Despite the Delay, Women’s Soccer Defeats Kent State 5-2

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s soccer (2-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC) marches on to beat Kent State (1-1-0, 0-0-0 MAC) in a matchup on Monday morning, 5-2. Postponed from Sunday evening, the match featured elite offensive presence for the Wildcats which included two assists and a goal by the freshman, Kyla Dawn.

The Wildcats found themselves down early in the match, as the Golden Flashes struck first on a through-ball in the seventh minute. This early goal was the only goal of the half for Kent State, as the Kentucky offense continued to pressure them.

Maintaining possession with many shots on goal, Kentucky finally responded in the 29th minute. The goal was a free kick, in a game that included many of them, by junior defender Michelle Moskau, right outside the box, as the Kent State goalkeeper couldn’t hold onto the kick.

Tied 1-1 at halftime, the Kentucky pressure continued. In the 58^th minute, Dawn scored an unassisted goal after the Golden Flashes’ defense bobbled a pass back into the lap of the freshman.

Now up 2-1, Rayo scored just two minutes later on a left-footed cross from Dawn that was deflected by Kendall Campbell to the foot of Rayo. This elevated the Wildcats to 3-1 in the 61st.

Kent State continued to fight back and bring the score within one, scoring off a beautiful cross in the 68th minute from Kiyomi McCausland to Ava Todd for the finish.

Kentucky added two goals late in the game to run away with the win, as Dawn juked the defender and slipped a ball inside to senior midfielder, Nadia Ramadan in minute 84. Pino saw a shot from outside the box, assisted by Elkie Bowyer to wrap up the match in the 90th.

Running away with the 5-2 win, the Wildcats are now 2-0-0 on the season and have outscored their opponents so far 56-5.

They will return to the pitch when they take a road trip to Dayton on Thursday for a 7 p.m. start.

Admission to all 2026 Kentucky Soccer regular season home matches will be free to the public. For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Facebook, Instagram, X and at UKathletics.com.