University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, October 9
Columbia, S.C.
7:00 p.m. ET
University of Tennessee
at
South Carolina
PREVIEW: Lady Vols Hit the Road to Face #11 South Carolina
October 08, 2026 | Soccer
Just five regular season matches remain for the Tennessee soccer team in the 2026 season as the Lady Vols head to the Palmetto State to face No. 11 South Carolina on Friday night. Kickoff from Eugene E. Stone III is set for 7 p.m. ET.
The match will air live on SEC Network+ with Brad Muller (PxP) and Summer Huechtker (analyst) on the call.
Tennessee (6-2-3, 1-2-2) suffered its second loss of the season and second consecutive defeat last Thursday at Auburn. The Tigers struck in the first half to give the Lady Vols a halftime deficit for the first time this season. Despite multiple late opportunities, Tennessee was unable to find the equalizer and left the Plains empty-handed.
Turning the Tide: Tennessee is seeking its first victory since Sept. 11 on Friday at South Carolina. The most recent victory was a 3-1 win at LSU in the SEC opener. The Lady Vols are winless over the last four matches, a stretch that includes two draws and two defeats. It is the first time Tennessee has had a four-match winless streak since 2024.
Additionally, the Lady Vols are riding a two-match losing streak, the team's first two losses of the 2026 season. Tennessee will look to break each of these streaks on Friday night at South Carolina.
Road Slate Ending Soon: Friday night's match at South Carolina will be the penultimate road contest of the 2026 regular season for Tennessee. The match comes at the tail end of a two-match road stand, as the Lady Vols traveled to Auburn last time out. After Friday night, Tennessee will have just one road match remaining in the regular season, a trip to No. 5 Alabama on Oct. 23. Three of the team's four remaining contests after South Carolina will be held at Regal Soccer Stadium, where the Lady Vols are 5-1-1 this season.
Tennessee owns a 1-1-2 road record thus far in 2026, including a 3-1 victory at LSU and draws with presently ranked opponents at No. 14 Virginia and No. 25 Texas. The lone defeat came to Auburn in Tennessee's last match.
Steady at the Back: Despite a poor recent run of results, Tennessee's defense remains among the best in the conference. The Lady Vols' goals-against average of 0.82 ranks fifth in the SEC and narrowly outside of the top 50 nationally.
Tennessee has given up more than one goal in a match twice in 11 contests this season, a 2-2 draw at Texas and a 1-3 defeat to No. 3 Vanderbilt. The Lady Vols are 6-1-2 this season when allowing less than two goals and winless at 0-1-1 when allowing two or more goals.
A large reason for Tennessee's success at the back has been consistency among personnel. Goalkeeper Cayden Norris and defenders Devin Davis, Milee Zych, and Cora Fry are four of just seven players to start all 11 matches thus far this season. Norris, Davis, and Zych own the three highest tallies of minutes played on the team, while Fry is the only Tennessee freshman who has started every match this season.
Searching for Goals: Tennessee will be seeking a spark on the offensive end after finding the back of the net just once over the past three matches. An offense that began the season as one of the nation's best, statistically, has struggled to put attempts on goal recently, registering just 19 shots and five shots on target over the last three contests. The Lady Vols failed to record a shot on target in the 0-1 defeat at Auburn.
Despite recent struggles, the Lady Vols have received goals from a wide variety of players this season. 11 different players have marked their names on the scoresheet for Tennessee in 2026, including two defenders. The Lady Vols will turn to an array of multi-time goalscorers in an attempt to recharge the offense. Kylee Simmons leads the team with four goals, while five other players have scored multiple times this season.
The match will air live on SEC Network+ with Brad Muller (PxP) and Summer Huechtker (analyst) on the call.
Tennessee (6-2-3, 1-2-2) suffered its second loss of the season and second consecutive defeat last Thursday at Auburn. The Tigers struck in the first half to give the Lady Vols a halftime deficit for the first time this season. Despite multiple late opportunities, Tennessee was unable to find the equalizer and left the Plains empty-handed.
Turning the Tide: Tennessee is seeking its first victory since Sept. 11 on Friday at South Carolina. The most recent victory was a 3-1 win at LSU in the SEC opener. The Lady Vols are winless over the last four matches, a stretch that includes two draws and two defeats. It is the first time Tennessee has had a four-match winless streak since 2024.
Additionally, the Lady Vols are riding a two-match losing streak, the team's first two losses of the 2026 season. Tennessee will look to break each of these streaks on Friday night at South Carolina.
Road Slate Ending Soon: Friday night's match at South Carolina will be the penultimate road contest of the 2026 regular season for Tennessee. The match comes at the tail end of a two-match road stand, as the Lady Vols traveled to Auburn last time out. After Friday night, Tennessee will have just one road match remaining in the regular season, a trip to No. 5 Alabama on Oct. 23. Three of the team's four remaining contests after South Carolina will be held at Regal Soccer Stadium, where the Lady Vols are 5-1-1 this season.
Tennessee owns a 1-1-2 road record thus far in 2026, including a 3-1 victory at LSU and draws with presently ranked opponents at No. 14 Virginia and No. 25 Texas. The lone defeat came to Auburn in Tennessee's last match.
Steady at the Back: Despite a poor recent run of results, Tennessee's defense remains among the best in the conference. The Lady Vols' goals-against average of 0.82 ranks fifth in the SEC and narrowly outside of the top 50 nationally.
Tennessee has given up more than one goal in a match twice in 11 contests this season, a 2-2 draw at Texas and a 1-3 defeat to No. 3 Vanderbilt. The Lady Vols are 6-1-2 this season when allowing less than two goals and winless at 0-1-1 when allowing two or more goals.
A large reason for Tennessee's success at the back has been consistency among personnel. Goalkeeper Cayden Norris and defenders Devin Davis, Milee Zych, and Cora Fry are four of just seven players to start all 11 matches thus far this season. Norris, Davis, and Zych own the three highest tallies of minutes played on the team, while Fry is the only Tennessee freshman who has started every match this season.
Searching for Goals: Tennessee will be seeking a spark on the offensive end after finding the back of the net just once over the past three matches. An offense that began the season as one of the nation's best, statistically, has struggled to put attempts on goal recently, registering just 19 shots and five shots on target over the last three contests. The Lady Vols failed to record a shot on target in the 0-1 defeat at Auburn.
Despite recent struggles, the Lady Vols have received goals from a wide variety of players this season. 11 different players have marked their names on the scoresheet for Tennessee in 2026, including two defenders. The Lady Vols will turn to an array of multi-time goalscorers in an attempt to recharge the offense. Kylee Simmons leads the team with four goals, while five other players have scored multiple times this season.
A Look at the Gamecocks: It's been a strong 2026 campaign for South Carolina up to this point, with the Gamecocks boasting 10-1-1 overall record. With an unbeaten 4-0-1 mark in conference play, they are tied for second place in the SEC, trailing only No. 5 Alabama with a perfect 5-0- 0 record.
Ranked in the top 20 of the IWSOC Coaches' Poll since Sept. 1, the Gamecocks recently had a nine-match win streak snapped with a scoreless draw at Mississippi State last Friday. Statistically, South Carolina's success has been on the defensive side of the field, allowing just six goals in 12 matches for a 0.50 goals-against average, the second-best in the SEC.
Similarly to Tennessee, the Gamecocks have shared the wealth on the offensive end in 2026 with 11 different goalscorers. Ava Tutas and Sydney Middaugh lead the team with four goals each, while seven other players have also tallied multiple goals this season. Equally impressive, 11 different South Carolina players have provided an assist in 2026, with five players tied for the team lead at two.
Players Mentioned
Friday, September 18
Wednesday, August 12
Saturday, November 15
Tuesday, November 11
