Sept. 11, 2003
Game Promotions |UK Invitational Tournament Page
Tournament Notes in PDF Format
After a difficult road swing last weekend, the Kentucky women’s soccer team stays home this weekend to play host to the UK Invitational, a two-day tournament featuring No. 12 BYU, Iowa and Rutgers. On Friday, Sept. 12, Iowa (1-3) will meet Rutgers (3-1) at 5 p.m., while BYU (3-0-1) and Kentucky (2-1-1) are slated for 7:30 p.m. To wrap up the tournament, BYU will take on Iowa at 5 p.m. Saturday, and Kentucky will battle Rutgers at 7:30 p.m. All matches will be held at the UK Soccer Complex on Alumni Drive, adjacent to Commonwealth Stadium.
Kentucky met BYU for the first time last season in Provo, Utah as the 18th-ranked Cats blanked the 24th-ranked Cougars, 2-0, behind two Elizabeth Ramsey goals. This season, the Cats and Cougars each enter the match with a bit of momentum. BYU, in its first road match of 2003, comes to Lexington winners of three straight matches, including a 1-0 shutout of No. 7 Tennessee last weekend in Provo. The 12th-ranked Cougars are led by three-time All-American Aleisha Rose, a senior from Lakewood, Colo. Rose has failed to dent the net thus far in 2003 but has dished out five of the team’s nine assists. Sophomore Jaime Rendich leads the Cougars with two goals. BYU’s three goalkeepers, Ashley Smith, Amanda Gott and Natalie Evans, have yet to allow a goal in the Cougars’ four matches.
Rutgers, in its first-ever meeting with Kentucky, enters the weekend after suffering a loss last Sunday against Arizona State at the Notre Dame Classic. In victories over Providence, Stony Brook and Oklahoma, the Scarlet Knights have allowed only one goal, collectively. All-American Carli Lloyd leads Rutgers with 11 points on the young season.
Meanwhile, the 14th-ranked Wildcats continue their solid play behind SEC Player of the Year candidate Elizabeth Ramsey. The senior from Hilliard, Ohio has started all 66 games in a Wildcat uniform, and with her three goals on the season is on pace to surpass her single-season high of nine goals as a sophomore. Ramsey netted a game-tying goal along with junior Jessica Laswell in Kentucky’s 2-2 tie last Sunday against Duke. Laswell, an Indiana transfer, has been a pleasant surprise in the UK backfield this season after seeing action in only two matches last season. Laswell has launched only two shots in Kentucky’s four games, but both found the back of the net, leaving her second in goals to Ramsey’s three. The junior out of Lexington’s Paul Laurence Dunbar H.S. also is tied with three others for the team lead in assists with two.
Sophomore Liz Butler and redshirt freshman Anne Ogundele have split starts between the posts in Kentucky’s four matches. Butler recorded a shutout against Davidson before surrendering four goals at top-ranked North Carolina last Friday. Ogundele allowed one goal against Western Kentucky and two goals against the eighth-ranked Duke Blue Devils.Kentucky Coach Warren Lipka welcomes the opportunity for his Cats to take on more tough opponents.
“With BYU and Rutgers, you have two top teams coming in; one from the west, another from the east coast. BYU has won the Mountain West Conference championship the last three seasons while Rutgers has been a contender in the Big East and had a good showing last weekend. It’s another chance to play two high-quality teams,” Lipka said.
Friday marks “Camp Reunion Night” at the UK Soccer Complex. All children wearing their Kentucky Soccer Camp tee shirts will be admitted free of charge and their family members will be admitted for $2. The campers also will have the chance to participate in the “Dizzy Bat Kick” to win prizes. Elementary school students who bring a copy of their report card with an “A” grade will get in for $1. Families and guests of these students will be admitted for $4. Fans who display their ticket stub from the Kentucky-Murray State football game can enter to win a Kentucky Football collectible item. General admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children. UK students get in free by displaying their UK student identification card. Live scoring for all four UKIT matches will be available on the UK Invitational Tournament Page.
