Things get testy in 'disappointing' tie between UT and Vanderbilt

There was no love lost between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Regal Soccer Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Tempers flared as UT and Vanderbilt tied 1-1 in an SEC women's soccer match that ended with 37 fouls.

The Lady Vols (6-1-2, 1-0-1 SEC) were called for 16 fouls, while the Commodores (3-3-3, 0-0-2) were called for 21 fouls.

"Right now, we're all disappointed," UT coach Brian Pensky said. "Nobody likes to tie. Nobody likes to tie at home. We're also disappointed that we suffered a couple of injuries today, so right now we feel for those personalities."

UT junior Caroline Brown reinjured her left knee late in the first half and didn't return, while Lady Vols graduate student Ashlee Burt suffered an apparent left knee injury with 19:04 to play in regulation.

Brown first injured her knee in practice before the Lady Vols' Sept. 7 game at Cal State Northridge. She missed that game and the Sept. 9 UCLA game, and returned for Friday's 2-1 overtime victory against Alabama.

Brown was hurt Sunday when she tried to change directions while chasing a ball.

"We wanted to be cautious with (Brown)," Pensky said. "We wanted to be safe and smart. I don't really know how she is, but we're certainly concerned."

Burt, a transfer from Miami, was hurt in a collision with a Vanderbilt player. After lying on the turf for several minutes, Burt was taken off the field on a cart and didn't return.

Pensky didn't know details of Burt's injury after the game.

Asked if the injury was to her left knee, Pensky said, "I believe so."

UT's Hannah Wilkinson, a sophomore transfer from New Zealand, scored from 3 yards out off an assist from Katie Lenz for a 1-0 lead at the 11:27 mark.

Vanderbilt tied it 12 minutes later when Dana Schwartz fired a shot that UT keeper Julie Eckel got her hands on but couldn't control.

That was all the scoring, but there was plenty of action as Pensky and Vanderbilt coach Derek Greene had heated words on the sideline — the first time when Vanderbilt junior Duggan Hahn entered the game late in the first half.

UT's coaches noticed that Hahn, a former West High School player, was scratched from the game-day lineup and was ineligible, and brought it to the officials' attention.

"We were a little bit antsy on the sideline," Pensky said of the opposing coaches, "so maybe we antagonized or inspired our players to become a little bit more physical, but I think at the same time it's just two teams also wanting to win, and taking pride in competing and caring about the results. It was a physical game, and both teams were called for a lot of fouls."

UT junior CC Cobb, a transfer from Florida State, didn't let an elbow injury — her arm was in a heavy brace — keep her from mixing it up on the field.

"I mean, when anyone messes with one of your teammates, it's like messing with your family," Cobb said. "We've got to fight for each other, and that's exactly what we did."

Wilkinson almost had the go-ahead goal late in regulation, but her shot went off the crossbar. Two 10-minute overtimes couldn't settle the tie.

"It's disappointing, but we have a lot of the season left," Cobb said. "We can learn a lot from the game, and I think it motivates us for the rest of our games."