LEXINGTON, KY ? After playing some of its best soccer of the season for 94 minutes, the Kentucky women?s soccer team (6-5-2, 0-5-0 SEC) gave up a goal 4:57 into the first overtime to drop a 1-0 heartbreaker to No. 14 Tennessee.
The Lady Vols (8-2-2, 3-1-1) finally found the back of the net when Tanya Emerson took a loose ball rebound and poked it past UK goalie Sydney Hiance for the 1-0 victory.
?We deserved a better result,? said head coach Warren Lipka. ?This was the best we played all year. We created; we defended; we won tackles. We clearly had better scoring opportunities, but we didn?t get rewarded. The fans saw a good Kentucky soccer team tonight.?
The first 90 minutes were played at a frenetic pace with both teams pushing the action up and down the field. The two squads combined for 25 shots with the Lady Vols firing off 14 shots to the Wildcats? 11.
The Wildcats had their best opportunity at breaking the scoreless tie in the 60th minute when Megan Jones ran down a ball on the touch line and sent a crossing pass to Callie Lanphier who took a shot from eight yards out but Jordan Falcusan was there to knock the ball away.
The Cats threatened again in the 80th minute when Nicola Holdsworth flicked a ball over the top of the Tennessee defense that Laura Novikoff chased down and settled. However her shot from eight yards out was right at Tennessee goalie Jaimel Johnson.
The Wildcats continue their home weekend on Sunday when they host the 18th ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. Free UK Women?s Soccer water bottles will be handed out to the first 250 fans. It will also be youth jersey day. Free admission will be given to kids in eighth grade and under wearing a soccer jersey. Live stats will be available on UKathletics.com.