University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOL SOCCER HOLDS BANQUET, HANDS OUT SEASON AWARDS
April 21, 2004 | Soccer
April 21, 2004
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
Head Coach Angela Kelly and the University of Tennessee women's soccer program celebrated its triumphant 2003 campaign by announcing its award winners at a banquet on Tuesday night. The Lady Vols finished 17-5-2 overall and were ranked among the top 15 for the second straight season after sweeping the SEC's Eastern Division, regular-season and tournament titles on the way to the squad's second Sweet 16 appearance in a row.
"I thought the banquet was a great opportunity to reflect on the successes of this past season," said Kelly. "The past couple of months have given us a chance to recognize everything that we achieved during the fall. As you can see from the individual awards, this was very much a team effort instead of one superstar carrying the group. This is exactly the type of equation we need to win more championships in the future."
Junior midfielder Kayla Lockaby (Hamilton, Ohio) and sophomore goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart (Vernon, Conn.) were voted as Co-Most Valuable Players by their teammates. Lockaby tied for third on the Orange with six goals and handed out two assists in totaling 14 points. She delivered match-winning goals against Richmond and No. 5 Florida during the regular season and was chosen all-tournament at the First Tennessee Classic. Lockaby has now won or shared the team MVP hardware all three of her seasons under Coach Kelly.
In her initial year as the club's starter, Phillips-Bosshart established a school-record with 12 shutouts, tying her for the SEC lead with Auburn's Megan Rivera, and ranked second in the conference with a 0.73 goals against average, the lowest since UT's program began in 1996. The netminder was tabbed as the league's Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20, 2003, after consecutive road shutouts of West rivals Arkansas (4-0) and LSU (3-0). She allowed just one goal in 290 minutes of action at the SEC Tournament and recorded back-to-back 1-0 shutouts of Oklahoma and Georgia during the NCAA Tournament in Knoxville.
The Lady Vols' leading scorer with 26 points on 11 goals and four helpers, junior Lyndsey Patterson (Puyallup, Wash.) was recognized as the Offensive Most Valuable Player. The speedy forward occupied the second spot in the league statistics in points (13) and tied for the pole position with six goals, enough to merit second-team All-Central Region and second-team All-SEC recognition. She figured in both of Tennessee's goals in a 2-0 upset victory over the fifth-ranked Gators and later riddled Arkansas and LSU for three goals as the Orange and White swept its Western Division swing over the weekend of Oct. 17-19.
Chosen to the SEC All-Tourney squad, Patterson netted her club's goal in the championship tilt against Florida on Nov. 9 after helping UT to conquests of South Carolina and Ole Miss. The striker would pop in the Lady Vols' score in the 1-0 decision over Oklahoma to begin NCAA play at the UT Soccer Complex on Nov. 14. Her four match-winners equaled Rhian Wilkinson (Baie d'Urfe, Quebec) for the most on the team.
Senior Marie-Eve Nault (Trois-Riveries, Quebec) was recognized as the Defensive Most Valuable Player for the second straight time. With 83 appearances, she finished her Lady Vol career tied with Jen Laughridge (Wilson, N.C.) and Carie Swibas (Lakewood, Colo.) atop the program's all-time list in matches played. In her final campaign, the defender played an integral role in Tennessee establishing single-season standards for shutouts (12), fewest goals allowed (18) and lowest goals against average (0.73).
She handed out assists in victories over UNLV and Arkansas in '03, completing her tenure with totals of 27 points, nine goals and nine helpers. A clutch performer, six of her career scores were match-winners, including the lone goal in a 1-0 triumph over Georgia in the opening round of the 2002 SEC Tournament. During that event, Nault and the rest of Lady Vol defensive corps limited the Bulldogs, Kentucky and Florida to a combined seven shots on net as UT claimed its initial tourney crown.
A first-team All-America, first-team All-Central Region and the Central Region Player of the Year by Soccer Buzz Magazine, junior Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.) added the Lady Vols' Sense of Urgency award to her cache. A first-team All-Central Region honoree all three of her campaigns in Big Orange Country and the program's initial two-time All-American from the NSCAA, she was a repeat first-team All-SEC choice and tabbed as the league's Defender of the Year.
Dowling was among the semifinalists for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, presented to the nation's outstanding Division I player, and was a finalist for Soccer Buzz Magazine's Player of the Year honor. The defender rated fourth on the squad in scoring with 18 points on seven goals and four assists, including match-winners against Fresno State and William & Mary.
Picked for the SEC All-Tournament team for the second straight year, Dowling was voted as the Defensive Most Valuable Player of both the First Tennessee Classic and the Maryland/adidas Classic. A member of the SEC's Good Works Team, the Hoosier State native was named to Elite Teams of the Week released by Soccer America and Soccer Buzz Magazine on three different occasions, another record for the Lady Vol program.
Ali Christoph (Columbus, Ohio) capped off a remarkable freshman season by collecting the Coaches' Award. Having taken home the Central Region Freshman of the Year award from Soccer Buzz, she became just the second player to be named top rookie representing a school outside the Big 12. Christoph was also chosen second-team All-Central Region, second-team Freshman All-America and to the Central Region All-Freshman squad. Joining Allison Campbell (1998), Dowling (2001), Sue Flamini (2001) and Wilkinson (2000) as Lady Vol rookies who have achieved both All-Central Region and All-Freshman status, Christoph linked herself with teammate Flamini in being included on the ballot for National Freshman of the Year from Soccer Buzz. The midfielder tied for the top spot in SEC with 10 assists and rated second on the Orange behind Patterson with 22 points, including six scores.
Christoph was also the inaugural Lady Vol chosen to the conference's all-freshman unit. The midfielder's best efforts of the campaign came against Eastern Division rival South Carolina, when she figured in all of her club's offense in a 3-2 regular-season triumph in Knoxville and later converted a penalty kick for the lone score in the opening round of the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala. She also handed out a pair of assists in a shutout of LSU, netted the opening goal in a 4-1 decision against Kentucky and fed Wilkinson for the only goal in the 1-0 blanking of Georgia that sealed the Eastern Division and overall championships.
The duo of junior forward Mimi Couns (Farragut, Tenn.) and freshman midfielder Jenny Jeffers (Lake Zurich, Ill.) shared the Most Improved Player accolade. After playing in three matches during her first two years for the Orange and White, Couns saw time in 11 matches and registered the first point of her collegiate career in a 5-2 triumph over UNLV. Jeffers provided one of the most dramatic moments in school history by converting the decisive penalty kick during a shootout to seal UT's second SEC Tournament crown in succession.
The Orange and White will return 12 letterwinners and eight starters from a squad that was 17-5-2 overall and 7-1-1 in league play on its way to its second consecutive Eastern Division crown. Kelly and her staff, comprised of assistant coaches Samantha Baggett and Scott Blount, will welcome six newcomers into the fold.
2003 LADY VOL SOCCER AWARDS
| Co-Most Valuable Players | Kayla Lockaby / Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart |
| Offensive Most Valuable Player | Lyndsey Patterson |
| Defensive Most Valuable Player | Marie-Eve Nault |
| Sense of Urgency Award | Keeley Dowling |
| Coaches' Award | Ali Christoph |
| Co-Most Improved Players | Mimi Couns / Jenny Jeffers |
