In the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament, the Lady Vols defeated the Furman Paladins by a score of 2-0 in a very hard fought game.

After struggling to find any consistency in their past two games, the Lady Vols got off to a quick start in Friday night's matchup.

Only 52 seconds into the action, 2007 SEC Offensive Player of the Year Kylee Rossi broke past the defense and crossed the ball to the feet of an undefended Mick Imgram at the top of the box. Imgram struck the ball hard into the left side netting, giving the Vols an early 1-0 lead.

"That was fantastic and it was a very dynamic goal," Coach Angela Kelly said. "You know, [there were] three instances of our team being dynamic and tearing their defense apart...I talked to them about the importance of scoring early and fighting for that first goal."

At the 15:06 mark, Rossi struck again with a beautiful shot to the left upper 90 on a pass from Tanya Emerson that dissected two Furman defenders and left the goalkeeper helpless. Rossi has now tied a Tennessee record with 29 career goals.

Defender Erica Griffin gave goalkeeper Briana da Mota another scare when she carved through the defense and found a streaking Mick Imgram in the middle of the box. Imgram immediately controlled the ball and shot a laser that missed by only inches.

The Paladin's only shot of the first half came when Emily Krankowski struck the ball wide of the goal, not even challenging Jaimel Johnson .

The highlight of the second half came when Anna Betton of Furman broke down the field in the 66th minute and found an opening in Tennessee's defense. She attempted to pass the ball to Emily Krankowski but Erica Griffin cut in at the last second to save Jaimel Johnson from any potential trouble. In all, Jaimel had an uneventful night, but stopped both shots that were made on goal.

Despite winning the game, Coach Kelly wasn't thrilled with the team's performance.

"Overall, I'm not very pleased with our performance. We turned the ball over far too often," said Kelly, "Our focus wasn't where it needs to be. We are all completely understanding that our level [of play] must improve or our season will be finishing shortly."

While the team didn't play up to Coach Kelly's standards, strong play from the defense and ball-control in the midfield kept the Paladins at bay for the length of the game. Every time Furman pushed the ball down the field, the Volunteers came up with stops and kept Furman from putting the ball in the net.

The Lady Vols will return to action against the Clemson Tigers on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.