The University of Kentucky womens soccer team experienced great success in 2000, with a record of 15-6 (6-3 in the Southeastern Conference) and the best start in the programs history.
Keri Boyce, Annie Gage and Elizabeth Ramsey continued to anchor the Wildcats attacking offense, taking 197 of the teams 381 shots. Boyce nearly tied her own record of six game-winning goals, while Gage broke the career assists record in just over two years of play.
Leading Kentuckys defensive stand was junior goalkeeper Beth Wells, who posted six shutouts in 2000. Senior Emily Oetjen continued to play offensive defense, taking 24 shots and scoring her first collegiate goal. Freshman Jen Wilkinson stepped in to bolster the defense, allowing a deep rotation in the back.
The Cats kicked off the 2000 season playing host to Cincinnati. UK earned its first shutout of the season, defeating the Bearcats 2-0, holding Cincinnati to only one shot.Next, the Wildcats faced their first SEC team Vanderbilt and narrowly squeezed by the Commodores to move into the top spot in the conference. The squads battled it out into double overtime before the Cats were able to down Vandy, 3-2. Following the game, Kentucky enjoyed the lead position in the SEC for six weeks.
UK then traveled to Minnesota to participate in the University of Minnesota Tournament where the Gophers handed the Wildcats their first defeat, shutting them out 1-0. The Cats would not experience another loss for a month. The squad rebounded quickly and routed Northwestern two days later, 5-1, and began an eight-game win streak. UK finished second in the tournament behind Minnesota, while Jen Reese, Melinda Buemi, and Elizabeth Ramsey were named to the All-Tournament team.
Utah State visited Kentucky to face the Cats and were defeated 2-1, though the Aggies scored the first goal of the game, unanswered until the 82nd minute. Two back-to-back goals put the Wildcats up to cinch the victory.
Kentucky and Ohio met in Athens to finish the weekend and a 4-0 victory over the Bobcats earned UK coach Warren Lipka his 100th career win as well as the programs.
The Cats went on to down three straight opponents in Xavier, Miami (Ohio), and Evansville. Kentucky shutout both Xavier (6-0) and Evansville (3-0). Miami scored only one goal on the team, but were unable to rally, allowing UK to come away with a 2-1 win. Annie Gage broke the career assists record in this game with her 20th assist. Interestingly, Miamis assistant coach is Kim LaBelle, a former Wildcat who previously held the record.
A road trip to Alabama catapulted the team deep into SEC play. The Crimson Tide was up first and the Wildcats continued their conference undefeated streak by defeating Bama 4-2. Kentucky took its first penalty kick of the season in the game, while Kate Qually came out big, scoring two goals.
Next came Auburn, which scored the first goal of the contest but was unable to stop the Cats. Erin Witchey recorded her first collegiate goal as Kara McCue scored and added an assist en route to the 3-1 UK victory.
SEC archrival Florida traveled to Lexington to battle with the Cats next. The Gators, unranked, had never lost to the Cats. UK had moved up to No. 10 in the nation. As always, the match was physical, hard-fought and the most evenly matched game of the season. Florida netted the first goal, but the Wildcats tied the score twice in the first half before going into halftime 3-2. Kentucky added a goal in the second half, but were unable to catch up with the Gators who posted two more goals in the game for a 5-3 victory.
Again, the Cats bounced back quickly, disposing of South Carolina, 5-1, as senior defender Emily Oetjen recorded her first collegiate goal. The game looked to be a shutout until the 86th minute when Gamecock Morgan McIntyre lobbed the ball from 20 yards out into an open net. Unfortunately, Kentucky then went on a two-match skid as the team traveled to Georgia and Tennessee. The Cats two losses knocked them out of the top-25 and sent them to fourth place in the SEC.
At Georgia, Kentucky was held to just five shots as the Bulldogs were able to shut down Boyce and Gage, holding them without a shot. The Dawgs ran away with a 1-0 win.
Hoping for a victory to end the weekend on a positive note, UK faced a Tennessee team that had never beaten the Cats in four tries. Ramsey started the scoring for Kentucky in the 25th minute to lead the Cats into intermission ahead 1-0. Following the break, the Vols came out and quickly scored back-to-back goals to take the lead. The excitement over the second goal was short-lived as just one minute later Mattingly took advantage of the situation to put one in the back of the net. With overtime imminent, Tennessee found an opportunity to score with just 26 remaining, giving the Cats a heartbreaking 3-2 loss.
The final weekend of conference play pitted the Cats against LSU and Arkansas. Boyce started the scoring against LSU, but the Tigers rebounded and tied the game at one at halftime. Kentuckys defense stepped up its intensity in the second half and allowed LSU only two shots. Reese notched the game-winning goal while Ramsey secured the win with another goal for the 3-1 win.
Kentucky held its annual Senior Day activities prior to the start of the Arkansas game with seniors Jaime Dellbringge, Emily Oetjen, Jen Reese, and assistant coach Margo Hafer honored as the team closed out home and conference play for 2000. The day was definitely the seniors day to shine as Dellbringge notched the first goal in the 50th minute after a scoreless first half. Arkansas answered in the 68th minute to tie the game at one, with only eight seconds remaining Oetjen played the ball back off of a Lauren Russell corner kick and score the game winner to lead the Cats to a 2-1 victory.
The squad finished the regular season by traveling to Bloomington to face Butler and Indiana. The Cats defeated Butler 1-0, as Jen Reese scored the game-winner in the 65th minute, shooting from 12 yards out into the left corner of the goal to give UK its first defeat of Butler in four tries.
Indiana prove to be tougher for Kentucky. The Hoosiers opened up scoring in the 10th minute of the game and held a 1-0 advantage for 12 minutes until Annie Gage scored off of a penalty kick to tie the game at one. Indiana rallied, however, and scored two more goals in the first half to pull off the win, 3-1.
The Wildcats 14-6 finish was good for third in the SEC East Division behind Florida and Tennessee, and they earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Their first contest was a matchup against LSU. Kentuckys strong defense held the Tigers to only three shots and allowed goalkeeper Beth Wells to post her sixth shutout of the season. Elizabeth Ramsey converted a penalty kick for the Cats first score in the 32nd minute, and Jaime Dellbringge scored off of a Keri Boyce assist to put Kentucky up 2-0 and send UK to the semifinals.
In the second round, the Wildcats once again found themselves facing archrival Florida. Kentucky was determined to shut down Abby Wambach, who scored all four goals in a 4-1 first-round victory over Arkansas. After battling to a scoreless first half, Emily Oetjen scored her third season and career goal in the 48th minute to put the Cats up 1-0. Wambach finally scored in the 61st minute to tie the game and Floridas Andi Sellers scored to send the Gators into the SEC finals, 2-1.
At the banquet preceding the start of the tournament, Keri Boyce was named first team All-SEC, and Elizabeth Ramsey was named second team All-SEC. Following the tournament, Ramsey and Annie Gage were named to the All-Tournament team.
Beth Wells, Annie Gage, Melinda Buemi, Susie Ledzianowski, and Jaime Dellbringge were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Boyce was named as a National Soccer Coaches Association of America third-team Great Lakes Region All-American, marking the second year she has been named as a Regional All-American.
Boyce also was named to the Soccer Buzz All-Great Lakes Region second team, while Gage was named to the Soccer Buzz All-Great Lakes Region third team.
