University of Tennessee Athletics
SOCCER CENTRAL: Tennessee at #17 South Carolina
October 27, 2015 | Soccer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. --The Tennessee soccer team is preparing for the biggest game of its season as it heads to Columbia, S.C., for a showdown with No. 17 South Carolina in the regular-season finale on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
The Volunteers (7-4-6, 3-4-3 SEC) find themselves in a four-way tie for eighth place in the SEC standings heading into Thursday's game against the Gamecocks, with the top 10 teams advancing to the conference tournament. The race for the SEC Tournament couldn't be closer as five teams are vying for the final three spots.
With current tiebreakers in place, the Vols occupy the ninth spot in the standings entering Thursday's match despite having the same amount of points (12) as Vanderbilt (eighth), Georgia (10th) and Kentucky (11th). Mississippi State is also still alive, sitting in 12th place with 11 points. A win would guarantee the Big Orange a spot in the conference tournament which begins on Monday, Nov. 2 in Orange Beach, Ala.
Tennessee is coming off a 1-1 draw against Kentucky on Senior Night. Redshirt freshman Meghan Flynn scored a late equalizer in the 80th minute and nearly won it minutes later with a shot that was hammered off the cross bar.
Redshirt senior goalkeeper Julie Eckel made five stops on the night to become the all-time saves leader at Tennessee with 329, passing Ellen Dean. Make sure to check out the phenomenal video and written feature on Eckel by clicking HERE.
South Carolina (11-4-2, 5-3-2 SEC) has been among the conference leaders for most of the year but has struggled a little bit down the stretch, dropping three of its last four games. The Gamecocks boast a dangerous attack that features four players with double-digit points. They are led by sophomore midfielder Savannah McCaskill, who is tied for fifth in the conference with 26 points and tied for sixth with 10 goals.
The Vols feel good about their chances considering their solid play on the road this year. They have only lost once away from home this season, a 3-1 defeat to Missouri after having to play the entire second half a player down because of a red card in the first half.
Thursday's game can be seen live on SEC Network +/WatchESPN at 7 p.m. ET. With every team in the conference playing their final game on Thursday, the Vols will know their postseason fate following the conclusion of their contest with USC.
