University of Tennessee Athletics
Rossi, Hatcher Earn Soccer Buzz Honors
January 28, 2009 | Soccer
Jan. 28, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - University of Tennessee women's soccer players Kylee Rossi and Chelsea Hatcher were named to Soccer Buzz Magazine's 2008 All-Region teams on Wednesday. Rossi earned a spot on the All-Central Region Second Team, while Hatcher claimed a place on the Central Region All-Freshman Squad, marking the 12th straight season in which Tennessee has had a player named to the Soccer Buzz squads.
Despite suffering a hip injury that knocked her out of the lineup for the final two weeks of the season, Rossi made the most of her senior campaign. After entering the season as the Lady Vols' all-time leading goal scorer, the Pennington, N.J., native set her sights on the career points record, eclipsing Rhian Wilkinson's previous mark of 88 points on Oct. 5, in a win over Arkansas.
Rossi finished the season with 13 goals to lead the team and the conference in 2008. The forward capped her career with her second conference tournament title during her tenure and goes down in the record books as the school's all-time leader in points (97), goals (43), shots (329), game winners (15) and golden goals (4). The all-region selection is the fourth of Rossi's career.
After recovering from an illness in the preseason, Hatcher shook off a slow start to become one of the top freshmen in the Southeastern Conference through the final two-thirds of the season. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native notched just one assist on the year but proved to be a dominant presence in the central midfield and was named to the SEC's All-Freshman Team at the end of the season.
Hatcher made a name for herself in the conference tournament, leading the Orange and White with 14 shots en route to the title and a spot on the All-Tournament Team. Hatcher was the only freshman to take a penalty kick for the Lady Vols in their shootout advancement over LSU in the tournament semifinals.
Rossi was one of 10 SEC players named to the all-region teams, while Hatcher joined six other conference freshmen on the Soccer Buzz regional squads. National champion North Carolina's Casey Nogueira earned National Player of the Year honors, while Michigan State's Laura Heyboer was named Freshman of the Year. Stanford's Paul Ratcliffe was named National Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinal to the national semifinals.
