Coach J.D. Kyzer knew his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women’s soccer team wasn’t supposed to win Friday night’s season opener.

But he left the North River Soccer Complex proud of the way his players competed.

After the Lady Mocs lost to 13th-ranked University of Tennessee, Kyzer said the 5-0 score was probably an accurate reflection of the differences between the two teams.

“They’re on another level. You can tell that just by the pictures on their Web site,” he said. “They have 14 full rides and everything you could possibly want as a team. We have six and just got two more we haven’t even used yet.

“We started six freshmen; they had 11 returners. They played two All-Americans; we have none. We have a freshman in goal who stopped their All-American one-on-one and blocked a PK. We’re going to be OK.”

That Lady Mocs freshman is Allie Preston, whose college debut included 12 saves. Ooltewah graduates Morgan Shelton and Jordan Middleton joined fellow freshmen Donna-Kay Henry, Susanne Mader and Macy Johnson in UTC’s young starting lineup.

“I was a wreck before the game, but then I calmed down,” Preston said. “Coach gave us a good speech, and I got really focused during warm-ups. The hardest games are my favorite ones to play, because you have nothing to lose. I think we hung with them pretty well. They’re a great team, but so are we.”

Preston was forced to make her first save just over a minute into the game, as the Lady Vols kept the ball in UTC territory for nearly all of the first half. Midway through the period, Middleton went down with an injury to her arm and was taken to Erlanger Hospital by ambulance.

Former Ooltewah player Katie Finkle, one of eight freshmen who played for UTC, and sophomore Caroline DeRhodes helped fill in on defense, but the Lady Vols got their first goal from Leslie Vineyard in the 23rd minute. All-American Kylee Rossi added to her total as Tennessee’s all-time leading scorer with goals in the 26th and 33rd minutes.

“It was 3-0 at halftime, and the goals came off of either set pieces or second balls,” Kyzer said. “That’s where all their goals came from, so they didn’t break down our defense to score, which is excellent.”

In the second period, UT added goals from Anna Fisher and Emily Dowd. The Lady Mocs created several scoring chances of their own, but the biggest cheer of the night from a crowd that UTC officials estimated at near 1,000 came when Preston stopped a Lady Vols penalty kick eight minutes into the second half.

Like all Lady Mocs home matches this season, admission to Friday night’s game was free, and besides the fans who filled the soccer complex’s bleachers, others lined the length of the field in chairs, on blankets and on their feet.

“(The support) is not only for the girls,” Kyzer said. “It’s for the community, for the school, for soccer as a whole. I think this was a milestone tonight.”

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