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Razorbacks-Mississippi State fight to scoreless draw Friday

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — Arkansas fought to a scoreless draw with No. 25 Mississippi State on Thursday night at the MSU Soccer Field, racking up its sixth shutout of the year and fourth in conference play.

The Razorbacks (10-3-3, 5-2-1 SEC) and Bulldogs (9-4-2, 2-4-2 SEC) played very evenly throughout the first 90 minutes and into overtime.

Shots were even after the first half at 10-10 before Arkansas took the slight advantage in the second half and the two extra periods, finishing with a 20-16 advantage.

Even with the lack of legitimate scoring chances, Arkansas’ defense was up to the challenge led by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Beitz, who finished the match with a career-high 11 saves, five more than her previous high of six set against LSU (Oct. 4) earlier this year.

Beitz has been the consistent presence for the Arkansas back line in recent weeks, totaling four shutouts in her last six starts.

Those four clean sheets have all come against SEC opponents and ties for the second-most conference shutouts in a season in school history.

Thursday’s match with MSU was Arkansas’ fifth to go into overtime this year. The Razorbacks are now 1-1-3 in overtime matches this season, but has garnered a result in each of the last two (vs. LSU).

With the draw, Arkansas is now in a tie for third place in the SEC standings at 16 points with Texas A&M and Tennessee.

League-leader Vanderbilt remained unbeaten in conference play with a 3-0 win over Auburn. It sits alone at the top with 22 points and two matches remaining. South Carolina is three points back in second place.

Although Thursday’s match between the Razorbacks and Bulldogs ended in a draw, the match wasn’t short on its exciting moments on the offensive end.

Junior Tori Cannata and sophomore Taylor Malham combined for nine of Arkansas’ 20 shots in the match, each with one on goal.

Malham had some of the best chances for the Razorbacks in the overtime periods, finding space on multiple breakaways, but not being able to get clean shots off against the Mississippi State defense.

One of the best chances for Cannata came in the final five minutes of the second half when sophomore Julia Laskaris got the ball on a good cross into the middle of the box.

Cannata was there with the well-timed header that rocketed towards the goal, but it flew just wide of the post.

Junior Kayla McKeon, who had at least one point in four of the last five matches coming in, was held in check for the most part during the match. The Texas native only registered three shots, but played all 110 minutes for the Razorbacks.

From Head Coach Colby Hale

“Ties are tough. I thought the players deserved more tonight, but they played hard and created enough chances to win the match. Ties stink, but I’m certainly proud of our performance tonight.”

Up Next

Arkansas has a quick turnaround before its next match as it welcomes in No. 21 Auburn for a match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Razorback Field.

It will be the final home regular-season match for Arkansas and it will also be Senior Day for Ellie Breden, Reece Christopherson and Carly Hoke.

The match on Sunday will be broadcast online on SEC Network+.

White captures ‘Fall World Series’ for Hogs’ baseball

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Sophomore Heston Kjerstad was perfect at the plate Thursday night as he helped Team White clinch the Razorback Fall World Series, 12-4, over Team Cardinal, sweeping the best-of-three series at Baum Stadium.

Kjerstad finished the game 4-for-4 with six RBIs, including a home run. He fell just a triple shy of the cycle, but was one of three players on Team White to record a multi-hit game.

Kjerstad’s outburst one of many strong offensive performances from Team White throughout the week that helped it win both games of the series by a combined score of 21-5.

The Amarillo, Texas native seemed back to regular-season form this week as he went 5-for-9 (.556) at the plate with seven RBIs and three extra-base hits. This showing came just one week after the flu forced him to miss the Razorbacks fall exhibition at Little Rock last week.

Redshirt freshman Jacob Nesbit along with sophomore catcher Casey Opitz also had good days with the bat, combining to go 3-for-6 (.500) with two of the hits coming from Nesbit.

The duo made up the No. 4 and No. 5 slots in the lineup and Opitz took advantage of RBI opportunities Matt Goodheart, Casey Martin, Kjerstad and Nesbit ahead of him. Opitz finished with two runs driven in, his second-straight game with two or more.

On the mound, Cody Scroggins got the start and gave up only one hit over five innings, striking out eight of the 17 batters he faced. Caden Monke, Jacob Burton and Landon Brown followed out of the bullpen. Team Cardinal was able to get four runs after the switch to the bullpen late, but Team White had already built an 11-0 lead before that first Cardinal run.

Arkansas will finish its fall practice in the coming week with a few more team practices before settling into individual workouts throughout November and December. Full team workouts will resume in January, roughly one month before Opening Day.

The Razorbacks will open the 2019 season on Friday, Feb. 15 against Eastern Illinois, the first of a three-game series at Baum Stadium.

2018 Fall World Series Schedule
Game 1 – White 9, Cardinal 1 (Team White leads series 1-0)
Game 2 – White 12, Cardinal 4 (Team White wins series 2-0)

Neighbors talking about Hogs in second season at Media Day

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas women’s basketball coach Mike Neighbors talked about his team at SEC Media Day on Thursday in Hoover, Alabama.

Bryant’s biggest asset to Hogs might not be on field

Andy Hodges
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Arkansas fans have been in a tizzy the last few days over former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant coming to town for an official visit as the graduate transfer is considering coming to town.

From Chad Morris’ perspective, it has to be as much for what he can do mentoring the younger quarterbacks as what he can do on the field.

It’s not because he’s not talented. He is. But let’s face it, counting on a graduate transfer quarterback is a little bit of a crapshoot, based on history.

For every Russell Wilson success story (North Carolina State to Wisconsin), there is the case of Brandon Harris (LSU to North Carolina) and Malik Zaire (Notre Dame to Florida).

For every Trevor Knight story (Oklahoma to Texas A&M), there’s Jeremiah Masoli (Oregon to Ole Miss), Everett Golson (Notre Dame to Florida State) and Max Browne (Southern Cal to Pitt).

What history shows us is the one-year transfer quarterback isn’t going to give your team a tremendous boost in wins or losses. You are what you are, in other words.

Yes, Wilson took the Badgers to the Rose Bowl in 2011, but that was the middle team in Bret Bielema’s three-year run of getting them there … only to lose that bowl game each time.

You can’t say Wilson lifted them higher than what they were.

Knight didn’t want to hang around Norman and back up Baker Mayfield, so he went south to College Station and stabilized a shaky quarterback situation and got the Aggies to an 8-5 season, which was the same record as the previous season.

And those examples are the best-case scenarios of what works out. A one-year graduate transfer can keep you from slipping or stabilize a shaky quarterback situation.

The Razorbacks, unfortunately, can’t slip much more than where they are. A change at quarterback may help a game or two, but it’s not going to get them where Morris or anybody else wants them to be.

Talk shows this week have speculated with how the Hogs would have done this year with Bryant at quarterback and it’s an impossible question to answer because he’d still have the same offensive line in front of him.

And we don’t know what Bryant can do behind a shaky offensive line. Clemson didn’t have a bad one during his one season as a starter.

But what he does bring to the table is something that isn’t dependent on the players around him and that’s experience of being around a winning college football program for four seasons. One that’s won at an extremely high level.

Bryant has said in interviews he wants to go somewhere for him to develop more as a quarterback. The translation on that is he needs somewhere that can put him on the field, which does pretty much fit the description at Arkansas.

Oh, Ty Storey will have a year of eligibility left and there’s a couple of true freshmen on the roster, but none have shown the ability to jump into the starter’s role and start winning ballgames. Of course they haven’t had the chance, so we don’t really know that.

Through seven games, Morris has been doing what he can do to try and win ballgames. With the chance of a bowl game now looking almost out of reach, there has to be a time soon when player development will come into the picture.

With a young group of quarterbacks, Bryant could be a big influence on and off the field.

By all accounts, he was a mentor to Trevor Lawrence at Clemson, but didn’t want to hang around unless he could still be the starter while teaching the youngster the ropes.

Morris is finding some players that came in this year. Rakeem Boyd has shown enough of a spark to be one of the best for the Hogs in a long, long time. His speed breaking away from people is impressive … defensive backs can’t catch him.

There’s help on the way. Arkansas’ recruiting class for 2019 is shaping up to be one of the best in decades, not just years. At least on potential. They still have to be coached up or you end up no better than before they showed up.

That may be the biggest reason Morris wants Bryant to be a Razorback for a year.

The hardest thing for new coaches to do is instill a winning mindset in a group of players that haven’t had a lot of experience in knowing what it takes to win and how to win.

Bryant has been around that. He’s shown a willingness to mentor younger players, based on what we’ve heard about him at Clemson with Lawrence.

And that could help more than anything he does on the field.

 

???? Thursday Halftime Pod — Featuring Tulsa’s Bruce Howard

Tye Richardson
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Phil Elson and Tye Richardson discuss Kelly Bryant’s weekend, You Spent What, plus Tulsa play-by-play broadcaster Bruce Howard!

Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

Tye Richardson
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Bud Light Morning Rush Podcast: Thursday

John & Tommy discuss SEC Basketball Media day, Eddie in Clarksville and interview Richard Davenport!

Hogs win third straight, sweeping past South Carolina

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas swept South Carolina Wednesday night to earn its third conference win of the season and second-straight victory.

With the win, the Hogs improved to 9-9, 3-5 SEC.

FINAL
Arkansas 3, South Carolina 0 | Box Score
Attendance: 546 | Time: 1:24
Barnhill Arena

#RazorStats
• Stat leaders vs South Carolina
o Kills: Hailey Dirrigl – 10
o Digs: Okiana Valle – 26
o Blocks: Kelly O’Brien – 4.0

The first set started close, with neither team earning much of a lead. Arkansas gained momentum mid-set, going on a 7-0 scoring run and earning a 25-19 victory. The Razorbacks led the entire second set, eventually winning 25-20.

Both teams played evenly in the third set, with the score seeing seven ties and five lead changes. The Hogs were able to pull ahead mid-set, clinching the sweep with a 25-20 win.

Okiana Valle had a remarkable night at the service line, recording 13 service points.

The Razorbacks will return to the court Sunday afternoon to host the Alabama Crimson Tide in the team’s Pink Game. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

Oklahama defensive end talks about Arkansas visit

Andy Hodges
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Oklahoma City Putnam City four-star defensive end Collin Clay has scheduled a visit to Arkansas on November 10 and talked about the upcoming visit.

“It will be an unofficial … I’ve already taken my official,” Clay said this week.

Clay was asked what it meant to him and the Hogs getting Hudson Henry and Dante Walker?

“Those two were both very great pickups,” Clay said. “All the recruits and coaches were hyped.”

Clay has a great relationship with the other Arkansas commits.

“We all have a very close relationship,” Clay said. “Talk to each other on daily about what we’re bringing and that’s leadership and versatility on and off the field.”

Clay went into depth on skill sets.

“My strengths are my pass rushing abilities, my aggression, and the fact that I can play anywhere on the defensive line and still dominate,” Clay said.

Clay talked about why he committed to Arkansas.

“They were the only school I can say that was loyal to me,” Clay said. “They loved me like I was already a player on campus and that’s what I like to see I feel like family to them.”

Clay elaborated on what makes Arkansas different from the rest of the schools.

“The family and bond they build with everyone,” Clay said. “Fan base is crazy and I just love it there.”

Clay has an outstanding relationship with the Arkansas coaching staff.

“It’s a great relationship,” Clay said. “I talk to them daily and they always tell me how they’re ready for me to make an immediate impact for the program with the rest of the guys.”

Clay has very high praise on Arkansas coach Chad Morris.

“I love how he coaches his players,” Clay said. “I’ve known him since he’s been at SMU so the relationship we’ve had had been out of this world. I can say coach Morris is the goofiest coach I know!”

Clay likes where Arkansas is heading.

“Of course it’s year one,” Clay said. “It will change … you just have to give it time! And that’s why this ’19 class will be a big impact.”

Anderson previewing new season at SEC Media Day

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Mike Anderson was in Hoover, Alabama, on Tuesday previewing the 2018-19 basketball season for the Hogs.

Hogs’ final stretch starts with Mississippi State, Auburn matches

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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STARKVILLE, Miss. — With three matches to go in the regular season, Arkansas is in prime position to keep building its postseason resume as well as garner a high seed in the SEC Tournament.

First, the team must face No. 25 Mississippi State on the road on Thursday, before coming home to face Auburn in its final home match of the year.

Game time with the Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m. at the MSU Soccer Field and will be broadcast online on SEC Network+.

No. 21 Auburn comes to Fayetteville on Sunday and it will be Senior Day for Reece Christopherson, Carly Hoke ad Ellie Breden. 

Match 16 Info
Opponent: No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs
Date: Thursday, Oct. 18th
First Kick: 7 p.m.
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2ypzkAL
TV: SECN+

Match 17 Info
Opponent: No. 21 Auburn Tigers
Date: Sunday, Oct. 21st
First Kick: 1 p.m.
Live Stats: http://bit.ly/2PFGx6i
TV: SECN+

Arkansas (10-3-2, 5-2-0 SEC) returned to the win column last week with a 4-0 win over Kentucky, its fifth shutout of the year.

The Razorbacks also managed to remain unbeaten at home at 8-0-1 this season and have locked up their third-straight 10-win season, fourth under coach Colby Hale.

Including this year, Arkansas has 10 10-win seasons in program history dating back to its first season in 1986.

Juniors Tori Cannata and Kayla McKeon have been taking turns in finding the back of the net and helping the Razorbacks stay towards the top in conference standings.

Eight of the last 12 Arkansas goals have come off the foot of either Cannata or McKeon with seven goals each on the year.

McKeon is now third in the conference and in the Top-25 in the nation after scoring her career-best fourth game-winning goal off a penalty kick last week and has a team-leading 16 points on the year.

While Cannata is having her best year as a Razorback scoring seven goals after only scoring a combined two in her first two years.

Defensively, Arkansas goalkeeper Taylor Beitz has been kept relatively clean after securing her fifth win in last week’s shutout over the Wildcats.

This year, the Razorback backline has limited opposing teams to 74 out of 145 shots on goals in comparison to the offense having 102 out of 250 shots finding their target.

Quick Kicks

• With three regular-season matches remaining, Arkansas will play its last double-match week as it travels to Starkville, Mississippi to take on the Bulldogs on Thursday and host its final home match against Auburn on Sunday.

• Arkansas currently sits alone in fourth place in the SEC standings with 15 points and a 5-2-0 conference record. The Razorbacks are only one point behind second-place Texas A&M and South Carolina and four back of leader Vanderbilt.

• Arkansas is still unbeaten at home this year at 8-0-1, including last week’s win over Kentucky. In its nine home games, the Razorbacks are averaging 2.4 goals per game and have four victories by two goals or more.

• Last week’s 4-0 win over Kentucky was Arkansas’ largest goal output of the season as all four goals were scored by a different player, including two who scored their first goals of the year (Emily Russell, Brooke Pirkle).

• With goals from Emily Russell and Brooke Pirkle against Kentucky, Arkansas has had 11 different players score at least one goals this year.

• After beating Kentucky last week, the Razorbacks locked up their third-straight 10-win season and fourth under head coach Colby Hale. It’s is history, Arkansas now has 10 10-win seasons since 1986.

• Until last week’s four-goal victory over the Wildcats, Arkansas’ previous four SEC victories came by one goal. This year, the Razorbacks are 6-1-0 in one-goal games.

• Juniors Kayla McKeon and Tori Cannata continue to lead the team in goals and points with three matches to go. Both are tied for the team lead with seven goals, while McKeon leads all Razorbacks with 16 points.

• Six of the last nine goals scored by Arkansas have come off the foot of either Tori Cannatta and Kayla McKeon. Arkansas is one of three teams with two players with seven or more goals this season.

• After scoring on the penalty kick in the 23rd minute last week against Kentucky, junior Kayla McKeon now has four game-winning goals this year, a career best.

Morris at final media availability before Tulsa game

ESPN Arkansas News Services
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Arkansas coach Chad Morris met with the media Wednesday afternoon before practice and talked about Saturday’s homecoming game with Tulsa.

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