Sep 6, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team posted its third-straight win overall, and third-straight win over in-state rival Louisville, 2-0 on Friday night at the UK Soccer Complex behind goals from Stuart Pope in the 51st minute, and the insurance goal in the 85th minute on a penalty kick from Arin Gilliland.
“It feels good,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said. “I was proud of them .They really responded at halftime. They made a very specific adjustment at halftime for what we wanted to do, and they did it. Louisville is a fantastic team. This game is going to make us a better team down the road. There is no doubt about that.”
For the second year in a row, the Wildcats and Cardinals were scoreless at halftime, with each side recording five shots and UK goalkeeper Kayla King only called upon two times to make a save.
The offense would pick up in the second half, as the Wildcats struck in the 51st minute when Pope beat the keeper to the far-upper post from atop the 18, giving Kentucky the 1-0 lead. The goal for Pope was her fourth in three games. The assist came from sophomore midfielder Courtney Raetzman, who played a great ball to Pope’s boot, who rifled it in the back of the net. The assist for Raetzman was her second in two games and second point on the young season.
Gilliland would add the second goal in the 85th minute on a penalty kick, doubling the Wildcats’ lead. Gilliland got the ball from a wide back off a counter attack around the midfield stripe, and was in behind by the time she reached the top of the 18. She was pulled down in the box by a Louisville defender and earned the first Kentucky penalty kick of the year.
Gilliland went top shelf and to the keeper’s right on the PK attempt, and laced the shot past a diving Paige Brown. Brown got a paw on it, and deflected it more to the right, but it was struck with too much pace, and Kentucky went up 2-0.
King posted her second-straight clean sheet in the cage for Kentucky, stopping all 13 Louisville shots, and was called upon to make only five saves in the match. The senior captain and back-up keeper Ayanna Parker have only allowed one goal in the last 400 minutes on the pitch.
Lipsitz improves to 4-1-0 all-time against the Cardinals, and has won three straight matches against the Cards.
The UK Soccer Complex was rocking all 90 minutes with over 1,600 fans crowding the facility to see the Wildcats pick up their 12th win at home in the last two seasons. In the last 15 home matches, Kentucky is now 12-1-2, with wins over three different ranked opponents.
The next home fixture for the Wildcats is on Sunday afternoon, as the Dayton Flyers make the visit to Lexington for a 2:30 p.m. ET match at the UK Soccer Complex. The Wildcats will be looking for their fourth-straight win, and second consecutive weekend sweep on Sunday afternoon.
For continuing coverage of UK women’s soccer, log on to UKathletics.com.
