Gavin McKinney doesn’t know exactly how close his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga soccer program is to competing with the top teams in the Southern Conference, but he knows the Mocs aren’t far off.
For about four hours on Oct. 7, the Mocs had moved into a tie for second place with Samford in the league standings. The Bulldogs broke the tie later that evening and then solidified their edge with a 2-0 victory over the Mocs last Friday in Chattanooga.
But McKinney felt his team had outplayed Samford – which is on a 23-match non-loss streak against league competition – for a half. It’s an effort he hopes continues going into the final weekend of competition, with the Mocs set to travel to UNC Greensboro and Virginia Military Institute.
If the Mocs (8-6-2, 4-2-1) can hold on for a top-four seed, they’ll earn a bye and will host a SoCon tournament match.
UTC has relied on a solid defensive core to prevent many opportunities, and freshman goalkeeper Ashton Shields, who leads the league with a 0.60 goals-against average, to clean up anything coming her way. Offensively, Chloe Arnold is second in the league with 11 goals and third with 27 points. She also ranks third with five assists, while Masey Fox – the team’s lone playing senior – is tied for seventh with four.
“When we play well, we’re up there with the top teams in the league,” McKinney said while sitting in his office Wednesday. “Against Samford we missed a penalty and created better chances in the first half, but in the second half, Samford is very good, and they punished us for a few mistakes.
“I don’t feel we’re too far away. I think if we continue to play in the manner we are and fix a few things, I think we can make a run at it if we play well.”
Around campus
» The volleyball team (8-13, 4-4) also will be on the road this weekend, with matches at Wofford and Furman. The Mocs are tied for third with Western Carolina and Furman and are coming off a week in which they defeated second-place Samford in five sets before falling to Western Carolina in four games.
» The women’s golf and men’s tennis teams will be in Louisville, Kentucky, this weekend for tournaments. The golfers will play Saturday and Sunday in the Cardinal Classic, while the tennis Mocs will be in the Louisville Fall Invitational, starting Friday.
» The softball team will highlight its fall exhibition season with a home doubleheader against Georgia at 1 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5, with no charge for children younger than 10.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.