Sept. 4, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team will be in search of its fourth-straight win over in-state foe Louisville on Friday night, as the Wildcats make the short trek to the west for a 6 p.m. ET match against the Cardinals at Lynn Stadium.
Kentucky has won the past three meetings with UL, all by a score of 2-0, including a win in 2012, the last time that Kentucky traveled to the Derby City. Kentucky went on the road to Cardinal Park and scored two second half goals courtesy of Natalie Horner and Kelli Hubly en route to picking up the 2-0 shutout of the 12th-ranked Cardinals. In that contest, Kentucky goalkeeper Kayla King stopped a penalty in the 79th minute, when the Wildcats were up 1-0 to nurse the lead at the time. On the ensuing counter attack, Hubly scored the insurance goal in the 80th minute on a run from the far side to give UK the 2-0 lead, and the Wildcats hung on to preserve the shutout.
The Wildcats are coming into Friday’s match on a season-long three-match winning streak, as UK has knocked off Seattle University (2-1 OT), Francis Marion (5-0) and Ohio University (3-0) in its last three matches, outshooting its opponents 84-10 during that stretch and only allowing one goal in the past 298 minutes of action.
Senior Arin Gilliland leads the Wildcats with three goals through the first four matches of the season, including four assists to go along with it. Gilliland scored goals in each of the first three matches of the week to get her season off on the right foot. After collecting a goal and three assists vs. Francis Marion and Ohio last weekend, Arin Gilliland was named the SEC Player of the Week for Sept. 2 by CollegeSportsMadness.com on Tuesday afternoon. Gilliland entering Friday’s match is leading the SEC in shots, and comes in second in goals, assists and points.
Nine UK players have already collected at least one point through the opening two weekends of action, with Gilliland leading the way with 10 (3 goals, 4 assists). Michaela Dooley (1g, 3a), Courtney Raetzman (2g, 0a), Jade Klump (2g, 0a), Cara Ledman (1g, 1a) and Alex Carter (1g, 1a) are all part of the Wildcats that have tallied three or more points thus far in 2014.
Friday night will mark the 13th all-time meeting between Kentucky and Louisville. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 9-2-1, and are currently riding a three-match win streak over the Cardinals dating back to 2011. Each of the last three meetings between UK and UL have resulted in shutout wins for the Wildcats, and have each been by a score of 2-0.
The Louisville Cardinals enter the 2014 season under the direction of Karen Ferguson-Dayes for the 14th season. Ferguson-Dayes led the Cards to the first round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago, where they lost in PKs to Illinois State at home in the opening round. The Cards opened the season with a 2-1 win over Wright State before falling to Illinois on opening weekend. The Cardinals welcomed 12 freshman and two transfers to the roster this season. Seven newcomers, including five freshmen earned the starting nod for Louisville.
Friday night’s match will not be on television or streamed on the SEC Network, or SECN+, but will be available to fans via GoCards.com live streaming, with a subscription only.
For continuing coverage of UK women’s soccer, log on to UKathletics.com.
