ORANGE BEACH, AL ? Kentucky women?s soccer head coach Warren Lipka has been named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year as announced by the league office earlier today.
Lipka helped lead the Wildcats to an 11-6-3 overall record and a 6-3-2 mark in SEC play, giving Kentucky a second place finish in the league, the team?s best finish since the 1999 season. He also guided the Wildcats to a league record 14th consecutive SEC Tournament berth. Kentucky is the only school in the conference to make an appearance in every league tournament since the inception of the sport in the SEC in 1993.
?It?s an honor to be recognized by the level of coaches that we have in the SEC,? said Lipka. ?I?d be remiss if I didn?t recognize my assistant coaches and the rest of my staff and the players because without them we wouldn?t have been able to achieve the success we have this season.?
The honor, which is voted on by league coaches, marks the third time Lipka has been named the league?s Coach of the Year having garnered the award in 1995 and 1999.
In addition to Lipka, senior goalie Anne Ogundele and freshman Giuleana Lopez were both named All-SEC performers.
Ogundele was named a First Team All-SEC performer after posting eight shutouts, a league best, and a 0.44 goals-against-average, the second lowest GAA in the conference. Twice in conference play Ogundele posted four-match shutout streaks and she enters the SEC Tournament having allowed just one goal in last her 850 minutes and only two goals in the last 940 minutes.
Lopez, who was also named to the Freshman All-SEC team, finished the regular season with a team best 12 points on six goals, the third highest goal total in the SEC. Lopez was also responsible for three game-winning goals for Kentucky during league play.
?I?m excited for Anne for the unbelievable year she?s having in her senior year and I?m just grateful to be a part of it,? said Lipka. ?Giuleana (Lopez) is having an awesome impact in her first year and I look forward to many years to come.?
Ogundele and Lopez become the 17th and 18th players in UK soccer history to gain All-SEC honors pushing the number of Kentucky?s All-SEC honors to 31. Lopez is the first freshman All-SEC performer in program history. While the SEC didn’t recognize a Freshman All-SEC team until 2003, former Wildcat standout Keri Boyce (1999-02) was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year in 1999.
The Wildcats will be in action in the first round of the 2006 SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Alabama on Wednesday when the team takes on the seventh seeded Ole Miss Rebels. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET. Live stats will be available at www.ukathletics.com and www.secsports.com.
