Vols Rally but Fall Short in Overtime to Vanderbilt

Friday, September 30

Knoxville, TN

7:00 PM

University of Tennessee

6-6, 2-3SEC

Vanderbilt

8-4, 4-1SEC

OT 3

OT 4

Vanderbilt

Tennessee

September 30, 2016 | Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 30, 2016

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee battled back from a two-goal deficit but ended up falling to in-state rival Vanderbilt, 3-2, on a golden goal in the second overtime period in front of a season-high crowd of 1,900 at Regal Soccer Stadium on Friday night.

Star forward Hannah Wilkinson had a big night for the Volunteers (6-6, 2-3 SEC), tying the game in the 80th minute while also adding an assist. With three points on the night, Wilkinson moved into a four-way tie for seventh on UT's all-time scoring list with 67 career points. She also moved into a tie for sixth on the programs career goals chart with 26.

A pair of talented freshmen came up big for Vandy as Grace Jackson scored her team-leading fifth goal of the year while Kaylann Boyd netted the game winner in overtime for her third goal of the season.

The Commodores (8-4, 4-1 SEC) jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with first-half goals from Brooke Colangelo and Jackson. Colangelo scored from close range after taking a pass from Boyd and beating Shae Yanez to the lower right corner in the 13th minute. The goal ended a 237-minute shutout streak for Yanez and was the first goal she had given up this season.

Just over five minutes later, Jackson was able to take advantage of a misplayed ball by the Vols in their own box to put her team up by two just 18 minutes into the game.

The Big Orange responded in the 24th minute on a goal from Ariel Kupritz, who placed her shot perfectly into the lower left corner of the net from the center of the box. Freshman midfielder Mary Alice Vignola, making her first-career start, and Wilkinson both earned assists on the goal, which was the first for Kupritz this season.

UT finished with a 4-3 shot advantage in the opening 45 minutes but went to the locker room trailing 2-1. Kupritz had two of those four shots with Wilkinson and Vignola picking up the other two.

Tennessee dominated play in the second half by severely outshooting the Commodores and holding them without a single shot. The Vols finally got their equalizer when Wilkinson found the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season. Rylie O'Keefe whipped in a low free kick that was redirected to Wilkinson by Mackenzie Gouner at the near post. Wilkinson was able to push it past Vandy goalkeeper Kaitlyn Fahrner and a host of Commodores' defenders to tie the game at two with just over 10 minutes to play in regulation.

Neither team was able to generate much in the first overtime as Vanderbilt held a 2-1 shot advantage in the period. However, it took just over two and a half minutes for the `Dores to end the game in the second overtime period. Boyd found herself all alone at the top of the box after a long ball over the top from Cristina De Zeeuw and was able to beat Yanez for the game winner.

The Orange and White finished the game with a 13-6 edge in shots, a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal and had three more corner kicks than the Commodores despite the loss. Wilkinson led all players with five shots in her fourth multi-point game this season.

The win extended Vanderbilt's winning streak to four games while Tennessee dropped its second straight after winning three in a row earlier this month. The Vols will look to bounce back against Indiana State in their final non-conference game of the year on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.