Nov. 4, 2009

Final Stats

BY BRIAN DAVIS
Lady Vols Media Relations

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. - The eighth-seeded Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team battled hard on Wed., Nov. 4th, in Orange Beach, Ala., but dropped a tough 1-0 (2OT) decision to No. 10 and top-seeded Florida (15-4-2, 8-1-2 SEC) to be eliminated from the SEC Tournament and conclude its 2009 season at 8-9-3 overall.

The scoreless contest came to a sudden end at the 101:22 mark on a golden goal by Florida midfielder Lindsay Thompson. For the match the Gators out-shot the Lady Vols by a 13-10 margin and 10-4 in shots on frame.

"This was a very disappointing loss," Lady Vol head coach Angela Kelly said. "Credit Florida because they figured out a way to put the ball in the back of the net. I thought both teams had quality chances tonight. The history of our two programs takes us through many overtime matches such as we had tonight. All in all, this was a disappointing result for our team."

Each squad recorded some quick pressure in the attacking third, but neither could get off a shot. Perhaps the best early opportunity occurred during the third minute as a cross from the left wing off the foot of sophomore forward Chelsea Hatcher was just a little too far in front of sophomore midfielder Lara Langworthy in the middle of the 18-yard box.

At the 9:50 mark, the Lady Vols strung together several solid passes with the ball eventually finding its way to freshman forward Jayden Barrett just outside the top of the penalty area. The Corona, Calif., native attempted a pass to the right for Langworthy, but again the ball proved just too far in front of the offensive player for UT to get a shot off.

The Gators managed the initial shot and shot on goal of the match-up for either team at the 14:05 mark as a result of a long free kick from out near midfield by Lauren Hyde. Her drive into the middle of the 18 was headed on toward goal by midfielder Sarah Chapman, but Baird was positioned perfectly to easily make the save.

Tennessee came close to taking the lead at the 22:55 mark as Langworthy won a one-vs.-one battle on the right wing and crossed the ball on the ground to the middle of the penalty area. Barrett leapt over the rolling cross as it ended up at the feet of senior forward Mick Imgram standing about 15 yards out front. The Clifton, Va., native blasted a shot that hit a player out in front altering the drive just enough that the ball bounced straight left and into the hands of Fraine for a save.

A quick counter-attack by Florida in the 30th minute almost broke the scoreless deadlock in UF's favor. A pass into the 18 ended up in the possession of forward Mackenzie Barney, who was being marked by a Lady Vol defender. The Gator freshman managed a quick shot that eluded a diving Baird and ricocheted off the right post before being cleared out of danger.

Baird again came up with a big stop at 32:17 on a shot from about 12 yards out on the right wing by Erika Tymrak. The Raleigh, N.C., keeper controlled the direction of the rebound off the UF blast by punching the ball away to her right and towards the sideline.

Nearing the conclusion of the initial stanza, the Big Orange managed some sustained offensive pressure from approximately the 41st to 43rd minutes but couldn't get off a shot as Florida managed to clear each and every time.

With under a minute remaining, Imgram drew the first corner of the match for either squad and eventually delivered a feed into the middle. After the ball bounced back-and-forth between several players, Hatcher managed to head UT's second shot on goal of the contest, but it traveled right to Fraine standing in the middle of the goal mouth as the half eventually came to a close with the score, 0-0.

Tennessee came out of the locker room controlling the early possession as sophomore Lady Vol Emily Dowd forced a corner just two minutes into the half.

A hustle play from junior defender Melissa Speros ended up in a solid UT scoring chance during the 49th minute. Speros raced up from behind the action in the attacking third and swiped a ball from a UF defender, crossing the sphere from the right wing near the endline into the middle. Standing well inside the six-yard zone, Big Orange freshman midfielder Amy Harrison leapt and headed a shot just over the top of the goal.

With the Lady Vols controlling the action early in the second half, the Gators finally got a solid offensive opportunity in the 54th minute off a foul call against UT. Standing in the middle of the pitch, Florida's Lauren Hyde blasted a shot from about 30 yards out just wide left of the goal as Baird raced over to corral her attempt.

The scoreless deadlock almost came to an end in the 58th minute as Florida's Barney fired from the left wing. Off a rebound, a follow-up shot went wide right for a corner as the momentum briefly swung in Florida's favor.

In the 62nd minute, Tennessee missed a golden chance on a breakaway as Fraine charged out from her goal line to challenge a Lady Vol offensive player. The UT shot beat the keeper to her right, but traveled just wide of the left post by maybe two feet as the match remained scoreless.

Florida raced right down the pitch in the next minute to post scoring chances as Baird made a save on a shot by Brooke Thigpen. On back-to-back corners, UF's Barney and Chapman also registered shots, but Baird was up to the task on both occasions.

A quick counter-attack by Dowd with sophomore midfielder Chelsea Hatcher on her right during the 67th minute went awry for the Orange & White as Dowd's feed in front was just a little too strong for her teammate and was eventually hammered back towards midfield by the Gator keeper.

With 17:56 remaining, Dowd made a move on a Florida defender and worked to the middle before unleashing a shot that was blocked just wide right. On the ensuing UT corner, Shore hammered a ball toward net that was blocked out front as each team continued to search for that elusive goal.

Barrett missed wide left by maybe a foot at 74:01 after being forced to slide to shoot on a feed to the center by Dowd.

Florida missed its own golden chance on a counter-attack in the 77th minute as an eventual shot from about 12 yards by Barney was struck well high of goal and out of play.

Fraine came up with another huge save for the Gators with approximately 10:35 left in regulation as Dowd worked to the right endline and crossed the ball through the middle. Marked by a UF defender, junior midfielder Tanya Emerson fired on goal but again the ball traveled right to the UF netminder.

A company of Lady Vols saved the game for the moment with about eight minutes left as Barney fired a shot from right out front that was heading into the net. The UT backline, however, got between the ball and the goal to post a team save as the 0-0 tie continued.

With 1:53 left on the clock, Tennessee was dealt a big blow as Imgram suffered a leg injury on a hard Florida challenge near midfield, and with that, the SEC's leading scorer was forced from the match.

Florida owned the majority of possession over the last 113 seconds, but couldn't get off a clean shot as the Lady Vols and Gators would be forced into "sudden victory" for the second time in 2009.

Just a minute into the first overtime, Florida drew a corner kick but failed to get a scoring chance off the cross into the penalty area.

The Big Orange got its own corner kick opportunity with 4:57 remaining in the first extra session, but a header by UT freshman defender Ali Hall went wide of the left post.

With 22 seconds left in the first OT, UT managed a corner, but the cross was cleared out of the penalty area by Florida as the teams remained scoreless venturing to the final extra session.

Senior defender Sarah Jackyra came up with a big defensive play by sliding to prevent a potential Florida shot less than a minute into the second overtime.

On the eventual cross off Jackyra's effort by UF's Tahnai Annis, the UF service bounced off someone out front and eventually rolled all the way through the penalty area to the left wing. Lindsay Thompson was waiting there to deliver a right-footed shot into the top of the net for the 1-0 victory.