University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee Prepares to Christen 2009 Regular Season Versus ETSU
August 21, 2009 | Soccer
Aug. 21, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The 2009 season is officially upon the Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team as ETSU ventures to Knoxville for a Saturday night match "under the lights" at the Regal Soccer Stadium. Kick-off for the intra-state duel is set for 7 p.m. ET with live stats and live video streaming expected to be available through utladyvols.com.
The Orange & White and the Bucs have met on the pitch just twice and not since 1998. Both matches occurred before Angela Kelly was promoted from a Lady Vol assistant coach to head of the program (Sept. 19, 1997 & Oct. 9, 1998) in 2000. UT prevailed in each of those two previous meetings by an 8-0 score.
Tennessee enters this weekend's match with a roster of 23 players, including 15 returning letterwinners, seven returning starters from last year's Southeastern Conference Tournament championship team and eight lauded newcomers. Leading the returnees for the Orange & White are senior forward Mick Imgram, sophomore midfielder Chelsea Hatcher, junior midfielder/forward Julie Edwards and junior midfielder Tanya Emerson.
Imgram enters her final campaign with a recent selection to the 11-member, 2009 Preseason All-SEC squad on her resume and having scored a goal during UT's exhibition last weekend against No. 16 Duke. She rates in a deadlock for seventh on the Lady Vol career assist list with 17 helpers. The Clifton, Va., native has also tallied 13 career goals and six game-winning tallies during her time at Rocky Top. Last season Imgram was the third-leading scorer for the Lady Vols with two goals, four assists and eight points.
Hatcher looks to build upon a rookie campaign in `08 that saw her earn Soccer Buzz Central Region All-Freshman, SEC All-Freshman and SEC All-Tournament selections while appearing in 21 matches with 10 starting nods. Among her season highlights were converting the deciding penalty kick in an overtime shootout to help UT defeat #11 LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinals on the way to the program's fourth event title since 2002.
Edwards started 19 matches for the Big Orange in 2008, posting a pair of goals, an assist and five points to rate fifth on the squad in scoring. Both of her goals were game-winners as her crucial tallies downed #15 Illinois (1-0) during the First Tennessee Lady Vol Classic and Georgia (1-0) in the SEC Tournament title game. For her efforts at the league event in Orange Beach, Ala., Edwards was tabbed to the SEC All-Tournament Team.
Emerson has seen time in 44 matches during her UT career with five goals and five assists for 15 points. During the 2008 campaign, the Capistrano Beach, Calif., native was responsible for a goal and two assists on 11 total shots. She saved her best offensive production for the 2008 SEC Tournament as Emerson found the back of the net during a 2-1 win over Auburn in the quarterfinals and assisted on Tennessee's single goals in the match-ups with #11 LSU and Georgia in the semifinal and final, respectively.
Among the high-profile freshman expected to contribute immediately are forward Jayden Barrett, midfielder/defender Kylie Bono, midfielder Amy Harrison, defender Ali Hall, and forward Alexis Owens.
Barrett, a two-time California State Cup MVP hailing from Corona, Calif., helped her club team, the Slammers, to four Surf Cup Championships, two Cal South National Cup championships, two Cal South State Cup finals appearances, the 2008 Region IV title and a runner-up finish at the 2008 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships. She was also part of the Nike Manchester Cup, Gothia Cup and Jefferson Cup titlists, while also serving as a member of the Region IV ODP pool from 2005-07.
A three-time all-league selection out of Yorba Linda, Calif., Bono led the Esperanza H.S. Aztecs to a pair of Sunset League titles, earning the league's offensive MVP award from 2007-09. In 2008-09, the 5-8 midfielder/defender led her squad in goals and assists, guiding it to the quarterfinals of the California Interscholastic League (CIF) Southern Section Championships.
A member of the Canadian Under-17 Women's World Cup squad, Harrison traveled with Team Canada to the 2008 FIFA U17 World Cup in New Zealand, starting two contests and seeing time in each of the squad's four matches before it was bounced out in the quarterfinals by Germany. She possesses nine career caps for Canada in international competition. As a five-year captain with Winnipeg South End United, Harrison helped her club squad to the 2008 Manitoba Championship and three straight city and league championships between 2005 and 2007. In 2006, she took home both the Winnipeg Youth Soccer Association and South End United Player of the Year Awards.
Hall was a four-year letterwinner at Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill. In 2008, the NSCAA/adidas All-American ('07) led the Patriots to a section title while earning all-conference, all-area, all-state and all-section honors. She played club soccer with Eclipse Select, helping guide her squad to a national championship (2005), two appearances in the national finals and two U.S. Youth Soccer Region II titles.
Owens opened her career in the Orange & White by scoring a goal during last weekend's exhibition loss to No. 16 Duke in Knoxville. Owens played a part in three straight conference championship teams (2006-08), one regional (2007) and one sectional titlist (2007) at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind. A three-time All-Hamilton County soccer selection (2007-09), she also made a name for herself as a speedster on the track as a two-time state finalist in the 400 meters.
The ETSU Bucs return 16 letterwinners and 10 starters from the 2008 campaign, including all-Atlantic Sun Conference junior midfielder Kelly Brinkman, senior forward Jordan Monty and sophomore goalkeeper Megan Masch. The Bucs posted a 7-9-2 mark last season and were recently picked to finish sixth in the annual A-Sun preseason coaches' poll.
