BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kentucky defender Elise Ernest was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week after playing a critical role in the Wildcats’ 3-2 victory over No. 25 Texas, the Southeastern Conference announced in a release on Monday.
This is the first SEC weekly honor picked up by the Virginia native. Other award winners include Florida’s Lena Bailey as SEC Offensive Player of the Week and Auburn’s Eva Pattison as SEC Defensive Player of the Week.
With this accolade, Ernest joins her teammate Kyla Dawn, who was awarded the same honor back-to-back weeks this campaign.
This past week, Ernest’s play aided the Wildcats in taking down No. 25 Texas, Kentucky’s first ranked win of the season. Despite being down by two goals at the half, the defender shifted the momentum in favor of Kentucky.
In the 58th minute, Ernest provided the crucial assist to sophomore Rayna Powers, who headed the ball into the net. Not even ten minutes later, the freshman found the equalizer, scoring off a cross from junior Michelle Moskau. When time expired, Kentucky owned the one-goal edge.
Ernest has played and started in every match this season, recording 1066 minutes throughout 13 games. Both her goal and assist were the first of her collegiate career.
Ernest and the rest of the Wildcats will compete twice this week, traveling to play the Auburn Tigers on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET and closing their regular-season road slate at Tennessee on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2:00 p.m. ET. Both matches will be available to stream on SEC Network +.
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.
