Washington State women’s soccer meets third-seeded Tennessee
![Washington State forward Maggie Detrizio handles the ball against Montana’s Caitlin Rogers (Courtesy of WSU Athletics)](https://thumb.spokesman.com/uO6q6eDqVn9RLDznlEJuDvMVKgE=/600x0/media.spokesman.com/graphics/2018/07/sr-loader.png)
Six days after a convincing 3-0 win over Montana at home, Washington State travels to face third-seeded Tennessee on Friday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus at 11 a.m.
This matchup will be the second postseason battle between the Cougars (14-2-4) and Volunteers (19-2-0), the first coming in 2017 – a penalty kick victory for WSU which advanced it to the Sweet 16.
It will be the fourth time the two programs have gone head to head, and the Cougars have never lost to the Vols, leading the series 1-0-2.
With the game taking place at a neutral site, the Cougars won’t have to be battling the Volunteers at home where they are undefeated.
Succeeding away from home is not foreign to WSU. The Cougars are 9-0-1 this season away from Lower Soccer Field, shutting out seven opponents and outscoring their opponents 24-6.
The win over the Grizzlies added to an already impressive record under Todd Shulenberger in the postseason. WSU is 7-4-1 under Shulenberger and 9-11-4 overall. It is now the fourth-straight postseason in which the Cougars advanced past the first round.
Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference tournament before winning its first-round matchup against Lipscomb 3-0. This season, the Vols became the winningest team in program history, winning 19 games while tying a program record with 12 shutouts.
The Volunteers are undefeated in 2021 against ranked opponents, beating No. 5 Arkansas, No. 11 Auburn. No. 19 South Carolina and No. 21 Ole Miss. They also haven’t allowed a goal to a nonconference foe all season, outscoring opponents 28-0 to go 8-0-0.
In program history Tennessee is 15-10-3 all time in the NCAA Tournament and 6-2 in second round games.
Up front for UT, two goal scorers have been a threat in front of the net.
Jaida Thomas leads UT with 13 goals while freshman Taylor Huff has scored nine, all of which came in the second half, while four came after the 85th minute. Mackenzie George pulls the strings, leading the team with nine assists
The triumphant team will face the winner of second-seeded Michigan and Wake Forest.