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The Tennessee women's soccer team was in action Saturday even though the calendar said March.

Even though the scores will never enter the record books, UT fell to Ohio State 3-0 in a 60-minute scrimmage. It was the Lady Vols their first loss at Regal Soccer Stadium, which opened last fall.

"I'm not ever going to accept not winning a game," Lady Vols coach Angela Kelly said. "But it's two games in one day with shorter halves, but it's great to have this kind of talent on campus."

Tennessee faced off against Illinois in the morning scrimmage which ended in a 1-1 draw. North Carolina defeated the Illini in an afternoon match.

Against Ohio State, the game started with a quick pace that seemed to favor Tennessee. However, just 10 minutes in, the Lady Buckeyes netted three goals in a span of five minutes. All three goals were just out of the grasp of third-team All-America keeper Jaimel Johnson, who saw two scores take favorable bounces within her own goal box.

"We always want to win on our home field," said Johnson, who represented Tennessee at the Under-23 National training camp in Los Angeles last month. "But right now our focus is on improving the technical aspect of our game. We're just trying to get better every day."

The spring schedule for the soccer team began a week ago at the Tusculum Indoor Tournament, where the Lady Vols took top honors by defeating Virginia Tech in the final game. The team will continue to play through the first week of April, concluding their spring lineup with a home match against Auburn on April 6.

"We're trying to develop the individual in their technical ability, their touch and their speed of play," Kelly said. "Tactically, as a whole, it's hard to gauge since there will be so many different faces in here, but (a 3-0 home loss) is not representation of what we're going to be in the fall."

The Lady Vols are coming off their fifth Sweet 16 appearance in six years. With a strong freshman class to be added on campus this summer for the season opener in August, Kelly said she expects the same goals the Lady Vols always strives for.

"We're excited in anticipation of the recruiting class we have coming in," Kelly said. "And (our goals) never changes. It's a national championship and the SEC triple crown.

"It's the pursuit of excellence - that's what our program is all about."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.