Tag: Colby Hale

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.

Arkansas soccer defeats Texas A&M to stay undefeated in SEC play

With Arkansas soccer’s win over Texas A&M on Sunday, head coach Colby Hale reached an impressive career milestone.

[autotag]Arkansas soccer[/autotag] has had the Texas A&M Aggies’ number as of late.

On Sunday, the No. 11 Razorbacks (7-2-1, 3-0-0 SEC) were able to pick up their sixth-straight win over Texas A&M (5-4-2, 1-1-1 SEC) with a 1-0 road victory. The win means that Arkansas is the only undefeated team in SEC play through three games. It also marks the fourth straight win for Arkansas overall.

The lone score in the game came from freshman [autotag]Kennedy Ball[/autotag]. Ball picked an opportune time to score her first collegiate goal, as it ultimately was the difference in the game.

With 16 minutes left in the contest, the Hogs took their 12th corner kick of the game. That allowed them to keep possession until senior [autotag]Kiley Dulaney[/autotag] sent the ball into midfielder [autotag]Bea Franklin[/autotag] inside the six-yard box. Franklin then headed the ball right to Kennedy Ball, who’s shot snuck past the Aggie goalkeeper for the score.

One other notable thing about the win, is that it marked 150th win of Arkansas head coach [autotag]Colby Hale[/autotag]’s career.

Next up for the Razorbacks is a trip to Missouri to face the Tigers on Thursday, September 28th. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and will be streamed on SEC Network+.

No. 11 Razorback soccer team blasts No. 9 Alabama, 5-0

The No. 11 Arkansas soccer team took down No. 9 Alabama, 5-0, at home Thursday night.

The No. 11 Arkansas soccer team extended its unbeaten streak at Razorback Field to 27 games Thursday night, walloping No. 9 Alabama, 5-0, in front of a raucous crowd of 3,660.

The Crimson Tide (6-1-4, 0-1-1) was the highest-ranked team to play in Fayetteville since the Hogs faced No. 5 Texas A&M in 2020.

The Razorbacks (6-2-1, 2-0 SEC) wasted little time in asserting their dominance in the SEC home-opener, scoring three goals in the match’s first 15 minutes.

All-American graduate forward Anna Podojil led the charge once again, as she recorded assists on the first two goals, before scoring the third one herself. It was her program-record 48th career goal, which ranks second among active DI players.

Graduated mid-fielder Bea Franklin scored the opening goal, just three minutes in, as she took a cross pass from Podojil and tipped the ball into the net. Franklin is the team’s second-leading scorer this season with five goals.

Just four minutes later, Podojil found freshman midfielder Avery Wren, who drilled the ball from the top of the 18-yard box into the far post, for her first collegiate goal.

Podojil finally put herself in the scoring column, taking a low cross pass from fellow graduate forward Morgan White, then beating the Alabama defenders for a commanding 3-0 lead.

The Razorbacks have scored 32 total goals this season, with 14 different goal scorers.

“You’ve got to stop Anna, Ava (Tankersley) and Morgan,” Razorbacks Head Coach Colby Hale said. “And after that you still have 11, 12, 13 kids that can score.”

Arkansas’ primary goalkeeper, junior Sierra Cota-Yarde, was excused from Thursday’s match to play for the Portuguese national team. Freshman goalkeeper Phoebe Carver got her first start in goal for the Razorbacks and made the most of her opportunity, tallying five saves against the Crimson Tide.

“She did not look like a freshman,” Hale said. “It’s a big game for it to be her first game. I thought she was fantastic.”

White added a pair of goals to put the game away in the second half, showing off her speed to outrace the last Tide defender, then slipping the ball past Bama goal keeper Coralie Lallier, to make it 4-0 in the 52nd minute. She followed that with the game’s final goal in the 68th minute, cutting in from the far-left side and lobbing the ball just inside the far post.

Arkansas outshot Alabama, 23-15, and scored on half of its shots on target in the first half. The five-goal loss was Alabama’s largest margin of defeat since a 6-0 loss at Florida in 2016.

Hale credited the Razorback faithful for providing a true home-field advantage.

“This crowd is unbelievable,” he said. “They’re loud. They’re obnoxious. I thought they were a huge factor tonight.”

It was the  Razorbacks’ first shutout since blanking Oregon, 4-0, on Aug. 24. Their five goals were the second-most this year, behind only a 6-0 victory over Arkansas State in the season-opener.

Arkansas will look to extend its winning streak to four games when they travel to College Station to face Texas A&M (5-3-2, 1-0-1) Sunday at 6 p.m. It will be aired on the SEC+ network.

Freshman scores with 26 seconds left, lifting Hogs soccer to 3-2 win

Freshman Bella Field scores late to lead Razorback soccer to a 3-2 victory.

It was a bit of last-minute drama that sent Arkansas soccer fans home with a smile Sunday, as freshman forward Bella Field scored her first collegiate goal with 26 seconds remaining and put the the No. 11 Razorbacks ahead for good, in a 3-2 victory over Grand Canyon.

The 2,635 fans in attendance — the third largest crowd in program history — had just watched Grand Canyon (6-3-1) tie the score at 2-2 with 53 seconds left on the clock. But only 27 seconds later, the stands erupted after Field fired a near-post shot through the hands of ’Lopes goalkeeper Deaira Jackson, giving the Hogs (5-2-1) their fifth win of the season.

“We knew this would be a tough stretch,” Arkansas Head Coach Colby Hale said. “GCU is a good team. We played Friday for the SEC opener (a 3-1 win at Tennessee), and with travel and one day in between, we knew we’d have to grind through this one. We could’ve scored a few goals early that might have changed the match. We won and that’s what matters. We will celebrate this one, as winning is hard.”

Grand Canyon’s leading scorer Gianna Gourley notched the game’s first goal in the 11th minute. It remained 1-0 until the final two minutes of the half.

Arkansas tied the match at 1-1 on graduate forward Anna Podojil’s netter, off a free kick from senior Emilee Hauser. It was Podojil’s 47th career goal, which ranks second among active Division I players. She also tied her career-high with six shots, leading the way for the Hogs’ total of 25 in the match.

Then with 15 seconds left in the first half, the Razorbacks took their first lead when Zoe Shepherd scored her first career goal on a cross from Podojil, as the shot was mishandled by Jackson in net.

There was no scoring in the first 44 minutes of the second half, before GCU’s Bekah Valdez tied the match, as time wound down. But sophomore midfielder Makenzie Malham quickly sent a ball in, linked with senior forward Kiley Dulaney and graduate midfielder Bea Franklin, who got the ball to Field for the game-winner.

The Razorbacks will host No. 7 Alabama (6-0-4, 0-0-1 SEC) for the SEC home opener on Thursday. First kick is set for 6 p.m. and the match will be streamed on SEC Network Plus.

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.

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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Arkansas soccer debuts at No. 8 in preseason poll

For the second consecutive year, Arkansas will begin in the top 10 of the preseason polls in soccer.

The Arkansas soccer team will begin in the top 10 for the second consecutive season after making the Elite 8 a year ago.

United Soccer Coaches Association released its poll on Wednesday and the Razorbacks were eighth.

Arkansas will start in the top 15 for the fourth straight year. The regular season begins August 17 against Arkansas State.

Four of their opponents are also in the poll with the Razorbacks, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Alabama and Clemson.

Razorback women’s soccer adds all-conference forward

After spending four seasons at Marshall University, a graduate transfer, Morgan White, will play her final season of college soccer for Arkansas.

After a successful spring season, the Razorbacks received some good news, landing a star forward out of the Sun Belt Conference.

After spending four seasons at Marshall University, a graduate transfer, Morgan White, will play her final season of college soccer for Arkansas.

As a senior, White finished with the second-most goals (9), the second-most points (17), the fourth-most goals per game (0.47), and the fourth-most points per game (1.16) in the Sun Belt Conference earning First Team All-Sun Belt and United Soccer Coaches Southeast Region Third Team honors.

“Morgan White has electric pace,” head coach Colby Hale said about the star forward. “She indicated in her recruitment that she wanted to test herself against some of the best players in the world and be part of what we are building. She is an exciting addition to our program.”

Adding White gives the Hogs another scoring threat after losing last season’s points leader Jessica De Filippo. Her career at Marshall ended with 55 game appearances, 45 of them starts, accumulating 41 points, 15 goals, and 11 assists.

Arkansas soccer falls to Florida State 1-0 in Elite Eight

For the second consecutive season, Arkansas soccer’s season ends in the Elite Eight.

Arkansas soccer’s season has ended in the Elite Eight for a second consecutive year after a 1-0 loss to Florida State on Saturday.

The No. 1 Seminoles (17-2-3) and No. 3 Razorbacks (13-4-5) were tied for until the 53rd minute when Florida State forward Jenna Nighswonger’s corner kick was unintentionally knocked into the goal by an Arkansas defender.

Florida State led the Hogs in total shots (13-11) and shots on goal (9-5) while controlling 54% of the possession during the game.

“We are a miss-hit corner kick away from a Final Four. This team overcame a lot this year and went toe to toe with the No. 1 team in the country for 90 mins,” said Arkansas head coach Colby Hale after the game. “I thought our press caused them all sorts of problems. We just couldn’t get the final touch in the box.”

As mentioned earlier, this was the second consecutive season to end in the Elite Eight for the Hogs. This was the seventh straight season that Arkansas made the NCAA Tournament, and ninth time in the last ten seasons. All of which was under head coach Colby Hale.

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