PENNINGTON: All she does is score goals

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor

Kylee Rossi has always known how to reach the back of the net.
The Pennington native finished her high school career at the Pennington School with 98 goals and 64 assists, helping the Red Raiders capture state championships in both her junior and senior campaigns.
At Tennessee, where she played up top from 2005 to ‘08, she helped the Lady Volunteers win Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships in both her freshman and senior campaigns. Kylee recently finished her career in Knoxville as the school's all-time leader in points (97), goals (43), shots (329), game-winners (15) and golden goals (4).
The only thing that kept Rossi from reaching the back of the net at Tennessee was the hip injury she suffered late last season. It kept Rossi from the lineup in the last two week’s of the campaign, meaning she wasn’t on the field for the team’s SEC tournament wins over Auburn (2-1), LSU (4-2, PKs) or its conference title-winning 1-0 triumph over Georgia.
Despite suffering the injury that knocked her out of the lineup for the Vols’ last playoff run, Rossi made the most of her senior year.
After breaking the school record for career goals the previous year, Rossi entered her senior campaign needing just 14 points to surpass former Volunteer and Canadian Olympic Team member Rhian Wilkinson as the program’s all-time points leader.
Rossi recorded the record-setting goal in an October win over Arkansas, eclipsing Wilkinson's previous mark of 88 points.
Kylee finished her senior season with 13 goals to once again lead the team and the conference. After playing her last game for the Orange and White, Rossi earned a spot on the Soccer Buzz Magazine All-Central Region Second Team, the fourth such honor of her career.
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While freshman typically don’t see a lot of action at Tennessee, Rossi played in all 23 games, starting 20 of them in 2005, her first year there.
Kylee scored her first collegiate goal in the Vols’ season opener against North Carolina, who were ranked No. 1 in the nation at that time. In so doing, she became just the seventh player in program history to score her first goal in their debut.
A little later that season, Rossi scored her first game-winner with 11 seconds to go in a 1-0 triumph over Virginia. In the postseason, Kylee showed no sign of first-year jitters, reaching the back of the net against LSU, helping Tennessee to a 2-0 victory in the first round of the SEC tournament.
In the SEC title tilt, after helping her team take a 1-0 victory over Auburn to win the conference crown and its accompanying automatic bid to NCAAs, she helped the Vols with a goal and an assist in the team’s NCAA tournament opening win over Wake Forest.
When that season came to a close, Rossi was showered with accolades, earning a spot on both the Soccer Buzz Central Region and SEC All-Freshman Teams. She was also named third-team All-Central Region by the NSCAA/Adidas.
In 2006--her sophomore campaign--Rossi tallied 10 goals and five assists and became just the third Volunteer to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back campaigns.
Her three game winners that season all came in crucial matches for the Lady Vols--at No. 20 Florida, in overtime against Vanderbilt and in a first round win over Auburn in the SEC Tournament, a game in which she reached the back of the net twice.
Rossi scored multiple goals in three games that year, finding the back of the net more than once against the Gators and in a win over Alabama. In league action, Rossi tallied 6 goals and 3 assists, helping the Vols to a second place tie in the Eastern Division.
At NCAAs, after tallying the team’s third strike in a 4-0 triumph over UAB, Rossi really came through when the pressure was on in a second round pairing against Duke. In a penalty kicks session--needed when neither side scored in regulation--Rossi came up to bat with the sides tied at 3 PK goals apiece. When her ball crossed the line in the 10th shot of the session, Kylee ended the Blue Devils hopes for good.
When the season ended, Rossi was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year. She was the first player ever at Tennessee bestowed with the honor and she’d go on to win it again the following season.
During the spring of 2007, Rossi earned a spot on the U.S. Under-21 Women's National Team. She scored for that team, too. On a trip to England, the squad faced off against the top women's club teams in Britain. Rossi saw action in four games and reached the back of the net twice.
In her junior campaign, Rossi became the first player in program history to lead the team in scoring for three consecutive years tallying 30 points on 12 goals and six assists.
Kylee led the SEC in scoring notching nine goals and three assists for 21 points during league play.
Rossi couldn’t have picked a better time to become Tennessee's all-time leading goal scorer when she reached the back of the net in overtime in a second round NCAA Tournament win over Clemson. Kylee’s tally in the second extra session gave UT a 1-0 triumph, improved the Vols to 15-4-2 and put them in the NCAA Sweet 16.
Kylee notched six game winners that season, including five during SEC play and became the program's all-time leader in career game winners with 12.
For her efforts, Rossi was named Soccer Buzz Third-Team All-American and was named to the NSCAA All-Southeast Region Second Team.
Come time for the postseason, Rossi always came up big for Tennessee. In eight NCAA Tournament matches for the Lady Vols, Kylee tallied four goals while assisting on three others. After notching two goals and one assist during the 2007 tournament, she became Tennessee's all-time NCAA Tournament scoring leader.
And that is exactly where she remains today.
The girl can score goals—she always could.