Tennessee had the toughest regular season opener of any women’s college soccer team in the country with No. 1 North Carolina – the 2024 national champions – making a visit to Knoxville. Shae O’Rourke apparently didn’t get the memo.

The transfer forward from Texas A&M – she didn’t play a single game in College Station because of injury after two seasons at South Carolina – scored twice against the Tar Heels for a 2-0 win on Aug. 14.

The redshirt junior from Wheatfield, New York, beat everyone to a loose ball, zipped past the Tar Heel goalie who was well away from the goal and sent the ball into the net for the first goal at the 56:54 mark of the game in the second half.

For the second goal, she followed the play after passing to a teammate out of traffic, got the ball back and slipped it in off the side of her right foot while sliding at the 75:57 mark.

“It’s where we want to finish the season,” Tennessee coach Joe Kirt during his preseason media session earlier this week. “We want to play those games in December, so, let’s figure out where we are early on. It’s going to help us prepare for not only what we’re going to see in the league, but what we’re going to see in the NCAA Tournament. Right away, we’re going to know here’s where we are, here’s where we need to improve, here’s what we need to keep doing.”

The Lady Vols shocked North Carolina, which has a lot of new faces, but is the dominant program in the sport and has stocked pro soccer teams with its graduates. It’s quite a boost to a Tennessee team that was gutted by injuries in 2023 and sputtered offensively in 2024.

“We want to win games, and you can see on the field that we all wanted to win, so I just wanted to be in that environment,” O’Rourke said. “I couldn’t ask for anything else. It’s the best feeling ever coming back from an injury. What can you ask for for a first game and get some goals? I was really happy out there.”

Last year’s squad finished 9-7-4 with a trip to the NCAA tourney and a 2-1 loss to Virginia Tech in the first round. When summer practice started in 2024, 16 new players were on the field with a crop of freshmen and transfers. In 2025, the Lady Vols had three new faces.

One of those players is Ali Howard, a freshman forward from Collierville, Tennessee, who is the daughter of goalie legend Tim Howard – described accurately in her Tennessee bio as “USA World Cup Icon.”

“She’s been around the game at a high level,” Kirt said. “Obviously, her dad played at a high level, different positions, so different attributes, but she’s got a unique sense of the game and does a great job of bringing others into the game and knows who she is as a player.

“She’s obviously had a pretty important mentor that’s helped her through that, but she’s been really good of stepping into a challenging environment here and has really fit in well with her teammates on and off the field, as well as her whole class.”

Reese Mattern, a sophomore forward, earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors with two call-ups to the U.S. U-19 Women’s National Team training camp this summer. O’Rourke and Anaiyah Robinson, a sophomore forward, made the SEC Preseason Watchlist.

Tennessee’s Reese Mattern battles Tar Heel defender Hope Munson. (Tennessee Athletics)

Tennessee was stout defensively last season with eight shutouts, but the offense could stall, a situation exacerbated by so many newcomers. Those players benefited from spring workouts and exhibition games.

“We had all spring to incorporate those new transfers, change some things in our system, not overall style, but our system, and has allowed us to be a little more dynamic in the attacking third (the area of the field closest to the goal) and certainly paid off in the spring, averaged two goals a game and created a lot more scoring chances,” Kirt said.

Another familiar name on the roster is Nyla Blue, a sophomore defender from Knoxville who played at Bearden High School and started five games last season for Tennessee. She is the daughter of Avery and Kristen Blue, with Kristen known to Lady Vols basketball fans as Kristen “Ace” Clement. Blue’s younger sister, Jayla Blue, a senior at Bearden, committed a year ago to Tennessee soccer and will be a Lady Vol freshman in 2026.

Nyla Blue, No. 33, and her teammates celebrate the 2-0 upset over North Carolina. (Tennessee Athletics)

Tennessee will host Eastern Kentucky this Sunday, Aug. 17, at 1 p.m. and then will play at No. 8 UCLA on Aug. 20. Admission to Tennessee’s regular season games is free, as is the parking, and the schedule can be seen HERE. Kirt’s full preseason media interview can be watched HERE.

Take a trip to Regal Soccer Stadium this season and enjoy a game.

Maria M. Cornelius, a senior writer/editor at MoxCar Marketing + Communications since 2013, started her journalism career at the Knoxville News Sentinel and began writing about the Lady Vols in 1998. In 2016, she published her first book, “The Final Season: The Perseverance of Pat Summitt,” through The University of Tennessee Press and a 10th anniversary edition will be released in 2026.