No. 11 UT Plays No. 23 SMU To A 1-1 Draw

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 11 Tennessee played to a 1-1 draw with No. 23 SMU on Sunday in front of a crowd of 975 in Regal Soccer Stadium.
 
Redshirt-junior Jaida Thomas found the back of the net for UT, and Peyton Annen was the goal scorer for SMU.
 
In goal, redshirt-freshman Ally Zazzara made six saves on the day.
 
The Lady Vols, who were playing without seniors Lindsey Romig and Claudia Dipasupil and sophomore Taylor Huff, outshot the Mustangs 25-17 and took 17 corner kicks to SMU’s five.

“We would’ve liked another 20 minutes to get another goal there. We created a ton of chances. We talked about it before the game, about our ability to be great in both boxes, and we were okay in both boxes. Some moments we were pretty good, and other moments we weren’t good enough. That’s the difference in the game,” said Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt.

“We gave the ball away a little too much in the back half, but we created a ton of opportunities. Credit to SMU, they competed really hard and kept the ball out of the net. Their goalkeeper and their team made it hard for us. I’m proud of our effort in the response to get the game back to 1-1 and the amount of pressure we put on them in the second half. We have to find the breakthrough.”

 

Sophomore Claire Rain had Tennessee’s first chance of the game off a corner kick three minutes into play, but her header deflected off a Mustang defender.

 

Annen put SMU on the board in the 40^th minute, capitalizing on a free kick just outside of the 18-yard box by Courtney Sebazco.

 

Fifth-year senior Abbey Burdette nearly evened the score three minutes into the second half, winning a header in the box off a corner kick but missing just wide of the far post.

 

The Lady Vols tied it up at 1-all in the 60^th minute when Thomas connected on a Hannah Zaluski corner kick, tapping a shot through the defense from close range.

 

The Mustangs got a breakaway by Julissa Cisneros in the 71^st minute, but Zazzara laid out, getting a hand on the shot and sending the ball wide off the goal post before collecting it for a punt.

 

Zazzara came up with another clutch save nine minutes later, diving to collect a 24-yard blast from Sebazco.

 

Zaluski got a foot on a loose ball in the box in the 81^st minute and beat the keeper, but a Mustang defender was there for the team save, and the clock wound down with the teams tied.

 

UP NEXT: UT will face its third straight ranked opponent on Thursday, hosting No. 2…