UT's senior night is spoiled by Georgia

Little time was required Friday for the University of Tennessee women's soccer team to realize senior night would not go as well as hoped.

After Georgia forward Carrie Patterson scored on a short unassisted shot only 21 seconds into the game, Tennessee could not recover.

The Lady Vols (8-10-1, 5-5-1 SEC) did rebound in the second half, but not on the scoreboard. Following another goal by Patterson after an assist by Megan Tomlinson about 7 minutes into the second half, Georgia prevailed 2-0 in front of 574 fans at Regal Stadium.

After the game, Tennessee coach Angela Kelly had mixed reviews for the Lady Vols.

"Give credit to Georgia," she said. "We had breakdowns on the ball on two occasions. We need to be better organized. But there were time periods when we had very good rhythm."

She did call the quick Georgia goal - which set a school record for quickest goal allowed - inexcusable.

"That can't just happen," she said. "That is something we discuss and we don't want to happen."

The goal did help Georgia (9-9-1, 7-3-1 SEC) gain the upper hand in the first half.

The Lady Vols did come back to have eight more shots than the Bulldogs in the second half, but the results on the scoreboard were identical to the first half.

The five UT seniors - goalie Jaimel Johnson, forward/midfielder Kylee Rossi, defender/forward Sarah Van Sickle, and midfielders Leslie Vineyard and Alissa VonderHaar - were recognized before the final regular season game.

VonderHaar had a memorable night with four shots and said she will leave with plenty of pleasant off-the-field memories as well.

"I have only been here two years, but I felt a lot closer to the girls than anywhere I have been," the DePaul transfer said.

Rossi, the leading scorer in UT history, has been nursing an injured hip and played only briefly at the start of the game.

"The complexion of our team is different when Kylee is 100 percent," she said.

Kelly praised all the seniors and went so far as to say Van Sickle had more heart than any player she had ever coached.

She also gave high accolades to freshman midfielder Chelsea Hatcher. "She is our future," she said.

Despite the disappointing record, Kelly feels the team can refocus for next week's SEC tournament in Orange Beach, Ala., where the No. 6-seeded Lady Vols will face No. 3 Auburn at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday

"The season is now just beginning for us," she said.