Oct. 8, 2009

LEXINGTON, KY – The UK women’s soccer team continues its stretch against ranked teams on Friday as they host the 13th ranked LSU Tigers (8-2-2, 4-0-0) at the UK Soccer Complex. The Tigers represent the fourth ranked team the Wildcats have faced in the last five games, a list that includes No. 10 Florida, No. 12 South Carolina and No. 22 Georgia.

LSU is also the lone undefeated team in league play, due in large part to an offensive attack that ranks 19th in the country and second in the SEC. The Tigers have outscored league opponents 16-1 through four games of the season. The match-up will be interesting considering the Wildcats have been known to shutdown high powered teams this season on the defensive end.

“It’s another big challenge,” said UK head coach Jon Lipsitz. “LSU is in first place in the league and deservedly so. They’re scoring at an amazing clip and we’ve been known for our tremendous defending. They’re going to want to run at us and isolate us and use their speed and individual abilities to break us down. We’ll want to stay compact as a team and try to do what no one else has been able to do, which is stop their offensive onslaught.”

The issue for the Wildcats since the start of league play has been the transition from defense to offense.

“We know we want to play a game where we limit their opportunities, but when we limit their opportunities we limit ours also,” said Lipsitz. “One of the things we’ve shown an ability to do against great teams is limit the opportunities in the game. It’s no secret that’s something we’ll want to do against their offense. At the same time we’ve been working on how to get more opportunities out of that defensive style. Our plan is for that to pay off after a good week of practice.”

The tenacious UK defense has kept them in each game this season, allowing multiple goals in a game only twice and just one time in league play. It’s the offense that has left the Wildcats, as they have managed only one goal in SEC play.

The Wildcat defense is led by a defensive back line that ranks 39th in the country in goals against average and junior goalie Sydney Hiance who’s 0.70 GAA is 44th best in the nation.

Offensively, Giuleana Lopez leads UK with six points on two goals and two assists. She has also taken a team leading 30 shots.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET. The event will be the second opportunity for UK students to obtain a “MEMBER OF THE BIG BLUE NATION” wristband which will admit them to the student only men’s basketball practice. The first 500 UK students will receive a wristband (must show valid UK student ID). Admission is free for UK students. Price of admission for the general public is $1.