Sept. 16, 2010

Tennessee Notes vs. Wisconsin/Chattanooga

By Brian Davis, Assistant Media Relations Director

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Lady Vol soccer team will look to end a three-match losing streak this weekend by hosting Wisconsin (1-3-2) on Friday, Sept. 17th, at 7 p.m. ET and Chattanooga (2-5-0) on Sunday, Sept. 19th, at 2 p.m. ET at the Regal Soccer Stadium. This weekend's contests kick-off a season-long, six-match home stand for the Big Orange that ventures into the start of Southeastern Conference play.

Both matches will have live stats provided through Gametracker while Sunday's contest is expected to be web-streamed free through UTLadyVols.com.

Last weekend in Tempe, Ariz., at the Sun Devil Desert Classic, the Lady Vols suffered a 4-2 loss at No. 24 Arizona State and a 3-1 defeat on the neutral field against Arizona. Junior forward Emily Dowd highlighted the team's stay in "The Grand Canyon State" by posting the first two-goal match of her career (against ASU) and the first for a Lady Vol since Mick Imgram performed the feat in Oct. 2009. Junior forward Chelsea Hatcher scored at 87:56 against UA to tie Dowd for the team-lead in scores with three, while freshman midfielder Sanna Saarinen delivered her first career assist on Hatcher's tally.

UT downed Wisconsin during the only previous meeting between the two squads, 1-0, on Sept. 6, 2009, in neutral site action (Minneapolis, Minn.). The Lady Vols maintain a perfect 4-0 advantage over Chattanooga all-time with only one of those contests having occurred during the head coaching tenure of Angela Kelly (2000-present). In the last match-up between the programs, Tennessee defeated the Lady Mocs on Aug. 22, 2008, 5-0.

UW enters this weekend's action at just 1-3-2 overall, but its record doesn't truly tell the story considering some of Wisconsin's early opposition. After opening the season ranked No. 20 in the country following last year's trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, the Badgers suffered 1-0 losses to No. 3 UCLA and Cincinnati, a 2-0 defeat versus No. 4 Portland and tied both Washington (1-1, 2OT) and South Dakota State (0-0, 2OT) before picking up their first win of the year last Sunday against Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-0).

The Badgers have totaled just two goals offensively thus far in six matches, but they have proven to possess a stingy defense, permitting a total of five scores on an average of 10.7 shots per match.

Junior forward Laurie Nosbusch and freshman midfielder Kodee Williams each own one of Wisconsin's two tallies, while junior defender Meghan Flannery possesses the team's lone assist.

Time has been split between senior Michele Dalton and junior Lauren Gunderson between the pipes. Dalton owns a 1-2-1 record with 15 saves and a 0.71 goals against average (GAA) in 380 minutes of action, while Gunderson is 0-1-1 with six stops and a 0.90 GAA over 200 minutes.

Under the guidance of head coach J.D. Kyzer, Chattanooga ventures to Knoxville with a 2-5 record in tow and wins over Tennessee Tech (2-1) and USC Upstate (1-0). The Lady Mocs have already played an SEC opponent during the early 2010 campaign, dropping a 2-1 (OT) decision at Alabama on Sept. 5th.

Junior forward Donna Kay-Henry (team-best five points) and freshman midfielder Kerbi Towry guide the way offensively for UTC with two goals each. Sophomore defender Anna Cusick and sophomore forward Hayley Sloan lead the squad with two assists apiece.

Chattanooga utilizes a youthful duo nearly equally in net as freshman Taylor Mangrum holds a 1-3 mark with 25 saves and a 1.44 GAA over 313 minutes of playing time, while sophomore Taylor Davidson is 1-2 with 25 saves and a 1.39 GAA in 324 minutes.