The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team shocked North Carolina, 1-0, in a 60-minute exhibition in Chapel Hill last weekend. The Wildcats upset the defending national champions on a goal by Annie Gage. The Heels have lost only once on the last three regular seasons at home.
“Defeating North Carolina was a great accomplishment for the program,” UK coach Warren Lipka said. “Going into the fall season, this is the direction we want to be taking. I hope this carries into the fall.”
The victory was part of a three-game exhibition tour by the Cats where they played Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest. They were undefeated on the weekend, tying Duke, 2-2 and beating Wake Forest, 1-0.
The games against Duke and North Carolina were held at the Chapel Hill campus on Saturday, March 31, and were in a round-robin format. The tournament was played on the Tar Heels’ Astrograss turf due to weather conditions and a lacrosse tournament.
The first game was a UNC-Michigan matchup with the Tar Heels winning, 6-0. The second game of the day pitted Kentucky against Duke. Wildcats Elizabeth Ramsey and Alli Haeussler scored against the Blue Devils in the 2-2 game. Kentucky was up 2-1when a questionable call with 30 seconds left in the game resulted in the second penalty kick of the match. Goalkeeper Beth Wells stopped the first Duke penalty kick but the second one slipped by her to tie the game.
Following the Duke game, Kentucky immediately matched up against UNC. Gage’s goal was assisted by Keri Boyce. The Tar Heels are unquestionably the top program in women’s soccer, having won 16 national championships in 21 years. Among the Tar Heels playing in the match were Catherine Reddick, Jena Kluegel, and Alyssa Ramsey, all US National Team members.
In the final games of the day, Michigan and Duke faced off as the Blue Devils twice defeated Michigan, 1-0 and 2-1.
On Sunday, Apr. 1, the Wildcats faced their final opponent of the series facing Wake Forest in Winston-Salem. Lauren Russell scored the Wildcat goal to defeat the Demon Deacons 1-0. Wake Forest went on to face North Carolina State and Florida State later in the day. The Demon Deacons handled both opponents easily, defeating the Wolfpack, 1-0, and the Seminoles, 2-1. Later, in the North Carolina State-Florida State matchup, the squads tied at 1-1.
“It is good to play great competition and get an idea of how to prepare for that level of competition as well as develop a winning mentality,” Lipka said. “The spring games give us the time and opportunity to develop team leaders and show them how to handle the responsibility that goes along with leadership positions.”
Kentucky will play host to Vanderbilt on Saturday, April 7, at noon at the UK Soccer Complex.
