Sept. 26, 2003
NASHVILLE – Time and time again, Kentucky has turned to senior Elizabeth Ramsey for a spark, and Friday evening at Vanderbilt, Ramsey was up to the task. Ramsey nailed a second half game-breaking goal, pacing the Cats to a hard-fought 1-0 victory before 421 fans at the Vanderbilt Soccer Complex.
The first half saw Kentucky control possession for most of the opening minutes, but the Cats failed to capitalize on a number of scoring opportunities. A ninth-minute Jen Wilkinson header sailed wide right, and five minutes later, a booming 13-yard line drive from Erin Witchey struck the crossbar. The shot fell into play and the ensuing Amber Wilson header sailed wide right. In the 37th minute, Ashley Schillig found a seam in the Commodore defense, but VU goalkeeper Esther Thompson knocked down Schillig’s right-footed shot and corralled the ball for a save.
Early on in the second half, Kentucky goalkeeper Anne Ogundele came up big for the Cats. Ogundele emerged from a flurry in front of the goal with ball in hand in the 45th minute. At the 56th minute, Ogundele snagged a sharp header from Vandy’s Michelle Bruntlett for a timely save. Soon thereafter, Kentucky’s scoring drought would come to an end at 317 minutes, a figure spanning the better part of four matches. In the 65th minute, Jen Weakley and Elizabeth Ramsey shadowed the Vanderbilt defenders just outside of the VU penalty box. As if on cue, Ramsey stole the ball just as the Vandy keeper had left her box several yards in front of the goal. Ramsey fired a left-footed shot from 20 yards out into the unoccupied Vandy goal to put the Cats on top.
In the final minutes, Kentucky survived a flurry of final Vandy scoring opportunities. An 88th-minute obstruction call against Kentucky resulted in a Vandy free kick, but the Cats blocked the shot and ultimately sealed the victory. Ogundele’s shutout marks her first as a Wildcat.
“It was a great fight tonight,” said UK Coach Warren Lipka. “This is the type of match we’llexpect to see every time out during conference play, and this was a great win for this team.”
Lipka was particularly pleased with the play of Ogundele.
“Anne eliminated some of our mistakes tonight, and that’s what she and Liz (Butler) will need to do this season to put us where we want to be.”
Kentucky improves to 3-5-1 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. The Commodores drop to 4-3-1 and 0-1in the conference and surrender their fifth-consecutive match to Kentucky. The Cats will take a week off before playing host to LSU next Friday, Oct. 3 at the UK Soccer Complex.
