Tag: Arkansas soccer

Arkansas soccer nets transfers from Gonzaga, Utah

Former Gonzaga forward Kate Doyle and Utah midfielder Audrey Shackelford have joined the Arkansas soccer program as transfers.

The Arkansas soccer team and head coach Colby Hale announced the addition of two transfers on Friday.

Forward Kate Doyle joins the Razorbacks after four seasons at Gonzaga. Doyle had 16 goals in her career at Gonzaga to go with 12 assists and 44 points. She had six game-winning goals.

Doyle netted seven goals in an injury-shortened season in 2023. She scored in all six games she played after totaling three goals and six assists in 2022 while being named an All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention. Doyle was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team in 2021.

“I felt like the opportunity to play for one of the best teams in the nation and challenge myself to compete at this level was something I couldn’t pass up,” Doyle said in a news release via the Arkansas athletics department. “Talking with the coaches made me feel it would be a great fit in terms of play style and my values as a player,”

Arkansas also landed freshman midfielder Audrey Shackelford, who joined the Razorbacks after enrolling early at Utah. Shackelford played for San Juan SC in the Elite Club National League. She was named an ECNL All-Conference player.

“I chose the University of Arkansas because of their winning mentality and competitive atmosphere. The coaches are awesome and will push me to be the best player and person I can be,” Shakelford said in the athletic department’s news release.

Arkansas went 15-5-2 and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago before losing to Pitt, 4-3. The Razorbacks went 3-0-1 in their spring exhibition schedule, which concluded on April 14 with a 2-2 tie against Baylor.

Arkansas’ best soccer player now joining the Arkansas basketball team, too

Bea Franklin was the SEC Midfielder of the Year for the Razorbacks. Now she’ll join her classmates on the basketball court for the Hogs.

Several have played two sports while at the University of Arkansas. Rarely, though, are they as good as Bea Franklin.

The Razorbacks’ soccer midfielder, who was named SEC Midfielder of the Year for the top-15-ranked team, will join her classmates on the women’s basketball team, the Arkansas athletic department announced Wednesday.

Franklin led the Razorbacks on the pitch with a team-high nine goals and a team-high nine assists during the fall. It was her third season on the Arkansas soccer team after transferring from Notre Dame.

She hasn’t played college basketball, but she helped Seattle Prep to the state championship game in her last year of high school. As a senior, Frankling averaged a stat-stuffing 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals.

Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors has known her since even before then when he coached at the University of Washington.

Franklin is set to join the team in time for their games against Florida State on Thursday and UCLA on Sunday.

 

Arkansas’ season is finished after Razorbacks stunned by Pittsburgh in NCAA Tournament

Arkansas hadn’t lost at Razorback Field all season. Until Friday.

The Arkansas soccer season is finished.

The regular-season SEC title-holders, something common with the Hogs for the last several years, were stunned at Razorback Field on Friday night, 4-3, by Pittsburgh in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt, the No. 7 seed in the region, went ahead in the 89th minute when Ellie Coffield broke a 3-all tie with her goal into the top left corner of the Arkansas net. All Pittsburgh had to do from there was hold on for another two-ish minutes.

The late-half stuff was Arkansas’ buggaboo.

The Hogs had a 2-1 lead in the waning minutes of the first half before Keera Melenhorst tied the game in the 43rd minute.

Bea Franklin broke the tie in the Razorbacks advantage in the 69th, but the Panthers quickly tied it again when Coffield scored her first of the game in the 77th.

Arkansas had made the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight the last two seasons. The Razorbacks finished the year 15-5-2 and not lost in Fayetteville all season.

Arkansas soccer preparing for Pittsburgh in second round

Arkansas welcomes Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Memphis to Razorback Field for the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend.

Arkansas will not rematch Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after all.

Pittsburgh disposed of the Buckeyes on Saturday, 6-0, and will visit Razorback Field on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

The winner of the Notre Dame-Memphis match, which will also take place on Arkansas’ pitch, will face the Pittsburgh-Arkansas winner in the round of 16 on Sunday at 6 p.m.

Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.

Arkansas is still likely going to be without All-American Anna Podojil, who didn’t play against Grambling this past Friday and her status remains uncertain.

Freshman forward Bella Field stepped up when called upon against Grambling, tallying a hat trick.

The Razorbacks are 10-0 in NCAA Tournament matches at Razorback Field, and have won 32 matches in a row on their home confines.

Arkansas blows out Grambling in NCAA Tourney opener on Friday

Arkansas romped past Grambling in the second half in the NCAA Tournament opener on Friday night at Razorback Field.

While the Arkansas basketball team was battling Gardner-Webb across the street, the soccer team was tangling with Grambling in the NCAA Tournament opener.

It was a stalemate in the first half, but a rout in the second 45 minutes as the Razorbacks cruised to a 5-0 victory and a spot in the next round.

Bella Field earned herself a hat trick, scoring three times in the second half, one off an assist from Morgan White and the other two from Ava Tankersley.

Tankersley got into the act herself just seconds after Field scored her first goal, as both of them tallied goals in the 51st minute.

Sophia Aragon put the finishing touches on the contest with a goal in the 83rd minute to finalize.

Arkansas will await the winner of Pittsburgh and Ohio State, who play on Saturday.

Arkansas soccer earns No. 2 seed in NCAA Tourney; will play Grambling

Arkansas soccer is a 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and will host Grambling in its first round matchup.

The Arkansas soccer team will be a 2 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, it was announced on Monday.

Coming off a SEC Tournament championship game loss to Georgia, the Razorbacks will host Grambling in the first round on Friday evening.

By earning the 2 seed, it matched the program’s highest seed earned in its history.

Arkansas (14-4-2), which won the regular season SEC title, will play the winner of Pittsburgh and Ohio State.

Ohio State, coincidentally, was the team Arkansas defeated in the second round a year ago.

The Razorbacks are in the Florida State bracket, the team that eliminated them in the Elite Eight a year ago, 1-0.

It remains to be seen the status of All-American Anna Podojil, who was injured in the SEC Tournament final.

Tickets for the Grambling game are available for $8 for adults and $3 for youth 17 and under.

No. 10 Hogs suffer agonizing 1-0 loss in SEC Tournament final

The Razorbacks soccer team suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Georgia in the SEC Tourney championship game.

The No. 10 Arkansas soccer team (14-4-2) suffered the ultimate heart-breaker in the championship game of the SEC Tournament on Sunday in Pensacola. The Hogs fell to Georgia 1-0, with the lone goal coming off an own-goal that was deflected in off a Razorback player.

The goal was actually scored early in the game, less than seven minutes in, when Georgia’s Mallie McKenzie dribbled down the right flank and sent the ball in to teammate Hannah White at the near post. Unfortunately, the ball then went in the goal off the foot of Arkansas midfielder Makenzie Malham, who was pressuring White down the field.

The Razorbacks did everything they could to get the goal back and even the score, outshooting the Bulldogs 18-7 and forcing Georgia goalkeeper Jordan Brown to make seven saves. Graduate midfielder Bea Franklin led the Hogs with six shots on the day.

Freshman Phoebe Carver had another stellar game in goal for the Razorbacks, recording three saves.

Arkansas nearly tied it with 1:30 remaining in the match, as freshman midfielder Kennedy Ball sent a cross pass to the back post. It connected with freshman forward Bella Field, whose header sailed just over the crossbar.

A trio of Razorbacks – Malham, Franklin and forward Ava Tankersley – were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Hogs now await their NCAA Tournament draw, which will be revealed on Monday at 3 p.m. The selection show will be streamed live on the NCAA.com website.

Arkansas shuts out MSU, moves on to SEC Tournament Championship

The Razorbacks have never won the SEC Tournament title despite going to the title game six of the last seven years.

Arkansas coach Colby Hale may not have been too concerned with his team making it to the SEC Tournament championship.

But now that the Razorbacks are heading there, you can bet he’s going to do everything he can to help them win.

Arkansas, the regular-season conference champs, advanced to the postseason tournament title game with a 2-0 win over No. 18 Mississippi State on Thursday. The two teams had actually met less than a week before in the regular-season finale, too, another Arkansas win.

Ava Tankersley’s seventh goal of the season gave Arkansas a 1-0 lead just 12 minutes into the game. Phoebe Carver had to make just one save in the first half, which allowed Morgan White’s second-half goal to provide the Razorbacks with a 2-0 lead.

Hale had said before the tournament started that he wasn’t terribly concerned with how his team played in the tournament because he was more focused on the NCAA Tournament. An Arkansas win of the SEC title, though, would be the school’s first in history after winning four of the last five during the regular season.

The Razorbacks will play Georgia, a team Arkansas beat earlier in the season, Saturday at 1 p.m. for the crown.

Arkansas blows out Auburn, advances to SEC Tournament semifinals

Auburn was the only team to beat the Razorbacks in league play during the regular season.

Arkansas soccer will have no one-and-done this year at the SEC Tournament.

The Razorbacks, the top seed and regular-season champion, had no problem defeating No. 8-seed Auburn on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, 4-0. The win makes up for Arkansas’ loss to the Tigers during the regular season, the only loss of the Hogs’ SEC regular season.

Arkansas next plays No. 4-seed Mississippi State in the tournament semifinals on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on SEC Network. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 2 Georgia are on the other side of the bracket.

Morgan White and Bea Franklin each popped goals in the first half, in the 28th and 34th minute respectively, while Anna Podojil and Kate Carter scored in the second half in the rout. Arkansas outshot Auburn, 22-7, and 10-2 on-goal.

The Razorbacks have never won the SEC Tournament title, despite winning four of the last five regular-season crowns.

Colby Hale named SEC Coach of the Year for Arkansas soccer

Ava Tankersley was named SEC Forward of the Year and Bea Franklin SEC Midfielder of the Year, too.

Colby Hale has built a dynasty.

Arkansas soccer will undoubtedly qualify for its eighth straight NCAA Tournament when the field is announced in a week and the Razorbacks have gone to the Elite Eight two straight seasons.

But Hale, in his 12th year as coach, may have his best team yet and he was rewarded for it Saturday as he was named SEC Coach of the Year.

Hale led the Razorbacks to a 12-3-2 record overall and a 8-1-1 mark in SEC play. Arkansas will enter the SEC Tournament, which the Hogs start Tuesday against either Tennessee or Auburn, as the 10th-ranked team in the nation.

Five of Hale’s players joined him earning league honors, too. Ava Tankersley was named SEC Forward of the Year and Bea Franklin was named SEC Midfielder of the Year. Forward Anna Podojil and defender Ellie Podojil were named second-team All-SEC and Avery Wren was named Freshmen All-SEC.

Tankersley’s five goals scored in league play ranked second in the SEC. Franklin led the Hogs with seven goals and 21 points.