Vineyard's first goal ignites a UT surge

The Tennessee Lady Vols were road warriors to open their soccer season Friday night.

The 13th ranked Lady Vols scored a 5-0 victory at Chattanooga for their first victory in a road opener since 2001.

The five goals were the most by UT in two years.

"I thought this game was a good starting point for us,'' Lady Vols assistant coach Joe Kirt said. "Chattanooga played hard throughout the match. It was a good opportunity for the freshmen to get a taste of collegiate action."

Tennessee's first goal came from an unlikely source. In the 24th minute, senior midfielder Leslie Vineyard scored off a feed from Mick Imgram. It was the first goal of Vineyard's career.

"That goal was a long time coming,'' she said. "It felt great. I'm really glad it was the first goal of the season. It feels like I've been working towards that forever."

Tennessee's next two scores were more predictable. They came from all-time leading goal scorer Kylee Rossi, who was named to Soccer America's preseason All-America second team Friday.

The senior forward converted a Vineyard pass in the 27th minute. In the 34th minute, Rossi converted off a pass from defender Julie Edwards.

Two more goals put Rossi 10 points away from being UT's all-time leading scorer.

Anna Fisher and freshman Emily Dowd added Tennessee's final two goals.

Lady Vols head coach Angela Kelly was a spectator, serving a one-match, UT-imposed penalty for a minor NCAA infraction last winter.

"It was really good that we had a lot of freshmen contribute and get playing time and get their confidence up,'' Vineyard said. "That's what we were looking to do going forward."

The Lady Vols play Indiana Friday in College Station, Texas and face No. 3 North Carolina there Aug. 31.

Volleyball: Tennessee outside hitter Nikki Fowler has been named to the preseason All-SEC team.

The nine-player team is the first in conference history and Fowler is one of two underclassmen on the squad.

Last season, Fowler was the first Lady Vol to be named league freshman of the year. She led the team with 370 kills and 449 points. She was second in blocks (98) and third in assists (98).