No. 8 Tennessee soccer has not just started the season well. It has started it about as well as Joe Kirt could have drawn up. The Lady Vols sit at 6-0-1 through seven matches, have allowed only three goals all year and now take that form on the road to No. 19 Texas on Friday. Kirt joined Mike Keith on the Mike Keith Show to talk through the fast start, the veterans who have anchored it and the young group he believes is only getting better.
The Interview: Joe Kirt on the Mike Keith Show
Mike Keith: Are you surprised this team is off to as good a start as it is?
“Honestly, no. We’ve had the group together for the most part since January, so we’ve got a really good feel of where they are. They’ve done a tremendous job of growing through this process. We know they’re young, but they’re really taking information and applying it, both from us and from games they’ve played in. They’re a talented group that’s committed to getting better, and I think that’s evident in where we stand right now.”
Keith: Only three goals in seven games. Is it defensive strategy? Is it goaltending? What’s been the key so far?
“I think it’s a commitment to being great on both sides of the ball. Mike’s done a great job of getting them organized first and foremost, but they’re playing with physicality. They cover for one another really well. They’re disciplined, and they’re able to handle a lot of different situations. We’ve seen a lot of different things from our opponents so far, so they’re getting more familiar with different looks and different pictures, and they’re really able to take the information we give them. They’re competing at a really high level.”
Keith: Your goalkeeper, Cayden Norris, is one of your Tennesseans on the team, out of Johnson City. Talk to us about her a little bit.
“She’s building off last year, with 13 shutouts, second in the country. She knows what it should look like, and she’s done a great job managing the players in front of her. Goalkeepers, when they really start to impact the game outside of their own individual space, instill confidence in the players in front of them, and Cayden has done that. She’s able to see what’s going on before things happen.
“It’s much more proactive than reactive, and you can see that now as she gets older and is an upperclassman. The game slows down for her, and she’s in really good spots. Marty’s done a tremendous job of helping grow her expertise, her knowledge and her tactical understanding. She’s really gotten better in possession, not giving the ball away in bad spots. It starts with growth and taking information and applying it, and Cayden’s doing a really good job of that.”
Keith: Two players coming back from injuries, Shae O’Rourke and Kylee Simmons, seem to have given you a lift as fifth-year players right away.
“They’re talented and experienced. We’ve got a talented group that’s not afraid to work, but experience you have to get somehow, and they’ve got it. They’ve been able to help our younger players all spring, even though they maybe weren’t as involved as they’d like to be on the field. Getting them back, they’ve both been contributing at a high level.
“In terms of the flow of games, some high moments and some tougher moments, that experience really helps us. In those tougher moments it’s, hey, we’re good, we’ve got this. That’s just part of it. Their ability to impact the game, and their influence on how we’re dealing with it, has been tremendous. It’s great having them back on the field.”
Keith: Good lift from some transfer portal additions too, Ines Derrien and Taylor Cheatham. What have they been able to do for you so far?
“Ines has been in the league a year, and she’s a dynamic dribbler. She can unlock things, and she’s a handful every time she gets it. Taylor’s been around a good amount and has seen a lot. Both of them are playing at a really high level. The experience factor does matter. That said, our young players have stepped up and done a great job. We’ve got Cora starting as a freshman. Emerson’s been playing a good amount, and Jayla’s on the wing. As much as I talk about the experience we have from our older players, our younger players have really stepped up and performed at a high level, and consistently.”
Keith: Has there been a player or players who have been a surprise this year?
“That’s a great question. I wouldn’t call it a surprise. They’ve all represented themselves very well, on the field and in training. We’ve got a really good group that’s solid. They’re all talented and committed, they understand their role and they’re doing it pretty darn consistently. It puts a lot of pressure on us as coaches to put the right group together, because they’re all talented and they’re all working hard.
“So what’s the right mix of 11 at a time? They make it really hard on us, but that’s a great problem to have, knowing you’ve got 22 players who can impact the game in a positive way. I’ve been really pleased with our young players overall, and I wouldn’t say any one of them is better than the others, because they’re all working really hard and doing a great job for us.”
Keith: What’s the challenge for Lady Vols soccer the rest of the season?
“It’s maintaining consistency and dealing with adversity. We’re 6-0-1, and we’ve had some tough moments in games that you’re going to have. This team has lost one game since we’ve been together, and that was in the spring to Notre Dame. Obviously we want to go undefeated, and we’re going to continue to push for that. When things get hard, how do we deal with that? So far we’ve been really good.
“Cayden and Kylee as captains have done a really good job of keeping us on the right path and not letting us get too high or too low. That’s going to be tested as we go through conference. We’ve got a tough conference slate ahead of us. That’s the trials and tribulations over a long season, how we handle those highs and lows, and I think that’s going to be our biggest test.”
Keith: Another road trip, No. 19 Texas this Friday. What’s the challenge there?
“Really organized. Their head coach came over from UCLA, where she won a national championship. They’ve got a couple of dynamic players up top in Ava McDonald and Villarreal who are dangerous at any moment. They’re organized and they can score goals. It’s a tough place to play at Texas. They’ve done a really good job on the nonconference side of things, and they can punish you in transition and are good on set plays. They’re well coached, organized and talented, so it’s another tough one on the road. But we’ve got a lot of confidence in our team right now. They’ve proven they can do it on the road, so no reason we can’t do it again.”
