MATCH CENTRAL: #21 UT vs. Georgia

PENSACOLA, Fla.  – No. 21 Tennessee will look to defend its 2021 SEC Tournament Championship, beginning with sixth-seeded Georgia in a 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT match on Tuesday at Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex in Pensacola, Fla. 
 
The Lady Vols enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed, having tied with South Carolina at 15 points in the SEC East Division to become Co-SEC East Champions. It is the third straight SEC East Division Championship for the Lady Vols.

In its last outing, UT (11-4-1, 7-2-1 SEC) defeated Vanderbilt, 2-0. Junior Lawson Renie netted the game-winner for UT in the 49^th minute off an assist by sophomore Taylor Huff, and Huff added another for insurance in the 67^th minute. Romig recorded five saves on the night.

Georgia (11-5-2, 5-3-2 SEC) arrives at the tournament on the heels of a 1-1 draw with Mississippi State.

The Lady Vols own a 19-9-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Bulldogs. The teams met earlier this season on Oct. 9 in Athens when Tennessee won 2-0.

UP NEXT: The winner will advance to the semifinals on Thursday to play the winner of South Carolina vs. Missouri at 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. CT.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: UGA went 11-5-3 overall and 4-4-2 in conference games last season. The Bulldogs return six starters and 17 letterwinners from the 2021 squad and were picked to tie for sixth in the SEC as voted on by the league’s coaches.

EVERYONE IS DANGEROUS: With the 12th-ranked scoring offense in the country, it’s no surprise that Tennessee has multiple offensive threats. Thirteen Lady Vols have carded a goal so far this season, and 15 have tallied an assist.

TRACKING THOMAS: Jaida Thomas is tied for the lead in the SEC with 12 goals this season, having moved her career total to 37 to pull within six goals of tying Kylee Rossi at No. 1 all time in career goals scored at UT.  She has tallied three game-winning goals this season and 11 during her career to tie Hannah Wilkinson and Kayla Lockaby for fourth-most in program history. Caroline Brown holds the program record of 15.

ROAD WARRIORS: With the win over Auburn, Tennessee completed its SEC away schedule with a perfect 5-0 record while only giving up two goals. Tennessee has gone undefeated on the road in SEC play twice previously in 2003 and 2018, but this marks the first time a UT team has won all away games in conference play.

SECOND HALF TEAM:  Over the last eight games, UT has outscored opponents 13-7. Of those 13 goals,…