Vols Top Tigers 2-1, Remain Perfect At Home In 2020

Friday, October 9

Knoxville, TN

7:00 PM

University of Tennessee

2-2-0, 2-2-0

Missouri

1-2-0, 1-2-0

Missouri

Tennessee

Photo by: Kate Luffman/Tennessee Athletics

October 09, 2020 | Soccer

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee earned its second home victory of the season Friday night, as the Vols took down Missouri 2-1 in an SEC East battle at Regal Soccer Stadium. Alicia Donley and Jaida Thomas each found the scoresheet for UT in the win as the Vols moved to 2-2 for the 2020-21 campaign.

"In my first year here in 2012, Missouri came here ranked 11th in the country, and I think this is the best Missouri team since then," head coach Brian Pensky said following the match. "We knew coming in that they were going to be a handful, athletic, physical and good. Just a gutsy performance for us. Three points in this league are really tough to come by. Thankful we got back to 2-2 tonight."

With 12 seconds remaining in the first half, Donley tallied her first goal of the season to put the Vols ahead 1-0 at the break. Sophomore Claudia Dipasupil served a free kick into the box and connected with Donley on a header for the match's opening score.

"Claudia [Dipasupil] did a great job of just getting the ball in there," Donley said. "I saw the opportunity and beat my defender. In practice this week, we've been working on a lot of headers. I knew that was something I had a strength, of just getting in the air. I was super confident going into that, and just knew we needed it before halftime."

Trailing 1-0 out of halftime, Missouri created a scoring chance as Mackenzie Ostrom committed a foul in the box and the Tigers were awarded a penalty kick in the 56th minute. Redshirt senior midfielder Grace Kitts stepped up to the spot and fired her shot off the right post to keep the Vols ahead.

Thomas netted her second game-winning goal of the season in the 71st minute, as Dipasupil and Mackenzie George were credited with assists on the play. George served a ball into the box, then Dipasupil made contact to set Thomas up from close range, who then fired the ball into the upper left corner with her left foot to put UT in front 2-0.

Missouri (1-2) narrowed the Vols' lead in the 79th minute as Zoe Cross found the back of the net from long range. The Tiger senior booted a ball from the right corner of the field that sailed right into the upper 90 and bounced off the outstretched hands of UT keeper Lindsey Romig.

The Tigers had a handful of near chances in the final minutes, including a shot on target from Cross with eight seconds left in the match that Romig tipped above the cross bar. It was the eighth save of the night for the Tennessee shot stopper, tying her career-high.

"We knew that they were going to come flying at us, and we had to be prepared for anything," Romig said. "I think we handled it pretty well in the first half. We knew, being up a goal, that they were just going to come even faster. I think we did a good job limiting their chances. I think we got lucky on a couple of them, but our defense in general did a good job tonight."

Missouri outshot Tennessee 19-7 on Friday night, while shots on goal were 9-7 in favor of the Tigers. The Vols edged Mizzou 7-6 in corner kicks and 9-6 in fouls.

The match also featured a pair of cautions for each side, as Tennessee's Ostrom and Abbey Burdette were given yellow cards by the center referee while Missouri head coach Bryan Blitz and midfielder Morcquess Oliphant were also assessed yellow cards.

UP NEXT: Tennessee will travel to Lexington, Kentucky, next weekend for its fourth consecutive SEC East contest. The Vols and Wildcats will square off in front of a national TV audience on Sunday, October 18, as the match will be aired on ESPNU. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.

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