The Kentucky women?s soccer team (1-1) opens the home portion of its 2006 schedule this weekend as the Wildcats host in-state rivals Eastern Kentucky (1-1) and Louisville (2-0) in the 2006 Kentucky Invitational.
UK comes into the tournament off a split on the road last weekend where the ?Cats lost to Cincinnati 1-0 and defeated Northwestern 2-1 in overtime. Eastern Kentucky also pulled off a split in their opening weekend of action, topping Detroit 2-0 while losing at Chattanooga 3-1. Louisville still has a perfect slate after defeating both Ohio, 2-1 in overtime, and Miami (OH) 3-0.
Kentucky head coach Warren Lipka plans on riding the wave of momentum his team built with the win over Northwestern.
?The more you win the more confidence you gain and that?s what you have to build on,? said Lipka. ?We told the team that (last) Friday wasn?t the group we expected to see but we put that in the past with the result on Sunday and built from there. Now, we?re planning on riding the momentum from Sunday into this weekend.?
The Cats hold a 1-0 series lead over Eastern Kentucky, with the lone meeting coming last year, resulting in a 5-0 UK victory, but Lipka knows that the Colonels will come into the match prepared and primed for victory.
?I?ve known (EKU head coach) Lindsay (Basalyga) for a long time,? said Lipka. ?She?ll have her team well organized and ready to play. So what we?ve got to do is make sure we?re ready to play and focus on what we need to do.?
The Wildcats are also undefeated against the Cardinals holding a 5-0 series advantage; however the two have not met on the soccer field since 1996. In the last two meetings between Louisville and Kentucky, the Wildcats have not yielded a goal (4-0 & 2-0) and have outscored the Cardinals 17-2 over the course of the five matches.
?The Louisville program is making changes and getting better and better,? said Lipka. ?Now they?re up in the region and coming along and it breeds good competition within the state. It?s always going to be a battle because of the rivalry. Every game in every sport we play with them is a rivalry and it?s always a battle.?
Freshman Katie Fahey leads the Wildcats? offensive attack with four points, off two goals. She leads the SEC in goals scored and is tied for second in the conference in points scored. Betsy Holbrook and Megan Jones both have a point off assists in UK?s match against Northwestern. Senior Anne Ogundele anchors the Kentucky defense between the posts with 11 saves which ranks third in the SEC and a 0.97 goals-against-average which currently ranks fifth in league play.
The tournament will begin Friday at 5:00 p.m. with Louisville taking on Wright State followed by the featured match of the day, Kentucky and Eastern Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Kentucky will take on Wright State on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. followed by Kentucky and Louisville at 2:30 p.m. to close out the tournament.
