ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – For the Lady Vol soccer team, last Friday’s 1-0 victory over Georgia represented a number of things. The win was a program-first, marking the only time in five tries that UT had defeated the Bulldogs in Athens.
More than that, however, the victory set history into motion for Tennessee.
With the win, the Lady Volunteers (13-4-1, 7-1-1 SEC) solidified its first-ever SEC regular season championship and picked up its second SEC East Division title. They’ll be the top seed when the conference tournament opens play today in Orange Beach, Ala.
UT takes on eighth-seed South Carolina (10-7-3 /3-4-2) in the tournament opener at 12:30 p.m. Tennessee defeated the Lady Gamecocks, 3-2, on Oct. 12. The Lady Vols, who were coming off an emotional win over then-No. 5 Florida, held off a furious comeback attempt from USC to pick up the victory.
Since that win, the Lady Vols have gained experience and a missing ingredient – senior forward Rhian Wilkinson. Wilkinson, who rejoined the team on Oct. 17 after concluding play with the Canadian national team, added instant offense to a team that had shown only flashes of offensive firepower through the season.
Last week, Wilkinson’s offensive spark earned her SEC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the third time in her UT career. She found the back of the net for Tennessee’s lone goal in its win at UGA.
Her goal was set up by freshman forward Ali Christoph. Christoph’s strong play in her rookie season makes her a top candidate for the SEC Freshman of the Year honor, which will be announced this week. She’s the team’s second-leading scorer, tallying four goals and leading the league with nine assists.
Cristoph’s teammate, junior All-American defender Keeley Dowling, is No. 1 in scoring. The Indiana native completed the season with seven goals and three assists. Her offensive firepower, combined with her strong performance aiding sophomore goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart, earned her a first-team All-SEC honor Wednesday and positions her as a leading contender for the Player of the Year honor.
Rounding out the key ingredients is Phillips-Bosshart, who notched five shutouts in nine SEC matches and a school-record eight overall. Her goals-against average stands at 0.87, also a Tennessee record.
“As we headed toward the end of the season, all of the parts of our team just really came together,” UT coach Angela Kelly said. “We used the experience we gained earlier in the season and everything just started clicking for this team.”
The Lady Vols head into tournament play as the defending champion. In last season’s competition, second-seeded Tennessee defeated Georgia, Kentucky and Florida to secure the program’s first-ever postseason title.
This season, the Lady Volunteers rebounded from a shaky midseason stretch that saw them drop three of four matches while Wilkinson was competing at the World Cup. Since that point, UT has a seven-match unbeaten streak.
Aside from Auburn, which Tennessee did not face this season, and Ole Miss, which defeated the Lady Vols early in conference play, UT defeated or tied each of its potential SEC tourney opponents during regular season action.
Regardless of the opponent, though, Tennessee maintains it’s ready to defend the crown no one expected them to earn last season.
“We’re excited to have the chance to go down to Alabama and defend last season’s championship,” junior Kayla Lockaby said. “We’ve worked hard all season long to get to where we are, and now we want to finish SEC play with a bang again.”
