University of Tennessee Athletics
NO. 13 LADY VOLS PREPARE TO HOST FIRST TENNESSEE CLASSIC
September 11, 2003 | Soccer
Sept. 11, 2003
Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
Several of the nation's top programs will be on display at the UT Soccer Complex this weekend, as the 13th-ranked Lady Vols (3-1) will host the First Tennessee Bank Classic. Each squad in the event advanced to the NCAA Women's College Cup last season and Denver has already upended reigning national champion Portland this year. A doubleheader beginning at 5:30 p.m., Friday's action will pit Charlotte (1-3) against the No. 21 Pioneers (2-1), to be followed by Richmond's (1-0-1) initial encounter with the hosts at 8 p.m. A double-dip on Sunday will see DU facing the Spiders at noon and the 49ers challenging the Big Orange at 2 p.m.
"I'm excited to be back home again," said Head Coach Angela Kelly. "I know that a lot of the players' families are coming in for the tournament and without a football game, the girls should be able to enjoy a little more down-time than usual. This is a high-caliber tournament and the fans should have great soccer this weekend. Dealing with the absence of Rhian (Wilkinson), I'm looking for leadership to step up and take over during these two matches."
Coming off a grueling road trip out West in which it fell to Brigham Young (1-0) before a sellout crowd and rebounded to turn back UNLV (5-2), Tennessee's offense will have to adjust to missing senior Rhian Wilkinson (Baie d'Urfe, Quebec) for several weeks. The forward will be representing Canada at the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup which will kick off on Sept. 20.
Junior Lyndsey Patterson (Puyallup, Wash.) currently spearheads the Lady Vol offensive attack with seven points on three goals and an assist, while freshman midfielder Ali Christoph (Columbus, Ohio) is coming off an effort against the Rebels in which she tallied her first career goal and handed out an assist. A balanced scoring ledger indicates that UT's nine goals in '03 have been scored by seven different players, while three other individuals have been credited with assists. Kelly's club has out-shot its four opponents by a 55-32 margin, including a 28-14 disparity in the second half. Sophomore keeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart (Vernon, Conn.) rates seventh in the Southeastern Conference with a 1.00 goals against average and has compiled a save percentage of .714.
Under the direction of Peter Albright, now in his ninth season as head coach, Richmond opened its season last weekend in Harrisonburg, Va., with a 1-1 stalemate against host James Madison and a 4-1 rout of New Hampshire. The Spiders returned 16 letterwinners and nine starters from a club that finished 15-5-2 overall and 8-3 in the Atlantic 10 Conference last year. UR blanked Clemson (1-0) and JMU (1-0) in the first two rounds of NCAA play before falling to eventual NCAA titlist Portland in the Sweet 16, 3-0.
Sophomore Liana Wooten had two goals and an assist in the conquest of the Wildcats, while junior Meghan Ogilvie totaled three points on a goal and a helper during her club's first weekend of activity. Richmond has out-shot its foes by a 45-20 margin and holds a 10-4 edge in corner kicks. Senior Megan Cox sports a 0.90 goals against average and a save percentage of .778 over her 200 minutes in between the pipes.
Richmond will become just the second program from the Atlantic 10 that Tennessee has faced in women's soccer. UT has split its four meetings with Xavier (L, 3-1, Oct. 6, 1996; W, 3-1, Sept. 21, 1997; W, 4-0, Sept. 20, 1998; L, 0-1, Sept. 24, 2000).
Meanwhile, the 49ers arrive in Knoxville after splitting two matches at their own tournament last weekend. Head Coach Neil Roberts' club topped Delaware, 3-1, on Sept. 5, but then succumbed to UNC Wilmington, 1-0, two days later. Four different players account for the Green and White's offense to this point, as junior Leslie Canales, senior Haley Devine, senior Jill Hayes and junior Jill Leeder have each scored. Senior Tiffany Ross has been credited with a pair of assists.
Sophomore Courtney Crandell, a first-team All-American as a rookie, when she totaled 50 points on 21 goals and eight assists, has one point through two outings in '03. The league's preseason pick to become the Player of the Year, she recently became the first player in C-USA history to be named to the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy's Watch List. The duo of junior Lauren Dansby (2.00 GAA, .667 save percentage, 270 minutes) and freshman Shannon Huffman (3.00 GAA, .571 save percentage, 90 minutes) has served as the last line of defense.
Last year, Charlotte posted an unbeaten record in the regular season but was ousted in the first round of NCAAs by James Madison, 1-0. Although the 49ers finished 16-2-2 overall and captured the Conference USA regular-season title with an 8-0-2 mark, they also fell in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament event to Marquette.
Although it has never faced Charlotte on the pitch, Tennessee is 4-2 (.667) against the 49ers' league brethren. The last time the Orange faced a C-USA squad was in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tournament, when UT eliminated Cincinnati, 2-1, on a goal with 4:58 remaining in regulation on a tally by Kayla Lockaby (Hamilton, Ohio) against her hometown team. Before the clash with the Bearcats, the previous instance against a squad from that league was during Kelly's head coaching debut on Aug. 25, 2000, when Marquette spoiled the occasion with a 2-1 overtime win in Milwaukee, Wis.
Still, the Lady Vols have split a pair of meetings with the Golden Eagles, including a 4-2 decision in Knoxville on Sept. 5, 1999. During the first two years of its program, UT fell at Memphis, 2-1, on Oct. 13, 1996, and blanked the Tigers, 3-0, on Aug. 29, 1997, at the UT Soccer Complex. A 6-0 romp over Louisville in Nashville on Oct. 30, 1998, completes the Lady Vols' results against the 14-member league that also includes East Carolina, DePaul, Houston, Saint Louis, Southern Mississippi, South Florida, TCU, Tulane and UAB.
Charlotte and Tennessee kicked off their respective seasons against the same pair of opponents from the West Coast, Fresno State and UC Santa Barbara. While the Lady Vols stopped both the Bulldogs (3-1) and the Gauchos (1-0), the 49ers found themselves on the short end against each of the clubs, losing 3-1 to FSU and 4-0 to UCSB.
| Friday, September 12 | ||||
| Denver (2-1) | vs. | Charlotte (1-3) | 5:30 p.m. | |
| Tennessee (3-1) | vs. | Richmond (1-0-1) | 8:00 p.m. | |
| Sunday, September 14 | ||||
| Denver | vs. | Richmond | 12:00 p.m. | |
| Tennessee | vs. | Charlotte | 2:00 p.m. | |
