ORANGE BEACH, Ala. – By the narrowest of margins, the Lady Vol soccer team completed their first step in defending last season’s SEC tournament championship with a 1-0 victory over eighth-seeded South Carolina Thursday.

With the victory, Tennessee (14-4-1) pushes itself into tonight’s 6 p.m. semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded Ole Miss, which beat Kentucky, 2-1, in the first round.

Against the Gamecocks, UT freshman forward Ali Christoph knocked in the lone goal of the afternoon on a penalty kick with just over 25 minutes remaining in the match. Christoph was honored Wednesday as a member of the All-SEC All-Freshman team.

The Lady Vols, 3-2 victors over USC earlier in the year, displayed a more explosive offense in their second matchup. For the most part, though, the offensive explosion didn’t carry over to the scoring column.

Fighting off early-game jitters and temperatures that soared to the mid-80s, Tennessee established itself early – attempting 14 first-half shots. The Lady Volunteers kept the ball in South Carolina’s third of the field, garnering a large number of shots against USC goalkeeper Elise Matthews.

The best shot at a Tennessee goal came when an apparent Lady Vol goal was called back for obstruction just minutes before halftime. The game remained knotted at zero at the half, with Tennessee unable to capitalize on its scoring opportunities.

“I really thought we had it several times there in the first half,” senior forward Rhian Wilkinson said. “We just kept having all these breakaways that we didn’t convert.”

It would take a little help from the Gamecocks to turn Tennessee’s domination of the field into a victory. With just over 25 minutes remaining in the contest, junior forward Lyndsey Patterson had a clear breakaway shot on the left side of the goal.

Patterson was then taken down in the goal by a South Carolina defender, setting up the penalty kick.

Christoph stepped up for her third penalty kick of the season and hit the ball cleanly past Matthews at the right of the net to score the only goal of the contest.

From there, a strong effort from Tennessee’s defenders, including All-SEC Defensive Player of the Year Keeley Dowling, kept the game from being tied. Lady Vol goalkeeper Vanessa Phillips-Bosshart recorded three saves on the afternoon, as South Carolina’s chances at securing a shot were rare.

“Today, I have to give all the credit to South Carolina, who battled with our team in the heat,” UT coach Angela Kelly said. “We were fortunate to come away with a victory and now we move on to face our second opponent.”

Junior forward Kayla Lockaby was pleased with the win, but said converting on the opportunities that are given will be key if the Lady Vols want to repeat as conference champs.

“A win is a win,” she said. “We had lots of opportunities, but we weren’t able to find the back of the net on them today.

“But we move on, so hopefully we’ll play better after this.”

What’s Next

Opponent: Ole Miss

Time: Today, 5 p.m.

Quick Fact: The Rebels handed the Lady Vols their last loss. On Oct. 5, Ole Miss won 1-0 at Tennessee.