Reigning SEC Tournament champion Tennessee soccer falls 2-0 in quarterfinals to Georgia

Tennessee soccer failed to defend its crown, falling 2-0 in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals to No. 6 seed Georgia on Tuesday.

The No. 3 seeded Lady Vols (11-5-2) have been shut out only two other times this season, once in loss to North Carolina and the other a scoreless draw with LSU.

Georgia (13-5-2) succeeded in its goal of creating scoring opportunities off of quick counter attacks. It didn't help Tennessee to be without senior midfielder Abbey Burdette, who won the SEC Tournament MVP award after UT won the 2021 SEC tournament. Burdette was a game-time decision due to a nagging leg injury.

"She's been a steady force in that position for us," Tennessee coach Joe Kirt said of Burdette. "Not only from her play, but her voice and presence there is obviously something we're gonna miss. But I felt like it was the best decision for her in terms of her health going beyond this week, so I didn't want to risk that."

'HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?':'How did this happen?': UT soccer's Taylor Huff, Becky Edwards on NWSL's reckoning with abuse

FIRST TENNESSEE NWSL CHAMP:Former Tennessee soccer player Rhian Wilkinson wins NWSL title as first-year Portland coach

SPECIAL SENIOR NIGHT:How Abbey Burdette's senior night perfectly summed up 5-year career with Tennessee soccer

Jaida Thomas and Taylor Huff led Tennessee with three shots each, and though the Lady Vols created ample opportunities with 15 shots, they couldn't finish them.

"Everything's magnified in the box," Kirt said. "Left some chances where we didn't hit the target and other balls, we just didn't get a final touch inside the six. That's part of it, I think tournament time calls for a little bit more focus and fight and a little luck, too."

Tennessee previously beat Georgia in the regular season, 2-0 on the road in Athens.

Georgia struck first after a long ball bounced past center back Lawson Renie. Bulldogs forward Dani Murguia ran onto the ball, her shot glancing off the goal post before landing in the back of the net.

The quick counter attack came after 20 minutes of Tennessee consistently creating chances – four shots and two corner kicks – in the attacking third. But the Lady Vols were unable to score first and claim the momentum, and it resulted in an early exit for the reigning champions.

"We were ready to play and came out in the first 15 minutes and couldn't get out of their half," Kirt said. "They get out and ball takes a little bit of a bad bounce, kid tucks away in the corner and we're down 1-0. And it's like, 'What just happened?' I think that moment and our response to that, gotta continue to get better at our response after giving up a goal."

The Bulldogs caught Tennessee on another counter before halftime. Georgia's Tori Rish got the ball on a breakaway and while Jordan Fusco made the recovery run to block her initial shot, the forward got another shot off. The ball bounced off UT goalkeeper Lindsey Romig's hand and bounced to Tori Penn, who buried the goal to give Georgia a 2-0 lead at halftime.

"By and large, team performed really well, came out in the second half and responded really well," Kirt said. "We've got to be strong enough to overcome those moments and a little bit of adversity and a little bit of bad luck, because we're good enough to do so."

Romig collided with Penn on the goal and did not play the second half. Freshman Ally Zazzara recorded a clean sheet in the second half.

Freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown had five saves for the Bulldogs.

Tennessee will await its NCAA Tournament draw after getting sent home after its first game at the tournament. The selection show will be on Monday.