Lady Vols Take Down #17 Xavier In NCAA First Round

Saturday, November 11

Cincinnati, OH

4 PM

University of Tennessee

3-4-39-6-4; SEC

Xavier

6-0-414-4-4; BE

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Tennessee	0	0	0	1	1
Xavier	0	0	0	0	0

November 11, 2023 | Soccer

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By: Kimberly Hood

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Lady Vols took down No. 17 Xavier on the road Saturday, winning 1-0 in double overtime to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The victory over the fourth-seeded Musketeers marked the program's first win when opening the NCAA Tournament on a seeded opponent's home turf.

Redshirt-sophomore Ally Zazzara had a career night, racking up 15 saves to tie the Tennessee single-game record set by Sarah Shivley against No. 8 Florida on Nov. 7, 1996. Graduate Sizzy Lawton found the net for Tennessee, and Kameron Simmonds earned the assist.

On the night, Xavier put up 41 shots to the Lady Vols' 11.

"It was a gritty result against a really talented Xavier team," said Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt.

"Tonight was a complete team effort, anchored by Ally (Zazzara) in the goal. I'm incredibly proud of the fight and competitiveness from our team. Their resilience and grit showed through, and I'm excited to take the field again with this group against Nebraska."

Tennessee started out aggressive on offense, getting the ball to Simmonds at the halfline who drove down the right flank into the Xavier box to put a shot on frame less than a minute into the game. Maria Galley made the save, and Lawton ran onto the rebound, but her putback was a foot wide of the post.

Xavier countered in the 10^th minute when Regan Dancer went one-on-one with Ally Brown at the top of the box and blasted a shot toward the goal, but Brown was able to knock it down, and the UT defense cleared.

In the 13^th minute, Simmonds beat a defender and passed the ball to Macaira Midgley before breaking into the box. Midgley threaded a pass between two defenders back to Simmonds at the penalty mark, but her shot sailed high.

Xavier then went on the offensive, going ahead in the shot count 14-4 before the end of the half. Zazzara logged three massive saves to hold the Musketeers scoreless.

The Lady Vols came out swinging in the second half, ripping off four shots in the first six minutes, two of which were blocked and the other two were wide.

Brooklynn Miltenberger got a header that would have been on target on a set piece in the 55^th minute, but Kennedy Price came up with the block.

Three minutes later Madison Ayson put a header on frame off a lob into the box, but Zazzara was there to collect a career-high-tying seventh save of the day.

Zazzara came up clutch again in the 73^rd minute, punching a rocket from Shelby Sallee over the crossbar.

With just under a minute left in regulation, Simmonds charged a Xavier defender who was shielding the ball on the baseline to force a corner kick that Midgley placed in front of the goal, but UT wasn't able to convert, and the game went into overtime.

Xavier got off 10 shots during extra time to Tennessee's one, but that's the only shot UT needed, as Lawton blasted a shot from 12 yards out that ricocheted off a Musketeer defender and into the side net in the 102nd minute.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will face fifth-seeded Nebraska for the NCAA Second Round on Friday. Kickoff time has not been announced.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY: The win improves the Lady Vols NCAA Tournament record to 17-12-3 and marks the 10^th time UT has advanced to the NCAA Round of 32.