Not Just Football: Hale's Razorbacks Pitching Shutouts, Too

Arkansas steamrolling nonconference opposition early in season, blanking opposition

Colby Hale coaches from the sidelines in Arkansas' 8-0 win over Western Kentucky / Walt Beazley / Arkansas Athletics

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — More than one Arkansas team is pitching dominant shutouts. Perhaps taking inspiration from each other, 3 days after the football team ran circles around UAPB 70-0, No. 6 Arkansas soccer beat Western Kentucky 8-0.

It's the Razorbacks' third straight shutout. The Hogs have not been scored on in over 5 hours of game time, with the only blemish on the nonconference schedule being a 2-2 draw against No. 4 Michigan State. Arkansas has now completed a trifecta of clean sheets with wins over Northwestern State, Gonzaga and Western Kentucky. They have outscored their opponents by a total of 22-0, a total that could pass as a football score, much less on the soccer pitch

Not only are opponents not scoring, they're barely even getting a chance to get a shot off. Arkansas has held their opponents twice to a solitary shot, including against Western Kentucky.

Success is nothing new to coach Colby Hale. The Razorbacks have made seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances under Hale's tutelage and four SEC titles. However, even for the players, this year feels different. The team is trying to avenge a defeat to the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.

"There's a lot of returners in our team," defender Ella Riley said. "[Our team] might seem a little bit younger, but I'd say for a lot of us this started back in spring. When we lost in the NCAA Tournament last season. There's just a different type of hunger that this group has that I haven't seen in past years.

The Hogs are the top-scoring offense in the country through the early part of the season, averaging 5.75 goals, a full goal ahead of anyone else in Division I.

The varied attack is something that Hale is particularly fond of, Arkansas has had 17 different scorers in just five games.

"It's what we preach," Hale said. "This isn't a 'Hey, we play with three, four defenders.' "We play with 11 defenders, we play with 11 forwards. we have to make sure that we are the best at that."

Arkansas concludes its nonconference slate against No. 16 BYU 6:30 p.m. Saturday. The game will be streamed on SEC Network+.

"I think we're ready for what comes at us," Riley said. "We're going to take what they give us each game."

HOGS FEED:

• Linebacker plays ultimate key to potential Razorbacks upset

• Arkansas battles experience gap against Oklahoma State

• Three questions for Razorbacks ahead of Oklahoma State

• Subscribe and follow us on YouTube
• Follow HogsSI on X and Facebook