Lady Vols Shut Out Kennesaw State, 5-0

Thursday, September 8

Knoxville

6:30 PM

University of Tennessee

3-2-1, 0-0-0

Kennesaw State

1-5-1, 0-0-0

Kennesaw St.

Tennessee

September 08, 2022 | Soccer

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By: Kimberly Hood

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Lady Vols took a commanding win over Kennesaw State on Thursday, winning 5-0 in Regal Stadium.

Redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas and fifth-year senior Mackenzie George each logged a brace, while sophomore Jordan Fusco rounded out the scoring for Tennessee (3-2-1). In goal, Lindsey Romig got the start and logged one save in 73 minutes of action. Redshirt-freshman Ally Zazzara closed out the match.

Caeden Price led Kennesaw State (1-4-1) offensively, getting off two shots, one of which was on goal. In the net, Allanah Blye made nine saves on the day.

"(George and Thomas) are studs. Even when you're not playing well those two can take the load off you. Jaida just does what Jaida does and finds a way to score a goal whether it's pretty or whether it's ugly. She just has an instinct to score," said Tennessee associate head coach Jonathan Morgan.

"The great part is we got George to score tonight. We're building her confidence right now, and if those two can do what they're doing tonight at the end of season, we're going to be a handful."

The Lady Vols dominated play in the first half, getting off 15 shots while holding the Owls to just two.

Thomas nearly got UT on the board in the 14^th minute, getting loose inside the box and blasting one off the far goalpost.

Four minutes later she found the back of the net, logging her sixth goal of the season when she collected a ball knocked down by the KSU keeper and put it into the back of the goal.

Fusco ripped a shot on a frame from the top of the box in the 27^th minute, but Blye came up with the save.

Tennessee went up 2-0 just before the half when Thomas added another from close range in the 44^th minute, sliding a ball past the keeper off a pass by junior Maddie Eskin.

George found the back of the net less than two minutes into the second half, placing a left-footed shot into the side net off an entry pass from fifth-year senior Hannah Zaluski.

In the 60^th minute, Fusco ran onto a pass placed perfectly behind the defense by Huff and buried a shot far post from 12 yards out.

George added her second of the match in the 67^th minute, running onto a pass from Fusco before blowing past a defender and driving the ball low into the left corner of the goal.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will wrap up their six-game homestand on Sunday, hosting Queens University in a 1 p.m. ET matinee. The contest will be streamed on SECN+.

FEELS LIKE '98: Tennessee has won the last three games by four, seven and five goals, respectively. The last time a Tennessee team won three straight games by four or more goals was in September 1998 when they defeated UNC Asheville (8-1), Xavier (4-0) and Arkansas (5-0).

TRACKING THOMAS: With two goals against Kennesaw State, Jaida Thomas creeps within one goal of tying Hannah Wilkinson at second all-time in career scoring at UT. With 32 career goals, she trails No. 1 Kylee Rossi by only 11.