UC Santa Barbara Edges No. 23 Tennessee

Sunday, September 14

Santa Barbara, CA

University of Tennessee

2-5-0

UC Santa Barbara

5-2-0

TENNESSEE

UC Santa Barbara

September 14, 2008 | Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 14, 2008

Box Score | Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Despite appearing to end its scoring woes, the University of Tennessee women's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to UC Santa Barbara on Sunday evening. The Lady Vols posted their first goal since Sept. 7 but finished 0-2 on the West Coast trip.

"This is obviously a very tough stretch for our team," UT Head Coach Angela Kelly said. "We are being challenged in ways that this program has not faced in the past, but we will persevere and be eagerly awaiting the start of the conference play in 10 days."

UCSB scored the game winner in the 67th minute, sealing its fifth victory of the season. Senior midfielder Sami Svrcek threaded a pass in between the defenders to sophomore Jacqui Simon who took the ball into the box and slid a shot past Lady Vol senior keeper Jaimel Johnson to give the Gauchos a 2-1 advantage.

"UCSB has one of the most dynamic front lines we have faced thus far, I was very impressed," Kelly said. "I schedule difficult opponents in September in the hopes that we will become stronger for October and November."

The second half saw the Orange and White notch seven shots however the team could not find the back of the net. UT put three shots on goal in the final frame, with freshmen Chelsea Hatcher and Hannah Hut, who both made starts in the match, accounting for two of those strikes.

The Gauchos started off the scoring in the 24th minute when sophomore forward Kylie McDonald placed a shot from 18 yards into the upper right corner of the goal. McDonald received the pass from sophomore Kailyn Kugler on the left side of the box before lofting her shot past a diving Johnson.

Senior forward Kylee Rossi got the Lady Vols on the board for the first time in a week, tying the match at one goal apiece in the 38th minute. After receiving the ball midway into the UCSB half of the field, Rossi dribbled her way towards the box, beat her defender and delivered a shot with her left foot into the right corner of the goal.

"I am excited that we are creating scoring opportunities and at times throughout this stretch we have been inches away from much different results and becoming very explosive," Kelly said.

The score was Rossi's third of the season and first since Aug. 22 at Chattanooga. Already Tennessee's all-time leading goal scorer, Rossi is now just eight points away from becoming the top points scorer in program history.

A physical first half saw 14 fouls committed between the two squads and a yellow card issued to Santa Barbara's Michelle Russell. Both teams put together several quality scoring opportunities beyond the goals.

UCSB forced Johnson to make a quick save early on when forward Genelle Ives launched a point blank header from inside 12 yards. Meanwhile, the Lady Vols had a chance to put one away in the 38th minute when sophomore forward Anna Fisher forced Gaucho keeper Tammy Lenham to make a diving save.

Through the first 45 minutes, Tennessee notched 10 shots, putting four on goal. The Gauchos tested Johnson with four shots, forcing her to make two saves in the first frame.

Overall, the Lady Vols out-shot UCSB, 17-12, putting seven of those strikes on goal. Rossi and junior midfielder Mick Imgram led the team with five shots apiece, with both putting two strikes on frame. Johnson posted seven saves in the match after facing 12 shots, nine of which were on goal.

The Orange and White fall to 2-5-0 on the year, while UCSB improved to 5-2-0. The Lady Vols will now look to finish out the non-conference season strong, hosting Western Carolina on Friday, Sept. 19 at Regal Stadium.