By Aidan Corley
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – In the 55th minute, Kate Runyon was able to do what no Lady Vol could for nearly four games: score.
Runyon’s goal was the pivotal moment for Tennessee (12-2-3, 6-2-2 SEC), who defeated Alabama (10-7-1, 4-6-0 SEC) 1-0 to wrap up regular season play.
Tennessee earned a corner early in the second half thanks to some hard work from Anaiyah Robinson on the right side. Mac Midgley did the honors of swinging the ball in, and from there, it was pinball in the box. Devin Davis was able to get a vital toe poke towards the goal that enabled Runyon to latch onto it. Runyon blasted the ball into the roof of the net from inside the six-yard box, and Tennessee saw the net ripple for the first time since playing Ole Miss at the beginning of the month.
Runyon has had a knack for timely goals and being in the right place at the right time all season, scoring a brace in a 2-0 win over Missouri, and a decisive goal in a 2-1 victory over LSU, her fifth goal of the season was no different.
“I played with Jaida Thomas for two years, and that is her specialty, so shoutout to my big Sis,” Runyon said. “My positioning coach, Jon (Morgan), is always like ‘stay in front of the goal’, and I get yelled at if I leave the frame of the goal, so I just try to be right there.”
Jaida Thomas scored 40 career goals for Tennessee, ranking second in program history, not a bad mentor for Runyon to learn from.
Tennessee’s victory brought them to 20 points in the SEC standings, clinching an all-important top four finish in the conference. By the time of kick off, a regular season championship was officially out of reach, but the top four was up for grabs for a number of teams. The Lady Vols were able to secure a first-round bye in the conference tournament with a victory over the Crimson Tide Sunday afternoon.
“It’s really difficult to win four games in a row to win a tournament championship,” head coach Joe Kirt said. “Obviously, we wanted to finish a little bit higher than we did at the end of the day, but the first round bye is really important. Proud of our group for finding a way to win the game here in front of an amazing crowd at Regal, so really good afternoon.”
Scoreless First Half
The first 45 minutes were an all too familiar story for the Lady Vols: chances, shots, no goals. It was the fourth consecutive first half where Tennessee has been unable to score, despite creating a healthy amount of goal-scoring chances. Tennessee finished the first half against Alabama with nine shots, three of which were on target.
Tennessee’s first-half woes nearly came to an end 23 minutes into the game when the space opened up for Dakota Brown at the top of the box. No one stepped up to Brown 25 yards out from the goal, who then decided to let one fly. Her effort rattled the crossbar following a fingertip save from Alabama keeper Madi Munguia.
The Lady Vols were out of the blocks hot to start the game with two early shots from Robinson, and in general, were dictating the play from the onset. Alabama was comfortable to sit back and absorb pressure, looking the most threatening when they were able to get out in transition.
Tennessee dominated the first half, outshooting the Tide nine to two and having 61% of the possession, but still went into the break all square.
Runyon’s breakthrough early in the second half allowed the game to become more open as Alabama could no longer sit back and defend, being a goal behind.
A golden opportunity to double the lead presented itself when Sarah Kate Rath intercepted a free kick at the top of Alabama’s box. Rath picked out Jenna Stayart all alone in the box, whose shot was denied by Munguia. The rebound fell kindly to Midgley, whose effort was once again swallowed up by the Alabama keeper.
Alabama piled on more and more pressure as time went on, accumulating five second-half shots along with some nervy moments for Tennessee’s backline, including a short-lived penalty claim for the Tide.
The Lady Vols showed their resiliency late and hung on for a first win in four games, building up momentum to take into the postseason.
“We love to win. We came here to win. Every athlete at this school came here to win,” Runyon said. “When you’re not winning, you’re learning, and that’s been huge for us. How could we make the next time out better? How could we make the next touch better? Next shot better?”
Regal The Fortress
Tennessee concluded the regular season undefeated on home turf, racking up seven wins and one draw at Regal Stadium, only conceding one goal in the process. The Lady Vols kicked off the season by upsetting No.1 North Carolina, and haven’t looked back since turning Regal into a feared place to come visit.
Vol Nation has shown out repeatedly, providing top-level atmospheres. 2601 were in attendance for Sunday’s match against Alabama for yet another packed out crowd in Regal.
“They’ve shown up every game. Our community, our fans support all of our sports, and ours is no different,” Kirt said. “The environment they’ve created here at Regal is such a home-field advantage. Why we haven’t lost here that’s a credit to our fans and the environment they’ve created, it’s been tremendous, probably the best in my time here.”
Historical Defence
The Lady Vols picked up a 13th clean sheet on the season, tying a single-season program record, and have only conceded seven goals throughout the entirety of the season, a mark good enough for third in the country.
The test for the backline against Alabama was forward Gianna Paul, Alabama’s all-time leading goalscorer and 2024 All-American, who has scored eight goals this season.
Paul was largely a passenger against Tennessee, limited to just two shots and kept quiet as a creative force by Tennessee’s water-tight backline.
“Our backs were really good. I think at the end we started to drop a little bit, which gave them a little more space, but they were physical with her a couple times,” Kirt said. “She made it difficult on us, but they did a great job. She’s certainly one of the best attacking players in the league, and to hold that team scoreless… maybe they have one other game they haven’t scored this year, so it’s a really talented attacking team.”
Tennessee was just the third team to hold Alabama scoreless all season.
Up Next
Tennessee will await the winner of LSU vs Auburn for the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament on Nov. 4 in Pensacola, Florida.