No. 22 Tennessee Drops Thriller To No. 5 Duke, 3-2

Thursday, August 25

Knoxville

7 PM

University of Tennessee

0-2-1, 0-0-0

Duke

3-0-0, 0-0-0

Duke

Tennessee

August 25, 2022 | Soccer

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By: Kimberly Hood

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 22 Tennessee dropped a hard-fought contest on Thursday, falling 3-2 to No. 5 Duke in front of a crowd of 1,622 at Regal Soccer Stadium.

Redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas and sophomore Taylor Huff found the back of the net for the Lady Vols (0-1-2). In goal, senior Lindsey Romig made three saves.

The Blue Devils (3-0-0) got goals from Sophie Jones, Michelle Cooper and Kat Rader.

"We just played a great game against the No. 5 team in the country and feel disappointed in the result, but the performance shows that we can play with the best teams in the country. There's no doubt about that," said Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt.

"I think going forward, it's just continuing to build our confidence and hold ourselves to a standard. We've got to play for 90 minutes, and we haven't done that yet. So, it's about us and our ability to get better."

Huff put the first shot on frame for the Big Orange, driving one low from just inside the 18-yard box seven minutes into play.

The Lady Vols took the lead in the 27^th minute when Thomas found the end of a cross by redshirt-junior Maria Nelson, one-touching a shot past the Duke keeper from six yards out.

Freshman Kameron Simmonds nearly logged her first goal in the 37^th minute, knocking a ball into the mouth of the goal, but the Duke defense came up with a team save.

Romig recorded a save at close range three minutes later, denying a blast from Kat Rader and sending the game into halftime with Tennessee leading 1-0.

Huff scored her first goal of the season in the 52^nd minute, heading a ball far-post off a serve from fellow sophomore Claire Rain.

The Blue Devils found the back of the net in the 70^th minute when Sophie Jones converted on a corner kick into the box.

Duke tied it up two minutes later when Michelle Cooper capitalized on a miscommunication by the Tennessee defense, and Kat Radar made it 3-2 with a hit from close range in the 81^st minute.

Thomas nearly equalized it in the 83^rd minute, drilling one from 18 yards out but missing just high off the cross bar.

The Lady Vols got the ball into the box a couple more times in the closing minutes, but couldn't find the net, and time ran out with the final score set at 3-2.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols continue their home stand, hosting Bowling Green in a 7 p.m. ET contest on Wednesday, Aug. 31. The match will be streamed on SECN+.

JAIDA ON THE MOVE: With her second goal of the season, redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas moves into a tie for sixth in all-time career goals at Tennessee with 27. She ties Bunny Shaw and Allison Campbell, and currently sits 16 goals behind No. 1 Kylee Rossi and just six behind No. 2 Hannah Wilkinson.

DANGER HUFF: Sophomore Taylor Huff managed two shots on goal against Duke, finding the net on one. She has now taken six shots over the two games in which she's been in action, all of which have been on frame.