University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
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Mississippi State
MATCH CENTRAL: Tennessee at Mississippi State
September 28, 2023 | Soccer
The Lady Vols will play a second straight game on the road, traveling to Mississippi State for an 8:30 p.m. ET matchup on Friday. Â
Tennessee (6-2-2, 1-1-1 SEC) enters the contest having played No. 7 South Carolina to a 1-1 draw in Columbia on Sunday. The teams were evenly matched with UT taking 16 shots and putting five on frame, while the Gamecocks managed 19 shots with six on goal. Freshman Kate Runyon started in place of sophomore Kameron Simmonds, who was on national team duty with Jamaica, and netted her third goal of the season in the 76th minute.
The Bulldogs (6-3-2, 1-2-0 SEC) are riding a two-game losing streak, having suffered a 1-2 loss at LSU and a 0-1 defeat to Texas A&M at home.Â
THE LAST TIME WE MET: The 10th-ranked Lady Vols took a 2-1 victory over MSU in Regal Stadium on Oct. 15, 2021. Freshman Claire Rain and junior Claudia Dipasupil found the net for Tennessee. In goal, junior Lindsey Romig made four saves on the day. Â
VS THE BULLDOGS: Tennessee's all-time record against MSUÂ is 17-2-2. When playing in Starkville, UT owns an 8-1-2 advantage. Â
SCOUTING MSU: Mississippi State was picked to finish ninth in the SEC as voted on by the league's coaches. Maggie Wadsworth, who was the Bulldog's leading scorer with eight goals as a freshman in 2022, has tallied two thus far as a sophomore. Last season, MSU went 12-6-4 overall and 4-4-2 in SEC play.Â
FRESHMAN ON FIRE: Reigning SEC Freshman of the Week Kate Runyon has tallied goals in UT's last two contests to move into a tie with graduate Sizzy Lawton for second on the team scoring (3) and total points (7).
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY: Simmonds, who has tallied a team-leading six goals and two assists thus far in her sophomore campaign, would rank third in single-season program records for points per game (1.75) and fourth in goals per game (.75).Â
THOMAS IN THE RECORD BOOK: Before suffering a season-ending injury, redshirt-senior Jaida Thomas moved her career total to 39 goals to trail UT's leading career scorer, Kylie Rossi, by just four goals. Thomas amassed her 39 goals in just 59 games for a goals-per-game average of .66 to rank third all-time at Tennessee behind only Bunny Shaw (0.77) and Allison Campbell (0.70).
IN THEIR OFFENSIVE THIRD: On the season, UT has out-shot opponents 184-72 and taken 89 corner kicks while limiting the opposition to just 24. Tennessee currently ties for second in Division I in corner kicks per game (8.8) and ranks 17th in shots per game (18.4).
EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: UT's 22 goals thus far have been scored by 10 different players. Freshmen Sarah Greiner, Kate Runyon (3) and Keaton Mitchell, sophomore Kameron Simmonds (6), juniors Jordan Fusco (2) and Nolyn Bartholomew, redshirt-seniors Maria Nelson (2) and Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie and graduate Sizzy Lawton (3) have all found the back of the net for the Big Orange. An own goal by ETSU rounds out the total.
FRESHMEN CONTRIBUTING: All four of UT's active freshmen have recorded at least one goal or assist on the season. Forward Kate Runyon has made five starts, logging three goals and an assist. Fellow rookies Keaton Mitchell and Sarah Greiner have both tallied goals, and Linette Hofmann has started eight contests, recording an assist in the season opener against Cal.
NEW FACES: Tennessee added 10 newcomers in its 2023 signing class. All 10 are versatile field players with six enrolling as freshmen and four arriving as transfers with multiple years of collegiate experience.
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BACK AGAIN: The Lady Vols return five starters and 20 letterwinners from the 2022 team that clinched an SEC East Division title for the third straight season.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH:Â Redshirt senior Jaida Thomas, senior Lawson Renie, juniors Sheridan Michel and Jordan Fusco, and sophomore Kameron Simmonds were all named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.
 UP NEXT: Tennessee will return home to host Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Regal Stadium.Â
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