Swift’s Three-Point Effort Leads UK Women’s Soccer Past Ole Miss
OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 18 University
of Kentucky women’s soccer team went on the road and picked up a 4-2 win over
Ole Miss with three second half goals, led by junior Zoe Swift’s three-point
performance to pick up a win in its Southeastern Conference opening match on
Friday night.
With the result on Friday, UK jumps to the top
of the SEC table with three points through one match, and a 6-1-0 overall
record this season. Kentucky returns to action on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET
against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Bell Soccer Complex. The match will be
shown live on the SEC Network with Lisa Byington and Olympic Gold Medalist Cat
Whitehill on the call.
“This is a hard place to come on the road and
win,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said. “Ole Miss is great team and very well
coached. It was great to see the heart of Zoe Swift tonight on full display
scoring the goal and adding in the assist after battling not feeling well all
during the day today. Also this was a special night for us to see Tanya
Samarzich score her first-career goal after months and months of hard work. We
are excited to come out of here with three points and a great start to SEC
play.”
Ole Miss jumped on the board first in the
seventh minute on a goal from Gretchen Harknett after a turnover from the
Wildcats in their own defensive half. Harknett got the ball about 25 yards from
goal and dribbled into the box, cut back and scored.
The goal by the Rebels came against the early
run of play in the match, and also broke Kentucky’s 414 minute streak without
allowing a goal. That minute streak lasted more than four matches.
In the 37th minute, Sophie Babo was taken down
in the box near the end line trying to get service across the box, but was tripped
and earned a penalty for Kentucky. Junior Kaitlin Miller stepped up to the
stripe and calmly put it past the keeper to equalize.
Ole Miss would have one scoring chance before
half, but the effort was off the crossbar and landed into the arms of Jensen to
keep the score level at the half, 1-1.
The second half saw a barrage of offense, as
four goals were scored, and three of them were by the Wildcats. Kentucky broke
the scoreless tie in the 55th minute as Cara Ledman scored her
second goal of the season on a 50-yard run down the left flank, cut into the
box, made a girl miss, and finished clinically far post for the 2-1 lead.
Zoe Swift would make it 3-1 in the 60th
minute with her team-leading fourth goal of the season. Katy Keen sent in a
corner that was battled around for in the box and Swift poked it over the
keeper’s head for the goal.
Ole Miss cut the lead to 3-2 69th
minute on a nice cutting ball through the teeth of the UK defense that was
hammered home to the far post. The Wildcats gave up multliple goals for just
the second time all season.
UK would get an insurance goal in the 82nd
minute from Tanya Samarzich, the Mexican international, who scored to make it
4-2. It was her first-career goal. Samarzich was played a great ball down the
left side from Swift, then took on in the box, and scored her first-career goal
from there.
In the match, UK led 19-11 overall in the
shots category, and 6-3 in shots on goal. The Wildcats were able to squeak
seven corners out of the game, the same numbers as the Rebels. Jensen made one
save on the night.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
