The University of Kentucky women?s soccer team opens a four-game Southeastern Conference road swing this weekend as it travels to take on Alabama and Auburn. The Wildcats (5-0-5, 1-0-1 SEC) will face Alabama on Friday night, Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. EST before heading to Auburn on Sunday, Oct. 2, for a 3 p.m. EST start.
UK has played eight of its first 10 games at home and is 0-0-2 on the road this season in a pair of non-conference matchups at Ohio State and Western Kentucky.
This marks the ninth meeting between the Cats and Crimson Tide. UK owns a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series and has won the last four meetings, including a 1-0 decision in Lexington last season. Alabama ranks third in the SEC Western division with a 0-1-1 conference record after a tie at Florida and a 2-0 loss at South Carolina to open league play last weekend.
The Cats and Tigers have faced off 10 times previously and UK leads 6-3-1 in that series. Auburn defeated UK by a final score of 3-0 last season. The Tigers are second in the SEC West with a 1-1 record. AU topped South Carolina 1-0 in its league opener before falling 2-1 at Florida.
The Cats remain the only undefeated team in the SEC with a 5-0-5 record this season after defeating Arkansas in their last outing. The ten-game streak without a loss to start the season is the longest such streak in school history. UK won seven straight to begin the 2001 campaign, while its longest unbeaten streak came when it won 15 in a row in 1999.
Senior Courtney McCrudden, sophomore Sarah Gaunt and freshman Kate Hughes lead the Wildcat attack with four goals apiece, while ten different players have scored this season. McCrudden leads the team with 13 points and five assists and shared co-Offensive SEC Player of the Week honors for her work against LSU and Arkansas which included the game-winning goal against the Lady Razorbacks.
?We?re excited for our first SEC weekend on the road,? said head coach Warren Lipka. ?We?re going to face two solid teams that play well at home and we?ll have to be at our best.?
