Tennessee soccer beats UC Davis in final game before SEC play
The Lady Vols closed out non-conference play with a 1-0 win over the UC Davis Aggies.
Lady Vol MA Vignola celebrates with Tennessee coach Brian Pensky when Tennessee played UC Davis at Regal Soccer Stadium on Sept. 18, 2019. Photo by/ Tennessee Soccer's Twitter @Vol_Soccer
The Tennessee Lady Vols (6-1-1) hosted the UC Davis Aggies (4-3) on Wednesday following their 3-3 draw with UMass on Sunday. In the first ever meeting between the two teams, Tennessee won 1-0 in an ugly match with UC Davis.
The first half was a scoreless affair. Tennessee had plenty of opportunities to score but could not find the back of the net. They out shot the Aggies 10-2, had 2 shots on goal and 2 corner kicks.
The Lady Vols’ best chance to score in the first half came in the 26th minute with a shot from senior MA Vignola. UC Davis goalkeeper Nicki Rucki had an impressive leaping save to keep the game at 0-0. Rucki had 2 saves in the first half for the Aggies.
Freshman midfielder Sonia Ouchene Salón led the team in shots at the half with 3. Vignola had 2 shots with 1 on goal. Mackenzie George, Claire Franks, Erin Gilroy, Isabella Cook and Alicia Donley also had 1 shot each in the first half.
The second half began the same way as the first. Tennessee struggled to put one past the goalkeeper, even with plenty of attempts, while UC Davis struggled to even get a shot off.
Tennessee finally got on the board on their 19th shot with a goal from Vignola in the 73rd minute off an assist from Amy Thompson.
The Lady Vols’ defense carried them to the win. Pognay had 3 saves and the defense only allowed 8 attempted shots from UC Davis. The Aggies had a final attempt to tie the score in the final seconds but Tennessee made a stand to keep them scoreless.
Tennessee had 21 total shots in the match. The lone goal scorer Vignola had 7 shots with 3 on goal.
“We tried to put as many goals on frame as we can, especially in the first half and we wanted to get as many shots as possible,” Vignola said.
UC Davis was Tennessee’s final non-conference game of the regular season.
To begin SEC play the Lady Vols will have a 2 game road stretch against Vanderbilt and Auburn.
“It was important to get this win after that emotional tie at UMass on Sunday, give us a little bit more confidence and juice going into Vanderbilt,” Tennessee coach Brian Pensky said.
Tennessee will play their next match in Nashville against the Vanderbilt Commodores. It will be played at 5 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, and the match will be aired on ESPNU.
Edited by Christian Knox and Ben Gleason
Photo courtesy of Tennessee Soccer’s Twitter (@Vol_Soccer)
Ryan Sylvia is the Sports Editor at TNJN. He is a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville majoring in journalism and electronic media. Although he spent most of his life being raised outside of Philadelphia, he was born in Knoxville, and he is happy to be back home. Ryan has had a love for sports from an early age, and he found his love for writing in high school while taking journalism classes. He hopes to find a job involving both his passions as a sports journalist after graduation. To reach Ryan, email him at rsylvia@vols.utk.edu
