University of Tennessee Athletics
PATTERSON GETS A LITTLE BIT OF HOME HERE IN KNOXVILLE
September 29, 2003 | Soccer
Sept. 29, 2003
It is a long way from Puyallup, Washington, to Knoxville, Tennessee. For Lyndsey Patterson, the distance was so far, she barely even knew Tennessee existed.
"I knew I wanted to be in the South because I like warm weather, but I never really knew of Tennessee as a soccer school," Patterson said. "I knew about California schools and North Carolina, but I didn't know any Southeastern Conference schools. Then I got a letter, my dad read it and gave it to me. Once I read it and talked to Ange (Kelly, head coach) I knew I wanted to visit. The visit was great, it was so much like a family, I knew I wanted to come here."
Luckily for the Lady Vols, not only did Patterson discover Knoxville on the map, but she decided to make it her home for the next four years. Immediately, the expectations for success began to roll in.
"A lot was expected of me my freshman year, but I set a standard for myself," Patterson said. "As I grew and matured both on and off the field, I set bigger goals for myself to try to improve on the field each year. Confidence is the biggest thing because when you expect so much and then don't always reach your goals, it's easy to let yourself down. Having confidence is the biggest thing."
After steady improvements over her first two seasons, expectations for Patterson grew as her junior season approached. With 23 of the 2002 team's 57 goals lost to graduation and seven more accompanying Rhian Wilkinson to Team Canada and the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, Tennessee was left looking for an offensive outlet. Thus far, Patterson has filled the role of scoring threat, placing second on the squad in both goals and assists with three in each category. It is a role that Patterson clearly embraces.
"I love the pressure of being expected to be a primary goal-scorer," Patterson said. "Once we found out Rhian would be gone with the Canadian National team for most of the year, I couldn't look around anymore. My freshman and sophomore years, I could look around and think 'if I can't get it done, someone else in here will.' Now I look around and think, 'I have to take care of this team.'"
The confidence that Patterson uses to lead by example casts a big influence on the Lady Vol squad according to freshman midfielder Ali Christoph.
"She's our attack...when we need to go forward, we look for Lyndsey," Christoph said. "Get the ball to her feet and she can do anything with it."
Stepping up to become a leader for her teammates is something that Patterson sees as not just an honor, but a necessity for team success.
"We have to be leaders to get the freshmen mentally prepared for where we're going," Patterson said. "I wasn't really prepared to deal with all of the success we had my first two years, so we really have to try to get them ready so we can expect them to be right there with us as the season goes on."
One of those freshmen also hails from Puyallup High School. Patterson's younger sister Marchelle elected to join her sister and mentor at Tennessee. Oddly enough, the older Patterson says now their roles are reversed.
"My sister has helped me more than I can ever help her," acknowledged Lyndsey. "She's one of the biggest reasons I've played well this season, she knows me so well that she knows what to say to me to get me back into my game. I try to play as an example for her."
