July 29, 2003

Kentucky Head Women’s Soccer Coach Warren Lipka capped off another successful overseas coaching stint Sunday in helping the U.S. Under-21 National Women’s Soccer team to a 2-1 victory in the Nordic Cup Championship match over Sweden. The victory marks the United States’ fifth-consecutive victory in the Nordic cup, widely regarded as the top international competition for U-21 women. Lipka served as the goalkeeper coach for the U-21 National Team over the past two weeks in addition to undertaking similar duties for the U.S. Women’s Under-19 National Team earlier this month.

The U-21 team captured the Nordic Cup title with a week-long stretch of dominance in Randers, Denmark over strong European competition. Under Lipka’s tutelage, American goalkeepers Nicole Barnhart and Ashlyn Harris recorded shutouts against Iceland and Denmark, while allowing only one goal each in matches against Sweden and Norway.

“It was a tremendous honor to have a part in the continued success of American soccer,” Lipka said. “Barnhart and Harris put in a lot of time preparing for these matches, and it was nice to see them perform in the way I knew they were capable.”

With his U.S. National Team coaching duties behind him, Lipka now will focus on preparing his Wildcats for a rigorous fall schedule. The Cats will open their season on Friday, Aug. 29 against Davidson at the UK Soccer Complex.