Tag: Arkansas soccer

Arkansas soccer opens SEC play with 3-1 win over Tennessee

The Razorbacks soccer team opened the SEC with a 3-1 win at Tennessee.

For the first time since 2016, the No. 11 Arkansas soccer team opened SEC play with a road victory. The Lady Razorbacks got a pair of first-half goals from graduate mid-fielder Bea Franklin, then added another late goal from junior forward Sophia Aragon, to defeat Tennessee 3-1 Friday night.

Arkansas (4-2-1, 1-0-0 SEC) junior goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde, along with a stout Razorback defense, shined bright in the second half, fending off 11 shots, two on target, to keep Tennessee (5-2-1, 0-1-0 SEC) scoreless early.

Franklin led the Hogs with four of the team’s 10 shots. Her first goal was scored on the first corner kick of the match, at the 12-minute mark. The kick was taken by freshman defender Avery Wren and headed on target by forward Anna Podojil. The Tennessee goalkeeper then poked the ball back out to a wide-open Franklin, who booted it in from the six-yard box.

After Tennessee tied it at 1-1 in the 30th minute, Franklin quickly put the Hogs back in front a minute and a half later. Senior Kiley Dulaney served the ball in from distance, connecting with Franklin, who put it in with her patented header. Eight of her 10 career goals have been scored with her head.

Arkansas’ defense shut the Vols down in the second half, but the Hogs added an insurance goal in the 72nd minute. The speedy Aragon raced past two Tennessee defenders and finished on the far post to put the game on ice.

The Hogs will host their final non-conference game Sunday against Grand Canyon (6-2-1). Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the match will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.

Razorback soccer team opens SEC play at Tennessee on Friday

The Lady Razorbacks return home on Sunday to face Grand Canyon.

The No. 11 Arkansas soccer team will open SEC play Friday with a trip to Tennessee, before returning home to finish it’s non-conference slate against Grand Canyon on Sunday.

It will be the 22nd meeting all-time, between the Lady Razorbacks (3-2-1) and Lady Vols (5-1-1), who last met in the 2021 SEC Tournament championship match, won by Tennessee. The match gets under way at 6 p.m. CT.

Tennessee is riding a three-match unbeaten streak after finishing its non-conference slate with a 5-1-1 record with a loss at SMU and a draw against Indiana.

Arkansas will then host Grand Canyon at 1 p.m. Sunday at Razorback Field. The Lady Lopes are making their return trip to Fayetteville, after the Razorbacks earned a 3-0 victory in Phoenix last season.

Grand Canyon is coming off a 2-0 win against North Dakota on Sept. 10. It was the fifth shutout for the Lopes through the first eight games of the season.

The Razorbacks are looking to bounce back from a pair of tough road losses to No. 4 North Carolina and No. 9 Clemson. Both games this weekend will be streamed on the SEC+ network.

Sunday’s match will also coincide with Brew Pig Sooie, the first outdoor beer festival hosted by the Arkansas Razorbacks.

Quick Kicks

  • The Hogs enter week five ranked No. 11 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 17 in TopDrawerSoccer’s poll.
  • Since 2019, the Hogs are 19-10-4 on the road and have beaten four ranked teams. Arkansas is 4-6-2 in ranked road matches since 2019.
  • Arkansas will look to extend its 25-match home unbeaten streak, which dates back to 2021.
  • The Hogs have gone 23-0-2 at Razorback Field since beating No. 25 BYU on Aug. 30, 2021.
  • Dating back to 2016, Arkansas is 60-9-4 at Razorback Field
  • Arkansas has had 11 players score its 18 goals in 2023. Three of the 11 have come off the bench and two of the 18 goals were netted by goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde.
  • Graduate senior Anna Podojil enters the weekend as the DI leader in points (122) and ranks second in goals (46).
  • Podojil was named to United Soccer Coaches Forwards to Watch list and TopDrawerSoccer’s Preseason Best XI Third Team and the No. 29 player on their preseason top 100 watch list.
  • Podojil, Ellie Podojil, Bea Franklin, Kiley Dulaney, Ava Tankersley and Makenzie Malham joined the SEC Preseason Watch List

No. 7 Hogs fall to No. 9 Clemson in second straight loss

Arkansas showed itself still a national power, just maybe a half-step short of national title contender. For now.

Thursday night’s game between Arkansas and Clemson was the sort of match both teams needed.

The Razorbacks and Tigers each have dreams of a Final Four appearance later in the fall and matching up similiarly skilled opponents will help when NCAA Tournament time rolls around.

It’s why the seventh-ranked Hogs shouldn’t feel too bad after dropping a 1-0 game against the No. 9 Tigers on the road.

Arkansas edged Clemson on the stat sheet. The Razorbacks had more shots, more shots on-net, more corner kicks and had possession 59% of the game. It was just that in the 36th minute Caroline Conti potted her first of the season from Tatum Short and Samantha Meredith.

The loss was Arkansas’ second straight after the Hogs fell to No. 4 North Carolina on Sunday. Arkansas opens SEC play Friday, Sept. 15 in Knoxville against Tennessee in a game that will also serve the Razorbacks’ next, period.

No. 8 Razorback soccer suffers first defeat at No. 4 UNC

The Arkansas soccer team took an early 1-0 lead, but was able to hang on in Chapel Hill.

The Arkansas soccer team took an early 1-0 lead on the road against fourth-ranked North Carolina on Sunday, but were unable to hold off the Tarheels in the second half and fell 3-1 in Chapel Hill.

It was the first loss of the season for the No. 8 Razorbacks (3-1-1).

The Hogs struck first when senior forward Anna Podojil’s scored her first goal of the season in the 22nd minute. After picking up the ball near midfield, Podojil broke away from a Carolina defender, then fired from outside the 18-yard box. The shot was deflected by Tar Heel goalkeeper Emmie Allen, but managed to bounce past the goal line.

It was Podojil’s 46th career goal, which leads all of NCAA Division I.

North Carolina (4-0-2) was able to knot the score at 1-1 in the 41st minute, getting a goal from forward Mia Oliaro. But not until the final 25 minutes did the Tar Heels begin to pull away, getting a goal from forward Ally Sentor in the 66th minute, then adding the final netter by forward Avery Patterson in the 82nd minute.

Arkansas gave up a season-high 17 shots, but only allowed one corner kick, while taking seven.

“We aren’t a silver lining team, and we will take a lot from that,” head coach Colby Hale said. “We did what we do and for long portions of the game, we were equal if not better. We went after them at their place. Corners were 7-1 us. Championship teams embrace doing difficult things and we will always go for it. We’re never happy with a loss and that is an important step for this team’s goals. We will grow as we take on the next challenge.”

The Razorbacks will remain on the East Coast this week to face No. 11 Clemson (3-0-1) on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

Razorbacks to host beer-tasting event before Hogs soccer game in September

Fans can get unlimited five-ounce samples of their favorite beverages and a ticket to Arkansas’ game against Grand Canyon in the same deal.

It wasn’t that long ago that university brass and athletic departments across the country were dead-set against alcohol at their athletic events. Then they were wary of it.

Now?

Now, at Arkansas anyway, they’re embracing it.

The Razorbacks are hosting Brew Pig Sooie on-campus on Sept. 17 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with the Arkansas soccer team set to be in action shortly after the event’s close.

Patrons can pay $30 to enter Brew Pig Sooie, where they’ll have access to more than 10 different breweries with unlimited sampling in their five-ounce tasting cup. They also receive a ticket to the soccer game and food trucks will be available for lunch.

Breweries participating are both local and national and include Core, Bentonville, Flyway,  Natural State Beer, Saddlebock and Anheuser-Busch, among others.

For more details, check the U of A athletics web site.

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Razorbacks go on the road, tie No. 12 team in the nation

The last couple of years, Arkansas would have lost a nonconference game on the road against a great team.

In recent years, Arkansas’ game Sunday against Notre Dame would have been one the Razorbacks would have lost.

As good as the Hogs have been the last two seasons under coach Colby Hale, nonconference road games against good opponents have been a thorny issue. And while Arkansas didn’t beat No. 12 Notre Dame on the road, the game felt, in the grand scheme of things, like a big step forward.

Tenth-ranked Arkansas tied the Fighting Irish in South Bend, 2-2, behind goals from Sophia Aragon and Morgan White. The result placed the Razorbacks at 2-0-1 in the early going.

Aragon’s goal in the 24th minute tied the game after Notre Dame had taken the lead in the 19th. White then broke the tie in the 50th and Arkansas’ defense went to work.

Notre Dame sent its attack well forward but still had fewer attempts on goal than the Hogs did. But in the 85th minute, Ellie Ospeck sent one home for the Irish off a corner kick, resulting in the final score.

Arkansas is back at home Thursday against reigning Horizon League champions Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

 

Razorbacks blank Oregon to stay unbeaten in early season

The Hogs will take their perfect record on the road to No. 12 Notre Dame on Sunday.

Kickoff time between Arkansas and Oregon on Thursday night may have been pushed back but it didn’t stall any of the Hogs’ offense.

No. 10 Arkansas shutout the Ducks, 4-0, on a balmy night from Razorback Field with all four goals coming in the first half. The victory moved the Hogs to 2-0 on the season.

The game’s start time was pushed back more than 24 hours ahead because of the extreme heat in Northwest Arkansas and throughout the middle of the United States.

Like the heat, the Razorbacks’ pressure was constant. They put 20 shots – 10 each half – on goal to Oregon’s six. Morgan White was Arkansas’ offensive star in the mix. She notched two goals, the opener in the third minute and another in the 20th.

Sophia Aragon scored her first goal of the season in the 18th minute and Emma Johns potted another just before half to provide Arkansas with its final total.

The Hogs are back in action Sunday in their biggest game of nonconference. Arkansas is on the road to South Bend, Indiana, on Sunday play No. 12 Notre Dame.

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Arkansas rolls past Arkansas State in season opener

The Razorbacks looked the part of their No. 8 ranking in beating Arkansas State on Thursday.

The Arkansas soccer team may have lost several starters off last year’s NCAA Tournament team, but the Hogs’ season opener suggested the Razorbacks should make it back in 2023, anyway.

Eighth-ranked Arkansas beat Arkansas State from Razorback Field, 6-0, on Thursday night to kick things off in style.

The six goals were scored by six different players. Ainsley Erzen, Bea Franklin, Patricia Tsokos, Sierra Cota-Yarde and Kiley Dulaney were the Hogs who scored and the Red Wolves gave Arkansas another via an own goal in the 11th minute.

The home team was never in trouble, taking the lead in just fifh minute on Erzen’s goal. By halftime, the Razorbacks lead was four.

Coach Colby Hale was able to play nearly his entire roster as only Cota-Yarde, the goalkeeper, played the whole 90 minutes. In all, 13 players came off the Arkansas bench.

The Razorbacks will have a week off before their next game. They host Oregon on Thursday, Aug. 24 and Notre Dame on Saturday, Aug. 27 in the next week’s worth of games. The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 3 in the nation.

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Six Razorbacks named to SEC soccer preseason watch list

Arkansas soccer is full of momentum headed into Thursday night’s season opener with in-state rival Arkansas State.

After being picked as favorites to win the conference title last week, the No. 8 Arkansas soccer team got more preseason honors Tuesday, when six Razorbacks were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.

Graduate forward Anna Podojil made her fourth appearance on the list, continuing the most decorated career in program history. The 5-foot-5 native of Cincinnati, Ohio, is already the Razorback’s all-time leader with 45 career goals, including 15 game-winners, and 119 points. She is also a 4-time All-American and 4-time All-SEC first-team selection.

She is joined on the list by fellow graduate midfielder Bea Franklin, a second-team All-SEC selection last season, as well as a trio of seniors — midfielder Ellie Podojil, forward Kiley Dulaney, and forward Ava Tankersley. It is Franklin and Ellie Podojil’s second time on the list.

Sophomore midfielder Makenzie Malham, who started 17 games last season and was named to the SEC’s All-Freshman team, made her first appearance on the list.

The Lady Razorbacks will open the season at home against Arkansas State on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Arkansas soccer breezes to 6-0 win in preseason finale

The Arkansas soccer team is tuned up for the regular season, which begins Thursday on its home pitch.

The No. 8 Arkansas soccer team looks primed for Thursday’s regular-season home opener against Arkansas State, after rolling to a 6-0 victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in Saturday’s preseason finale.

The Lady Razorbacks scored all six of their goals in a 24-minute span that began late in the first half, after freshman Patricia Tsokos booted in a free kick on an assist from junior midfielder Van Fitch, to break the scoreless tie in the 40th minute.

Fellow freshman Taliyah Spain then added a goal with five seconds remaining in the half, with an assist from sophomore Ainsley Erzen, to put Arkansas up 2-0 at the break.

The flood gates opened in the second half, as the Razorbacks got goals from seniors Anna Podojil and Ava Tankersley, along with junior Sophia Aragon and freshman Bella Field. Arkansas out-shot the Cougars 24-3, including 12-2 on goal.

Junior goalkeeper Sierra Cota-Yarde played more than 71 minutes in net for the Razorbacks, recording one save. True freshman Phoebe Carver got 19 minutes in goal, also recording a save.

Arkansas, who tied Kansas State 1-1 in its first exhibition game on Monday, will welcome Arkansas State at 6 p.m. Thursday at Razorback Field.