The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference
The Official Website of the Southeastern Conference

LSU and No. 16 Tennessee end tight contest in a draw

416 days ago
Tennessee Athletics
Photo: Tennessee Athletics

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - No. 16 Tennessee picked up its fourth straight shutout on Friday, playing LSU to a 0-0 draw in front of a crowd of 1,786 at Regal Soccer Stadium. Despite not logging a goal, the Lady Vols were dominant offensively, taking 12 shots to the Tigers' six while holding possession for nearly 60 percent of the match.

UT (9-3-2, 5-1-1 SEC) was led by sophomore Taylor Huff who controlled the ball through the midfield and logged three shots on the night. In goal, senior Lindsey Romig played all 90 minutes, facing six shots and recording one save. The Tigers (8-3-4, 3-2-2 SEC) got two shots each from Sage Glover and Mollie Baker, and keeper Mollee Swift made three saves.

"Obviously, there were some good chances tonight, and in the end, we didn't finish. I thought we did enough to win, but we didn't convert our chances," said Tennessee head coach Joe Kirt.

"We are still 4-0 in the east, and that's important in terms of winning (the division)... But it's frustrating. As a team, we've got to find a way to move on to score a goal and put them away, but it's another shutout. We did great continuing to defend as a team and created a number of chances, so we just have to put one away, and we're in a good spot."

Tennessee managed three quick shots in the opening minutes but got their first quality look in the 18th minute when Huff won the ball at midfield and dribbled through defenders all the way to the top of the box before finding Jaida Thomas for a shot that missed high. Huff created a chance of her own a minute later, but that shot also sailed over the crossbar.

Huff put UT's first shot on goal in the 31st minute, forcing Swift into a diving save with a blast from 16 yards out. She created one more chance before the half, driving into the box after a free kick that was played short and crossing it into a host of Volunteers where Zaluski fired one at the net, but a deflection by a Tiger defender prevented the goal.

Thomas got the first good opportunity of the second half just four minutes in, getting on the end of a cross by Huff and taking a touch before blasting one on target from 10 yards out, but Swift and an LSU defender teamed up to keep the ball out of the net.

Romig made her first save of the game in the 57th minute when Glover got behind the Tennessee defense and logged the Tigers' only shot on goal of the night. Tennessee made a strong push offensively in the closing minutes, but ultimately couldn't find the back of the net as time expired with the score knotted at zero.

SHUTOUT SEASON: The four straight shutouts against Ole Miss, Missouri, Georgia and LSU mark the first time since 2005 that a Tennessee team recorded four shutouts in a row against SEC opponents. The clean sheets that season came in the form of wins over Georgia (1-0), LSU (2-0), and Auburn (1-0) as well as a 0-0 draw against Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament from which UT advanced on PKs, 4-3, before winning the SEC Championship the next match with the 1-0 win over Auburn.

UP NEXT: The Lady Vols will travel to Auburn for a 7:30 p.m. ET matchup on Thursday that will be streamed on SECN+.