University of Tennessee Athletics
#19 LADY VOLS PREPARE FOR SEC TOURNAMENT TILT AGAINST KENTUCKY
November 07, 2001 | Soccer
Nov. 7, 2001
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
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Rated 19th in the latest national rankings released by Soccer Buzz Magazine, the Lady Vol soccer team heads to the 2001 Southeastern Conference Women's Soccer Tournament in Baton Rouge, La., this weekend. Seeded fourth, Tennessee (11-5) will meet Kentucky (11-6-1), the number five seed, in quarterfinal action beginning at 2:30 p.m. CT on Thursday. UT is seeking its initial victory at the event in its fifth appearance, while the Wildcats secured their ninth straight berth at the SECs.
"The last time we faced Kentucky (Oct. 14), we went into overtime and came away with a hard-fought win in a match that could have gone either way," said second-year Lady Vol head coach Angela Kelly. "With everything on the line on Thursday, I expect us to be in for a battle. Warren Lipka will certainly have his Wildcat team ready to play and well-organized so I look for this to be a very tough match for both squads."
Junior Kim Patrick, recently chosen as the Lady Vol edsouth Athlete of the Month, was in the right place at the right time in the second sudden-death overtime period during the clubs' last encounter. The forward netted a "Golden Goal" at 117:57 to propel the Lady Vols over #24 Kentucky, 1-0, representing UT's latest tally to earn a victory.
On that afternoon, junior netminder Cori Stevens made a career-high 12 saves in securing her third shutout of 2001, while sophomore defender Tracy Swibas was credited with the first assist of her career on Patrick's goal by lofting a pass to Keeley Dowling. The rookie then delivered the pass that Patrick banged into the center of UK's net.
Patrick has enjoyed a stellar season at UT following her transfer from the University of North Carolina. The striker from Pleasanton, Calif., is among the league leaders with 29 points on 11 goals and seven assists and is riding an 11-match point streak. Dowling, the captain of the U.S. under-19 National Team, has racked up 23 points on nine goals and five helpers, while rookie Sue Flamini has chipped in 18 points on six goals and six assists.
In her first season as the Orange's starting goalkeeper, Stevens has recorded a 10-5 mark with a 1.40 goals against average. She boasts a save percentage of .798 and her 87 saves are within hailing distance of teammate Ellen Dean's school-record 97 stops established last season.
Kentucky is 11-6-1 overall and finished fourth in the Eastern Division with a 5-4 SEC record. The Wildcats opened 2001 by claiming their first seven contests, then faltered at home against both Arizona State on Sept. 28, 2-0, and New Mexico on Sept. 30, 1-0. UK is rated fourth in the Great Lakes Regional Rankings, behind Notre Dame (14-2-1), Michigan (11-6-1), and Ohio State (9-8-1), and sports a 5-0 record against regional opponents.
Regarded as the dean of the SEC's women's soccer coaches, Lipka is now in his10th season as the only person in charge of Kentucky's program. His overall record stands at 121-75-10 (.612) and he is 50-31-1 (.616) against league schools. Lipka has guided the 'Cats to NCAA appearances in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 and directed UK to the 1995 SEC Championship. He is a two-time recipient of the SEC Coach of the Year award, in '95 and '99.
Senior forward Annie Gage holds the team lead in points (23), goals (eight) and assists (seven) for the Blue and White. Rookie forward Kathy Fulk (19 points on six goals and seven assists) and junior midfielder Keri Boyce (13 points on four goals and five assists) have enjoyed stellar seasons, while senior midfielder Susie Ledzianowski has netted five goals to aid UK's scoring effort. To emphasize the unit's balance, 16 different players have found their way on to the scoring ledger, compared to 10 for UT. In the conference statistics for all matches, Kentucky is third in assists (15), is fourth in points (47), is fourth in goals (16) and the Wildcats have taken 127 shots to rank third.
One of the top net-minders in the SEC, senior Beth Wells has once again been charged with shackling opposing team's offenses. She has responded by allowing 20 goals in 18 matches (1680 minutes) for a GAA of 1.07. That figure represents the fourth-best in the league, slightly better than her 2000 total of 1.11 that was second in the conference. In addition, she has pitched shutouts against Vanderbilt (1-0), Michigan State (6-0), Utah (3-0), Ohio State (2-0) and South Carolina (1-0). Wells' total of 64 saves, averaging of 3.56 per match, leave her third in that category as well.
The winner of the Tennessee/Kentucky match will advance to play the survivor of the Florida/Vanderbilt contest at 5 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon. The #10 Gators (14-3-1) have claimed the SEC Tournament for the past five years and are the top seed after posting an 8-1 regular-season conference mark.
