No. 9 Arkansas soccer program claims fourth SEC title in five years

The Arkansas soccer team earned at least a share of the SEC crown with a win against Ole Miss on Sunday.

The 9th-ranked Arkansas soccer team did it again on Sunday, crushing Ole Miss 5-1, to secure it fourth SEC regular-season title in five years.

Razorback Field was filled with 3,035 rowdy fans, the fourth largest crowd in program history and the fourth top 10 crowd of the season.

The Razorbacks (11-3-2, 7-1-1 SEC) have 22 points in the standing, putting them three points ahead of  South Carolina (11-1-5, 5-0-4) with one game remaining. A win on Thursday against Mississippi State would secure the program’s third outright league title.

Junior Sophia Aragon got the scoring started in the ninth minute of the match started the scoring almost nine minutes into the match, getting a pass across the box from forward Morgan White, and finished it with a shot between the legs of the Ole Miss goalkeeper.

The Hogs added two more goals in two minutes, as freshman Bella Field came in off the bench to score in 25th minute, followed by a goal by senior Ava Tankersley in the 27th minute, taking the lead to 3-0 before halftime. Tankersley has now registered a point in six straight matches.

Graduate Anna Podojil, the program’s all-time leading scorer, kept things rolling with a goal in the 56th minute, the 49th of her career. Midfielder Bea Franklin earned her second assist of the match.

Freshman Kennedy Ball scored her second goal of the season, capping the Arkansas’ scoring with a goal in the 77th minute, getting the assist from fellow freshman Sabrina Jones.

Freshman goalkeeper Phoebe Carver started her eighth game of the season and played the entire 90 minutes. Although she gave up her third goal of the season in the 79th minute, she also tallied two saves.

The Razorbacks’ 27 shots were the most in an SEC game this season, as Arkansas held Ole Miss to just six shots, the seventh time Arkansas has held an opponent to a single-digit shot total this season.

The Hogs will close out the regular season against the Bulldogs (9-3-4, 4-2-2 SEC) Thursday at 6:30 p.m.