@RazorbackSoccer Heads To Knoxville To Battle The Lady Vols

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas women's soccer team returns to action Friday when they travel to Knoxville to face the Lady Vols of Tennessee. The SEC match, which will not be broadcast on TV (SEC Network) or streamed online (SEC Network+), is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CT.

UP NEXT
Following Friday’s matchup against the Lady Vols, Arkansas will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Oct. 17) to face Alabama, before returning home for the final home games of the season. The Razorbacks host Auburn on Oct. 19 and No. 8 Texas A&M on Oct. 24.

WITH A WIN
With a result at Tennessee on Friday night, the Razorbacks would bounce back from their 1-0 loss to No. 6 Florida and will have earned a result in seven of their last eight contests.

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT | TENNESSEE

• The Razorbacks have won the last two contests in the series with the Lady Vols.
• Last Three Meetings:
  • Oct. 2, 2011: Tennessee won, 4-0, in Fayetteville.
  • Sept. 28, 2012: Arkansas won, 1-0, in Knoxville.
    • Allie Chandler scored in the 14th minute.
  • Oct. 20, 2013: Arknasas won, 2-1, in Fayetteville.
    • Caroline Brown gave UT the lead with a score in the 16th minute. Ashleigh Ellenwood tied the game with a goal in the 29th minute and Evan Palmer scored the winner in the 88th minute.
• Tennessee is coming off a scoreless tie against Auburn on Sunday.
• Tennessee opens a three-game home stretch on Friday. UT is 2-2 at home this season and 1-1 in SEC home games.
• At home, UT is averaging 14.2 shots per game and holding opponents to 10.5 shots.
• Eleven different UT players have scored goals this season. Hannah Wilkinson leads the team with four goals and Cheyenne Spade, Anna McClung and Amy Neal have three scores each.
• UT is averaging 1.62 goals and holding opponents to 0.92 goals per contest.

LAST TIME OUT: @RAZORBACKSOCCER VS. NO. 6 FLORIDA (10.5.14)

• Florida took an early lead thanks to a pair of first half goals from Liz Slattery in the 23rd minute and Savannah Jordan in the 35th.
• Arkansas pulled within a score in the 62nd minute, as junior Ashleigh Ellenwood posted the 25th goal of her career.
  • The score came off a set piece, as sophomore Claire Kelley sent a free kick from nearly 40 yards out into the box to find a sprinting Ellenwood. The Michigan City, Ind., native collected the ball and took a touch in front of the goal before blasting a shot into the right side of the net to pull her team within a goal on the No. 6-ranked team in the nation.
• The Gators ended any hope of an Arkansas comeback with a Tessa Andujar goal in the 80th minute to secure Florida’s 3-1 victory.
• Sunday’s loss snapped Arkansas’ six-game unbeaten streak and its seven-game home unbeaten streak.
• Sunday’s attendance of 1,177 marked the sixth time in seven home games this season the Razorbacks eclipsed the 1,000-attendence mark.
• The Razorbacks are now 19-8-2 in 29 home games under Hale.
• Arkansas is now 103-87-15 all-time at Razorback Field.

@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. 24 with 3,118 followers and is just one follower shy of the No. 23 spot (behind Tennessee - @LadyVol_Soccer).
• Arkansas is 30-21-5 in the Colby Hale era.
• Arkansas is 58-124-16 all-time in SEC games.
• In 29 SEC games under Hale, Arkansas is an even 13-13-3.
• In true road games, the Razorbacks are 7-10-2 under Hale.
• Arkansas is 0-1-3 in true road games this season.
• The Razorbacks are 0-0-2 in SEC road games this year after tying Ole Miss (1-1) and LSU (3-3).
• SEC Stats | SEC Standings

NATIONAL POLLS

• Arkansas did not receive any votes in either national poll for the second week in a row.
  • Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Poll
  • Click HERE to view this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Division I Top 25 Poll

• For the second consecutive week, Arkansas came in at the No. 6 position in the NSCAA NCAA Division I - South Poll, behind Florida, Texas A&M, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
  • Click HERE to view this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I - South Poll

NATIONAL RANKINGS (THRU GAMES 10.6.14)

• The Razorbacks are ranked in the top 100 in four categories:
  • Assists – 26th
  • Points – 54th
  • Scoring Offense – 75th
  • Won-Lost-Tied Percentage – 91st
• ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD, CLAIRE KELLEY and CAMERON CARTER are each ranked in the top 100 in at least one individual statistic
  • Ellenwood is ranked 18th in total assists, 33rd in assists per game and 100th in points per game.
  • Kelley is 18th in total assists and 33rd in assists per game.
  • Carter is ranked 10th in goalie minutes played.

NCAA RPI
The latest RPI rankings of the 2014 season was released Monday afternoon (Oct. 6) on NCAA.com (games played thru Oct. 6). The Razorbacks moved up six spots from last week and are ranked No. 31. Arkansas is also one of six SEC teams in the top 40.

4. Florida
5. Texas A&M
13. South Carolina
17. Missouri
20. Georgia
31. Arkansas

@RAZORBACKSOCCER PLAYER NOTES            

• Ashleigh Ellenwood’s goal against Florida was her fifth of the year and the 25th of her career, putting her in a tie with Brittany Burns (2003-06) for fifth all-time.
  • The two points for Ellenwood on Sunday gave her a team-high 17 on the year and 65 in her career.
  • The 65 points puts her one point shy of Brittany Burns’ 66 points for fifth on the school’s all-time list.
  • Ashleigh Ellenwood is tied for sixth in the SEC in points with 17 (5 goals, 7 assists)
  • Ellenwood is also tied for fourth in the SEC in assists with seven.
• Cameron Carter is third in the league in saves (52) and saves per game (4.00).
• CLAIRE KELLEY is tied for fourth in the SEC in assists (7).
• Ellenwood leads the team with five goals and seven assists (17 points). Kelley has 15 points off four goals and seven assists, while Alexandra Fischer has 11 points (four goals, three assists).

@RAZORBACKSOCCER ALL-TIME RECORDS WATCH
Goals
1. 44, Julie Williford (2000-03)
2. 38, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
3. 35, Mary Howard (1987-90)
4. 29, Christina Burger (2003-06)
5. 25, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)
5. 25, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
7. 24, Heather Cato (1996-99)
8. 20, Jessica Fraser (1997-98)

Assists
1. 26, Holly Collins (1997-01)
2. 17, Alexis Hyrup (1992-96)
3. 16, Abbey Wilburn (2005-08)
3. 16, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
3. 16, Honey Marsh (1991-94)
3. 16, Kit Carson (1990-93)
3. 16, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
8. 15, Julie Williford (2000-03)
8. 15, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)
8. 15, TYLER ALLEN (2011-present)
11. 14, Andie Hickman (1993-96)
12. 13, Nicole Bynum (1996-99)

Just out of the top 10:
10, JERIANN OKORO (2011-present)

Points
1. 103, Julie Williford (2000-03)
2. 92, Ruthie Miller (1989-92)
3. 81, Mary Howard (1987-90)
4. 69, Christina Burger (2003-06)
5. 66, Brittany Burns (1995-98)
6. 65, ASHLEIGH ELLENWOOD (2012-present)

HOME COOKIN’
The Razorbacks have arguably one of the best home-field advantages in country. Averaging 1,388 fans per home contest, the Razorbacks rank fifth in the SEC in average home attendance.

1.South Carolina – 3,270/gm
2. Texas A&M – 2,946/gm
3. Georgia – 1,671/gm
4. Tennessee – 1,422/gm
5. Arkansas - 1,388/gm

#SCTop10
In Arkansas’ 2-1 exhibition win over Creighton on Aug. 14, Tyler Allen’s 40-yard free kick goal in the 65th minute proved to be the game-winner. After a Creighton foul, Allen stepped up for a Razorback free kick and delivered a perfectly struck ball 40-yards down field that landed in left-hand side of the goal to break a 1-1 deadlock. Allen’s goal helped Arkansas pick up a victory in a contest they statistically dominated.

Her incredible goal came in at No. 6 on the SportsCenter Top 10 that night.

On Sept. 19, Allen found herself in a similar situation. Just four minutes into the second overtime, Kentucky committed a seemingly harmless foul 35-yards out from the goal. Allen, a free kick specialist, stepped up and delivered te ball from long distance into the upper left corner of the goal to give Arkansas its first win in a SEC opener since the 2011 season.

That night Allen made the SportsCenter Top 10 for the second time this season, this time at No. 5.

THE 2014 EDITION OF @RAZORBACKSOCCER
The Razorbacks are coming off a record-setting 2013 season that saw the team collect the most regular season wins in school history (15) and the programs first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Arkansas will look to improve on those achievements this year as they enter one of the most anticipated seasons in program history.

Arkansas returns 20 players that accounted for 102 of the team’s 136 points from a team that went 15-8-1 and 5-6 in Southeastern Conference play. Of the 12 different players that scored a goal last year, eight return to make up 82 percent (36-of-44) of the goals.

TOP 100 UPPERCLASSMEN
Junior Ashleigh Ellenwood was named among Top Drawer Soccer's women's National Top 100 Upperclassmen. Ellenwood clocked in at the No. 54 spot.

The Michigan City, Ind., native enters her junior season on the heels of an All-SEC second team choice. Ellenwood led the Razorbacks with 35 points on team-highs of 14 goals and 7 assists a year ago to help Arkansas win a program-best 15 games. Over the 24-game season, Ellenwood registered a point in 14 of those contests, highlighted by six game-winning goals, which set a new program single-season record.

DUO NAMED TO THE COLLEGE SPORTS MADNESS PRESEASON TEAM
Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood and defender Kaylyn Cooper were named to the College Sports Madness SEC Soccer Preseason All-Conference Teams.

Ellenwood, who earned All-SEC second team honors last season, was named to the first-team preseason all-conference squad. Cooper, an anchor of the Arkansas backline that registered five shutouts last season, earned a spot on the second team.

NATIONAL PRESEASON POLLS
The Razorbacks were ranked No. 23 in the 2014 TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll that was announced on Monday, Aug. 11. The Razorbacks were one of four SEC squads ranked in the Top 25 along with No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida and No. 9 South Carolina.

Arkansas, one of seven SEC programs to at least receive votes in the NSCAA preseason top 25 poll, will face four opponents ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll in No. 4 Texas A&M, No. 5 Florida, No. 8 North Carolina and No. 12 Duke. The Gators and the Aggies will both battle the Razorbacks at Razorback Field this season.

PRESEASON SEC POLL
With 20 letterwinners, including eight starters, returning from last year’s NCAA Sweet Sixteen squad, the Arkansas women’s soccer team was tabbed eighth in the SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll, announced by the league office on Monday, Aug. 11.

LOVE FROM TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM
In TopDrawerSoccer.com’s SEC preseason preview, the outlet highlighted Arkansas.

Here’s what they had to say about head coach Colby Hale and his Razorbacks:

“It was a breakout campaign for head coach Colby Hale and the Razorbacks, winning the program’s first-ever NCAA tournament game, advancing all the way to the third round before bowing out to Duke on penalty kicks. Forward Ashleigh Ellenwood, whose play in 2013 helped her earn a call-up to a U.S. U23 WNT camp, looks to lead the program’s encore, as they continue to climb the regular season conference standings. In all, eight of the team’s starters from last year’s squad are back, including Jeriann Okoro, Tyler Allen and Claire Kelley.”

U-23 US NATIONAL TEAM CAMP
Ashleigh Ellenwood got an early jump on her preparation for the 2014 campaign when she participated in the U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Domestic Training Camp from July 15-22 in Seattle, Wash.

A total of 24 players that were either current collegiate athletes or just played their senior season last fall made up the roster that will be led by head coach Steve Swanson over the seven days. 

2013 #RAZORFACT TO REMEMBER
Arkansas’ record-setting 2013 started in style, as it opened with seven straight wins to find its way into the top 25 for the first time in program history. Over the opening seven games of last year, the Razorbacks out-scored their opponents 15-5 while coming away three overtime victories.

For more information on Arkansas soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.