UT Advances As Rossi Ties Goal Record

Friday, November 16

Knoxville, TN

University of Tennessee

14-4-2

Furman

16-6-1

Team	1	2	Final F
FURMAN	0	0	0
TENNESSEE	2	0	2

November 16, 2007 | Soccer

Box Score

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ??? The 15th-ranked and third-seeded Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team (14-4-2) successfully opened its 2007 NCAA Tournament run on Friday night at the Regal Soccer Stadium with a 2-0 victory over the Furman Lady Paladins (16-6-1). Sophomore midfielder Mick Imgram and junior forward Kylee Rossi each registered goals for the Big Orange offense as the Orange & White improved to 6-0-1 all-time in NCAA First Round matches. For Rossi the tally was the 29th of her career to tie former Lady Vol Laura Lauter Smith for the UT career record in the scoring category.

Tennessee outshot the Lady Paladins 15-5 in the contest, including 10-2 during the first half of play. For junior goalkeeper Jaimel Johnson, the victory was the 20th of her career and the shutout was her 14th. UT improved to an impressive 13-0-1 this season when tallying the first goal of the match.

???When it comes to tournament time you compete, you survive and you move on,??? Lady Vol Head Coach Angela Kelly said. ???That???s what we did tonight. We have to be able to play at a championship level, which means making the minimum amount of touches and letting the ball do the work. We must do a better job at that. I thought it was fantastic to start out the way we did. It was a dynamic goal. I talked to the team about the importance of scoring early and fighting for that first goal.???

The Lady Vols wasted no time jumping in front on the scoreboard as Tennessee sophomore midfielder Mick Imgram struck with the game???s first goal just 52 seconds into the contest. Dribbling up the left wing past midfield, Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year Kylee Rossi easily beat her defender as the Furman player attempting to check the speedy Pennington, N.J., native tripped and fell down. Running free, Rossi beat the lone remaining defender by crossing an easy ball to the feet of a wide open Imgram, who was standing in the middle of the pitch. The Clifton, Va., product delivered a shot low and to the left to beat diving Lady Paladin goalkeeper Briana da Mota for a quick 1-0 lead.

The Big Orange advantage grew to two scores at the 15:06 mark as freshman Tanya Emerson worked the ball into the center of the 18-yard box before passing to Rossi racing unchecked up the right wing. The forward quickly gathered the ball and unleashed a bending shot that traveled over a leaping da Mota and into the upper left corner of the twine to mark Rossi???s 11th score of the season and UT career record-tying 29th score. She also established new career-highs in single-season goals (11) and points (27) and equaled former Big Orange player Allison Campbell for third on the all-time points list at Tennessee with 72.

The defensive effort at the back line for UT, consisting of Erica Griffin, Jordan Falcusan, Melissa Speros and Sarah Jackyra, kept Furman from registering its first shot of any kind until approximately 15 minutes remained in the opening stanza. Overall, Tennessee allowed just two shots, none on goal, over the first 45 minutes of action while outshooting the Purple and White, 10-2. The Lady Paladins entered tonight???s match in possession of one of the nation???s top scoring offenses having tallied 64 goals on the campaign.

Furman???s offense finally showed a little life to begin the second half as Lady Paladin forward Emily Krankowski managed to work her way in on the right side of the goal before lifting a shot that Tennessee goalkeeper Jaimel Johnson saved wide of the post. On the ensuing corner kick for the Purple and White, Johnson forced her way into the pack in front of the goal and leapt high to corral the cross and stem the Furman attack.

After a long period of midfield play, the Lady Paladins managed to threaten again in the 66th minute as Furman forward Anna Betton raced free up the middle of the pitch and looked to pass wide to Krankowski. Tennessee defender Erica Griffin surged out of nowhere to break up the play from behind by stealing the ball from Betton. The senior from Memphis, Tenn., escaped the remaining Purple and White attackers and cleared the ball up the sideline.

With approximately 11 minutes remaining in the contest, Furman drew a foul against Tennessee that permitted a free kick from nearly 35 yards out. A long shot by the Lady Paladins proved harmless as the ball drifted wide left of the net.

The late-game pressure by the Lady Paladins continued just a couple of minutes later at the 81:48 mark as a corner kick taken by Furman midfielder Gena Villari dropped towards the feet of midfielder Rachel Fry in the six-yard box. The midfielder quickly tapped the ball towards the net, but the orb traveled directly into the hands of UT goalie Johnson to mark the Dayton, Ohio, product???s second save of the match and preserve the Big Orange clean sheet.

Despite one last corner kick at 82:22 from the Lady Paladins, Tennessee managed to control the last few minutes of action. A shot by junior midfielder Alissa VonderHaar forced da Mota to make her third save. Leslie Vineyard and Grace Cuenin each were credited with strikes in the last 1:01 that drifted wide of the net. In the second half, UT outshot the Purple & White, 5-3.

The Big Orange will battle Clemson in NCAA Second Round action at the Regal Soccer Stadium on Sunday at 2 p.m.