KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Sophomore Claire Kelley played the role of hero on Friday night for the Arkansas women’s soccer team, as her game-winning goal seven minutes into overtime gave the Razorbacks their first true road victory of the 2014 season, defeating Tennessee 1-0 in overtime.
For the sixth time this season, and the fourth in Southeastern Conference play, Arkansas (7-3-4, 3-1-2 SEC) was unable to earn a result during the 90 minutes of regulation play and had to settle for overtime. The battle-tested Razorbacks took full advantage in first extra frame, as Kelley buried a game-winning goal just over seven minutes into play, giving her team an important SEC road win over the Lady Volunteers (6-7-1, 1-4-1 SEC).
Kelley’s goal gives Arkansas its first true road win of the season, as they were previously 0-1-3 in road contests coming into Friday. The Razorbacks have now picked up a result in all three SEC road contest this year and are now 1-0-2 in SEC road games.
Arkansas put itself in a golden goal situation after playing to a scoreless tie in regulation.
Just seven minutes into the first overtime, the Razorbacks sent a shot into the box that was headed out by a Tennessee defender. The ball was played right to Kelley, and after settling the ball, she took a couple of touches past a Lady Vol and blasted a shot towards the right post to score the golden goal and give her team three points in the SEC standings.
Sophomore goal keeper Cameron Carter turned in a spectacular performance between the pipes on Friday, as she recorded her second shutout victory in the last three games. The goalie saved a season-high 10 shots, while picking up her fourth shutout of the season.
Arkansas had to survive an aggressive Tennessee attack, as the Lady Vols tallied 19 shots, 10 of which were on goal. The Razorbacks posted just 10 shots on the night and four of which were on goal.
Arkansas will be in action again on Oct. 17, as they conclude its two-game SEC road trip in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Kick-off is set of 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the SEC Network + via ESPN3.com and the Watch ESPN app.
For more information on the Arkansas women’s soccer team, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.
Coach Hale Post Game Sound
On the Win: “Anytime you win in conference it’s big, and winning on the road in conference is huge. Tennessee is a very good team, a top 50 team in the country. The game kind of had its moments for both teams, but our team just finds ways to win. I thought we played hard, I thought we played well. There were some good performances from some individuals, but as is typical with this team it was a great team performance.”
Postgame Notes
• Arkansas is 31-21-5 in the Colby Hale era.
• Arkansas is 59-124-16 all-time in SEC games.
• In 30 SEC games under Hale, Arkansas is 14-13-3.
• In true road games, the Razorbacks are 8-10-2 under Hale.
• Arkansas is now 1-1-3 in true road games this season.
• The Razorbacks are 1-0-2 in SEC road games this year previously tying Ole Miss (1-1) and LSU (3-3).
• Claire Kelley’s goal gives her five on the year, tying her with Ashleigh Ellenwood for the team lead. The two points tonight also ties her in the team lead in points (17) with Ellenwood.
• Kelley now has seven goals in her career and 23 points for her career.
• Cameron Carter’s shutout is her fourth this season and the 11th of her career.
• Carter’s 10 saves tonight is a season-high, and marks the third time in her career she has posted double-digit saves (12 vs. Missouri (Nov. 4, 2013), 12 vs. Duke (Nov. 24, 2013)).