FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Each Tuesday during the season, www.ArkansasRazorbacks.com will recap the previous week of action for @RazorbackSoccer, while keeping up with national rankings and individual accolades. This week’s Mid-Week Report recaps the Arkansas women’s soccer team’s huge double overtime win over Kentucky in the SEC opener last Friday.
NATIONAL POLLS
- After not receiving votes in a national poll last week (TopDrawerSoccer and NSCAA), Arkansas received a trio of votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Women's National Top 25 this week.
- Arkansas also moved up three spots into the No. 5 position in this week’s NSCAA NCAA Division I - South Poll, behind Florida, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Georgia.
- Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I - South Poll
- The Razorbacks are ranked in the top 100 in four categories:
- Assists – 24th
- Points – 44th
- Scoring Offense – 60th
- Won-Lost-Tied Percentage – 73rd
- ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD and CLAIRE KELLEY are each ranked in the top 70 in at least one individual statistic
- Ellenwood is ranked 8th in total assists, 11th assists per game and 48th in points per game.
- Kelley is 30th in total assists and 41st in assists per game.
The first RPI of the 2014 season was released Monday afternoon (Sept. 22) on NCAA.com (games played thru Sept. 21). The Razorbacks ranked No. 33 and are one of eight SEC teams in the top 35.
5. South Carolina
6. Texas A&M
15. Florida
19. Tennessee
27. Auburn
33. Arkansas
34. Missouri
@RAZORBACKSOCCER TEAM NOTES
- With a social media push a week before to the season opener on Friday, Aug. 22, @RazorbackSoccer moved into the Top 25 for Division I women’s soccer Twitter accounts. Arkansas is now No. 23 with 3,031 followers and is 213 followers shy of the No. 22 spot (behind UCF - @UCF_WSoccer).
- Arkansas is 29-20-3 in the Colby Hale era.
- The Razorbacks have complied a 12-12-1 SEC record under Hale.
- Under head coach Colby Hale, Arkansas is 1-1-0 in its first SEC road game of the year.
- The Razorbacks are 7-10-1 in true road games under Hale.
- The Razorbacks are 6-14-0 all-time in their first road SEC game of the season.
- Arkansas is 57-123-14 all-time record in SEC play.
- SEC Stats | SEC Standings
- Arkansas (5-2-2, 1-0-0 SEC) is currently riding a three-game unbeaten streak.
- The Razorbacks are looking to pick up their first road win of the season (fell at Texas and Duke earlier this season).
- The Rebels (6-2-2, 1-0-1 SEC) are unbeaten on their home pitch this season (4-0-2) and are coming off a 1-1-0 weekend last week, where they defeated Mississippi State 1-0 (Sept. 19) and fell at UCF 4-0 (Sept. 21).
- Ole Miss holds a 14-3-1 advantage in the all-time series against Arkansas.
- The Razorbacks are 2-6-1 against the Rebels in games in Oxford, Miss., with the last Arkansas win in Oxford coming during the 2008 season.
- Arkansas is 0-2-0 against Ole Miss under Coach Hale.
- The Tigers (4-5-1, 0-1-0 SEC) are currently on a three-game losing streak and will host Texas A&M on Friday, Sept. 26, before welcoming the Razorbacks to the LSU Soccer Stadium.
- LSU holds a 13-5-1 advantage in the all-time series with the Razorbacks
- The Tigers have won 10 straight games in the series and hold an 8-1-1 record against Arkansas in home games.
- Under Coach Hale, the Razorbacks are 0-2-0 against LSU.
The U of A’s matchups at Ole Miss (Thursday, Sept. 25) and LSU (Sunday, Sept. 28) will both be broadcast live on national TV. The matches, which are slated to start at 6 p.m. CT and 3 p.m. CT, respectively, will be shown on SEC Network and streamed through ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app.
Pete Pranica and Cat Whitehill will have the call at Ole Miss, while Trey Bender and Shannon MacMillan will call the action at LSU.
LAST TIME OUT: @RAZORBACKSOCCER VS. KENTUCKY (9.19.14)
- Senior TYLER ALLEN’s 35-yard free kick goal in the second overtime period gave the Arkansas women’s soccer team a dramatic 2-1 victory over Kentucky on Friday night in its Southeastern Conference opener.
- The double overtime contest featured a combined 33 shots, 16 shots on goal, and 13 saves. Both teams had several near missed opportunities inside the 18-yard box as they played to a 1-1 tie in the game’s first 103 minutes.
- The Razorbacks own a 102-86-15 record at Razorback Field.
- Arkansas is 18-7-2 in 27 home games under Hale.
- Friday night’s attendance of 1,555 marked the fourth time in five home games this season the Razorbacks have drawn over 1,000 fans.
- The Razorbacks are 8-12-1 in SEC openers and 10-10-1 in SEC home openers.
- Under Coach Hale, Arkansas is 1-2-0 in SEC openers.
- With the 2-1 (2OT) win over UK on Friday, Arkansas is now 7-11-2 all-time vs. Kentucky and 5-3-1 at home against the Wildcats.
- Friday’s win gave the Razorbacks their third straight win over UK. Arkansas is now 5-1-1 in their last seven games against the Wildcats.
- Arkansas is 3-0-0 vs. Kentucky under Coach Hale.
- The Razorbacks are riding a six-game unbeaten streak at Razorback Field. The last home loss for Arkansas came on Oct. 27, 2013 when they dropped a 1-0 decision to Georgia.
- Senior TYLER ALLEN received Honorable Mention for the TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week after scoring the game-winning goal to lead the Razorbacks to a thrilling 2-1 (2OT) win over Kentucky in the SEC opener last week.
*Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Women’s Team of the Week*- The goal was the second time this season that Allen has connected from 35-plus yards out for a goal, as she connected on a 40-yard free kick goal in Arkansas’ lone exhibition against Creighton.
- Allen’s goal was the second of the season and the fourth of her career.
- Allen’s goal also landed her on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays (No. 5) for the second time this season.
- Click HERE to watch the play on the Arkansas Women’s Soccer Facebook Page
- ALEXANDRA FISCHER’s goal in Friday’s win was her third of the year and the sixth of her career.
- ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD’s assist in the victory gave her 15 points on the year through nine games.
- Her assist also gave her 63 points for her career.
- CLAIRE KELLEY’s assist on Fischer’s goal gave her four points over the last two games (1 goal, 2 assists)
- The assist was also her fifth of the season and the seventh of her career.
The Razorbacks have arguably one of the best home-field advantages in country. Averaging 1,492 fans per home contest, the Razorbacks rank fifth in the SEC in average home attendance.
1. South Carolina – 3,761/gm
2. Texas A&M – 3,020/gm
3. Georgia – 1,519/gm
4. Tennessee – 1,498/gm
5. Arkansas - 1,492/gm
@COLBYHALEUA SOUNDBITES
On the game
“What a fantastic match. This was a great win against a quality opponent. We tip our hats to UK. Honestly, I thought in the first half we were a bit flat. They were the better team. They came out with a little more intensity. At the half, we just said we have to do what we do well. I thought the second half was completely different. I thought we were better and created so many chances. It was just a great SEC game. Once you get into conference, the intensity level is just different.”
On getting to SEC play
“We were so prepared. We played so many different teams on the road and at home. With the different styles, we felt very, very prepared. I thought we had a good game plan going into the match. The first half, I thought we were just okay. Just some nerves since it’s the first SEC game. The second half, we were fantastic.”
On Tyler Allen’s goal
“She’s just putting it in a dangerous spot. We have good headers. She hit it extremely well. We have asked her to drive that and not float it. What can you say? It goes in the top corner. After one, you say it’s luck, but after two or three, you start to believe it’s not. It’s a dangerous weapon.”
TOP TWEETS
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