Tonight’s a Great Night to Watch Your Razorbacks Play Soccer

Tonight at 5pm on the SEC Network, the back-to-back SEC Champs are beginning their quest for their first SEC Tournament title.

After making the tournament title game four consecutive years, the Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1) are hoping working to make sure this is the year they take the whole dang thing.

They’ve certainly got the team to do it.

Last week, the SEC gave out their awards, and the Hogs were well-represented. Coach Colby Hale was named the Co-Coach of the Year, an award shared with Texas A&M’s G Guerrieri. The two teams shared the Regular Season crown, although the Hogs took down the Aggies 2-1 in their only match-up of the year.

Sophomore forward Anna Podojil was named the Forward of the Year, a year after taking the Freshman of the Year award. She was also named to the First-Team All-SEC, alongside senior forward Parker Goins and senior defender Haley VanFossen. last year’s Co-SEC Defender of the Year.

After missing all of last year to injury, senior midfielder Kayla McKeon made her comeback and was named to the All-SEC Second-Team.

Forward Ava Tankersley and midfielder Ellie Podojil were named to the All-Freshman Team.

The Razorbacks are the number one seed in the SEC Tournament for the second year in a row, which gives them a double-bye into the quarterfinals. Tonight, they’ll be taking on the eighth-seeded Auburn Tigers, whom the Hogs beat in the regular season, 2-1.

Should things work out the way they’re supposed to tonight, the Hogs will match up with South Carolina on Thursday. The Hogs have plenty of revenging to do, as the Gamecocks have been responsible for the only three SEC losses that the Hogs have taken over the last two seasons, including a loss in the finals last year and the lone loss of 2020.

Seriously. Watch Arkansas play tonight. They are dynamic, and they play soccer in the most fun way. Matt Jones of WholeHogSports has frequently compared their style to that of Nolan Richardson’s 40 Minutes of Hell basketball teams, and that makes a ton of sense. They move up-and-down the pitch at a frenetic pace. They are aggressive on both sides of the ball. They take more shots than any other SEC team, and they’re willing to foul more on the defensive side in order to get the ball back.

And they win. A lot.