Soccer Central: Vanderbilt (SEC Tournament Quarterfinals)

Tuesday, November 17

Orange Beach, AL

1:00 PM

University of Tennessee

Vanderbilt

Photo by: Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

Soccer Central: Vanderbilt (SEC Tournament Quarterfinals)

November 16, 2020 | Soccer

Watch (SEC Network)Live Stats Tournament Bracket

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- No. 13 Tennessee's quest for a conference title begins Tuesday afternoon in the SEC Soccer Tournament quarterfinals, as the second-seeded Vols take on No. 7 seed Vanderbilt. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET at the Orange Beach Sportsplex in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Tuesday's match will be televised on SEC Network, with Mike Watts (play-by-play announcer) and Jill Loyden (color analyst) on the call. Live stats will be provided via StatBroadcast, and fans can follow @Vol_Soccer on Twitter for live match updates.

BEASTS OF THE EAST: Tennessee (4-3-1) locked up the SEC East Division title and No. 2 seed in the conference tournament on Friday, November 6, concluding the fall season with a 1-0 victory over No. 9 South Carolina. The Vols finished the 2020 campaign with a 4-1-1 record (13 points) in divisional play, overtaking the Gamecocks who posted a 4-2-0 record (12 points) against SEC East opponents this fall.

Senior defender Wrenne French tallied the game-winning goal on her Senior Night, heading in the match's lone score off a corner kick service from Claudia Dipasupil. The win secured Tennessee's fifth overall SEC East championship and first for the program since 2005.

WEEKLY HONORS: Senior defender Wrenne French picked up a slew of awards following her heroic performance against the Gamecocks, as she scored the game-winner and anchored UT's second shutout win over a top-10 opponent this season. The Franklin, Tennessee, native was named the United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week, in addition to SEC Defensive Player of the Week and TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week honors.

Goalkeeper Lindsey Romig was also recognized by TopDrawerSoccer, earning a Team of the Week honorable mention as the Vols' shot stopper returned from injury and illness to record a clean sheet and three saves against the league's top scoring offense in South Carolina.

RANKED VOLS: UT made its way into the United Soccer Coaches top-15 national rankings for the first time this season, checking in at No. 13 on Tuesday, November 10. The Vols have made at least one appearance in the national rankings in four consecutive seasons.

TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Tennessee has claimed four SEC Tournament crowns since the program's inception in 1996, winning the event in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2008. In 35 matches, UT owns a 15-14-6 record in the conference showcase.

ALL-SEC VOLS: Two Vols earned all-conference honors as the SEC announced its postseason awards prior to the tournament. Junior forward Mackenzie George was recognized as a member of the All-SEC second team, while redshirt-freshman forward Jaida Thomas was tabbed to the league's All-Freshman Team.

George started all eight matches for the Vols this season and ranked third on the team with 705 minutes played. She recorded a pair of assists to game-winning goals, including a pass to Thomas in overtime that led to the golden goal that knocked off No. 10 Vanderbilt on September 27.

Thomas made an immediate impact for the Big Orange in her redshirt freshman campaign, leading the Vols with three goals that each went down as game-winners in SEC East divisional play. She is the sixth Vol in the past seven seasons to be named on the SEC All-Freshman Team.

SERIES HISTORY: Vanderbilt holds a 15-10-4 series lead in the in-state rivalry, including a 2-1-1 mark against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. Earlier this season, the Vols came out on top with a 1-0 shutout against the 10th-ranked Commodores on September 27.

The last time UT and Vandy faced off in the conference tournament was in 2017, when the Commodores escaped with a 1-0 victory in Orange Beach. Tennessee outshot its rival 21-2 for the match but was unable to get a ball across the goal line, while Vanderbilt's game-winner came on a penalty kick in the 50th minute.

SCOUTING VANDERBILT: The Commodores (5-4-0) finished seventh in the SEC standings and most recently posted a convincing 4-0 victory over No. 10 seed Mississippi State in the second round of the conference tournament. It was the highest scoring output in an SEC Tournament game for Vanderbilt since an 8-3 rout of Arkansas in 1997.

Vanderbilt had four players receive SEC postseason accolades: Haley Hopkins (first team), Ella Shamburger (second team), Maddie Elwell (second team) and Abi Brighton (all-freshman team).

UP NEXT: The winner of Tuesday's contest will advance to the SEC Tournament semifinals, facing either No. 14 seed LSU or No. 3 seed Texas A&M on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET. The matchup will be televised on SEC Network.

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