Saving grace: Johnson wasn't enough for Lady Vols

PORTLAND, Ore. - It was a spectacular performance on any level. Jaimel Johnson was a whirling dervish in goal throughout Tennessee's season-ending loss to Portland in the NCAA women's soccer tournament.

But Johnson's 12-save performance - preventing the Lady Vols from losing by as many as six or seven goals - didn't catch UT coach Angela Kelly by surprise.

"A lot of our games could have been six or seven (goals against) this year if not for Jaimel,'' Kelly said.

"She's a tremendous goalkeeper. Her shot-stopping ability is the best in the country, and she has my vote for the best keeper in the country.''

The 12 saves in Saturday night's 3-0 loss to the powerful Pilots were a career high for the junior from Dayton, Ohio.

Johnson's previous high was 11 saves in a shutout win over Florida in late September. "That was the last time I was that busy,'' she said, shrugging. "If the ball gets past the defense, then it's my job to come up with saves. That's just part of the game.''

She was not the only Lady Vol who caught the Pilots' attention in the third-round matchup before a near-sellout crowd of 4,841 at University of Portland's Merlo Field.

Portland, aiming at a third national championship in six years, outshot the Lady Vols 28-8. However, the game was "definitely not easy,'' said Portland freshman Sophie Schmidt, a Canadian World Cup player who assisted on two of the three goals.

"It was definitely a battle from start to finish. They came out super heads-up, and even with 10 minutes left they were still going at us. They never ceased to push us,'' Schmidt said.

Portland coach Garrett Smith agreed.

"We know that it's never easy going on the road, playing on the other team's field in front of their fans,'' he said. "But there's a lot of character coming out of Tennessee's program. There was fight in them to the very end.''

The No. 2 seeded Pilots (18-3-0) ripped into Tennessee (15-5-2) early, scoring in the 16th and 18th minutes, and forcing Johnson to pull off seven saves in the first 23 minutes.

What hurt the Lady Vols most?

"We were a step slow in the defensive third'' of the field, Kelly said. "And if you're a step late, it's a domino effect. As soon as Portland got that first goal, it was like they drew blood … and wanted more.''

Lady Vols junior forward Kylee Rossi said heads were down a bit after Portland's early blitzkrieg.

"But we're united … we were going to battle the whole time and weren't ever going to give up,'' she said. "That's just our philosophy.''

Rossi, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year and Tennessee's most prolific career goal-scorer, had six of her team's eight shots. Her best chance was a header in the 68th minute. But Portland goalkeeper Kelsey Davis - who has not allowed a goal in 657 minutes - tipped the ball over the crossbar.

The Pilots' dominating performance thoroughly impressed Kelly, who was part of four national championship teams as a player at North Carolina in the early 1990s. Portland has reached the quarterfinals 12 of the past 15 years, the semifinals eight times, and won two national titles (in 2002 and 2005). Still, this Pilots team is special, she said.

"That's the most dynamic offensive team from the Portland side that I've ever seen,'' Kelly said. "I would be shocked if they don't win the national championship this year.''