 minutes of play, but Texas A&M (4-1) found the front foot with a bit of good fortune. After Volunteer keeper Lindsey Romig slipped while trying to play the ball forward, Aggie freshman attacker Lauren Geczik gobbled up the loose ball and fired into an empty net.

The Aggie rookie struck again 12 minutes later, running on to the end of Karlina Sample's long ball forward and slotting into the lower left corner.

A&M put it out of reach in the 58th minute when senior midfielder Addie McCain headed home Taylor Ziemer's curling pass into the box.

Gilroy was in the right place at the right time for her second goal of the 2020 campaign. After Mackenzie George's shot was deflected by the Aggie keeper, Gilroy was able to clean it up from close range for the match's final tally.

"[Tara Katz] did a great job of stepping in front of the players to find [Mackenzie George], and then Kenz just does what Kenz does—beating their backline," Gilroy said postgame. "I saw she was taking a shot, and we had been practicing a lot on following up on our chances. I was lucky that Kenz took a great shot and that the goalie spilled it. I was just right there to tap it in."

The Aggies outshot the Vols 13-9 on the night, putting nine shots on frame compared to three for Tennessee. A&M garnered a 5-2 lead in corner kicks, while fouls were 11 apiece. Each side was assessed a pair of cautions.

Freshman midfielder Lawson Renie made her first career appearance in goal for the Vols, recording three saves over the final 45 minutes. Romig, UT's lone active keeper, was on the worse side of a collision in the first half and did not return for the second period.

"Lawson's experience at goalkeeper is somewhere in the zero range," Pensky said. "She was a high school basketball player. I'm pretty sure that was her first performance in the goal."

UP NEXT: Tennessee will embark on its final road trip of the regular fall season next week, traveling to Gainesville to take on the Florida Gators. The match was recently rescheduled due to a conflict with UF football and will now kick off Friday, October 30 at 6 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on Tennessee soccer, follow @Vol_Soccer on Twitter.