University of Tennessee Athletics
LADY VOLS SOCCER RANKED 11th IN NSCAA/adidas PRESEASON POLL
August 17, 2005 | Soccer
Aug. 17, 2005
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The defending Southeastern Conference (SEC) Eastern Division and regular-season champion University of Tennessee soccer team will begin the year ranked 11th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas Preseason Rankings. The Lady Volunteers finished the 2004 campaign tied for 11th in the poll after advancing into the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 for the third straight season.
Topping the poll is defending national champion Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish return nine starters from last year's Women's College Cup winners. 17-time national champion North Carolina, with 10 starters returning, is picked second, The Tar Heels, who went 20-1-2 in 2004, will open the season against the Orange and White in the Heartland Classic at Topeka, Kan., on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. CDT.
UCLA was selected third, with the top 10 rounded out by Virginia, Santa Clara, Texas A&M, Portland, Penn State, Connecticut and Ohio State. The Atlantic Coast and Pacific 10 Conferences both landed five teams in the top 25, while the Big 10 had four. The Big East and Big 12 both saw three members make the list.
The defending SEC regular-season champs return six starters and 10 letterwinners, including second-team ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America and All-SEC goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart (Vernon, Conn.) and first-team All-SEC midfielder Ali Christoph (Columbus, Ohio). Kelly also brings back third-team Freshman All-American forward Genna Gorman (Lakewood, Colo.) and SEC All-Freshman forward Emily Redburg (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) to go along with 13 heralded newcomers to the Knoxville campus.
Some of those new faces made a big impression in the first exhibition match as the Lady Vols downed the Philadelphia Strikers, 4-0. Freshman forward Jackie Acevedo (Austin, Texas) scored two goals, while fellow rookie Kylee Rossi (Pennington, N.J.) added a goal and an assist in the first half. Freshman goalkeeper Jaimel Johnson (Kettering, Ohio) played the entire second half and made five saves on the afternoon.
Tennessee has eight matches scheduled against 2004 NCAA Women's College Cup participants, including fellow preseason top 25 members North Carolina (No. 2), Virginia (No. 4), Stanford (No. 14), West Virginia (No. 15), Florida (No. 19) and Washington (No. 20). The Lady Vols continue their exhibition slate against Florida State at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 19 at the UT Soccer Complex.
NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division I Women's National Rankings
| Rank | School | 2004 Record | Final Rank |
| 1. | Notre Dame | 24-1-1 | 1 |
| 2. | North Carolina | 20-1-2 | 5 |
| 3. | UCLA | 18-7-0 | 2 |
| 4. | Virginia | 17-3-2 | 7 |
| 5. | Santa Clara | 18-5-2 | 3 |
| 6. | Texas A&M | 18-6-0 | 15 |
| 7. | Portland | 20-4-0 | 6 |
| 8. | Penn State | 19-3-1 | 9 |
| 9. | Connecticut | 18-7-1 | 13 |
| 10. | Ohio State | 19-4-3 | 8 |
| 11. | Tennessee | 17-5-2 | T11 |
| 12. | Duke | 15-8-0 | T11 |
| 13. | Illinois | 16-6-2 | 14 |
| 14. | Stanford | 13-6-3 | T19 |
| 15. | West Virginia | 15-6-0 | RV |
| 16. | Boston College | 15-7-1 | 17 |
| 17. | Nebraska | 14-9-0 | 22 |
| 18. | Arizona | 15-6-0 | 25 |
| 19. | Florida | 16-4-3 | 21 |
| 20. | Washington | 17-5-1 | 10 |
| 21. | Princeton | 19-3-0 | 4 |
| Wake Forest | 10-7-2 | NR | |
| 23. | Kansas | 18-5-0 | 18 |
| 24. | California | 11-6-3 | RV |
| 25. | Wisconsin | 16-6-1 | RV |
Also receiving votes: Clemson, Auburn, Colorado, Villanova, San Diego, Yale, Dayton, Texas, Maryland, Colgate
