Alabama
5-2, 0-1
Tennessee
6-1-1, 1-0
Soccer Falls in Overtime to No. 23 Tennessee
9/14/2012 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 14, 2012
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After an early strike by each squad it took over 80 minutes to sort the Southeastern Conference opening match out. Despite scoring the first goal of the match, No. 23 Tennessee evened the score and then just six minutes into the first overtime, tallied the game-winner to hand the Lady Vols the 2-1 victory, Friday night at the Regal Soccer Stadium. After the loss, UA moves to 5-2-0 overall and 0-1-0 in league play while UT improves to 6-1-1 on the year and 1-0-0 in SEC action.
Sophomore Laura Lee Smith gave the Crimson Tide the early lead in the 12th minute. Smith buried a Merel Van Dongen corner kick by finding the net on the left side on a header for her first goal of the season.
Tennessee then recorded the equalizer in the 17th minute when Hannah Wilkinson broke free and scored from six yards out.
After getting on the scoreboard early, it took extra time to sort out the conference opener for both teams. Kylie Bono, nearly seven minutes into the first overtime, tallied the game-winner on a deflection to hand the Lady Vols the victory.
Tennessee outshot Alabama, 25-12, with Wilkinson leading the match with eight shots. Sophomore Pia Rijsdijk and junior Molly Atherton paced Alabama with three shots.
Junior goalkeeper Shelby Church recorded a season-high eight saves on the night while UT keeper Julie Eckel tallied four saves en route to the victory.
Alabama will continue SEC play on the road as it will head to Baton Rouge to face LSU. The two teams will meet on Sunday, Sept. 16, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. The match will air live on CSS and can be viewed online on ESPN3.
Team Stats
Laura Lee Smith (1)
Assisted By: Merel Van Dongen , Meghan Duffy
off corner, 23 sent it in, headed in low
11:18
Hannah Wilkinson (1)
ran up the field from midfield, shook de
16:27
Kylie Bono (3)
deflection off keeper
96:50
