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LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Natalie Cocchi?s header with less than four minutes remaining in double overtime capped a three-goal West Virginia rally, as the 15th-ranked Mountaineers dealt Kentucky a 3-2 defeat in the nightcap of the Kentucky Invitational Friday evening at the UK Soccer Complex. Wisconsin sent Ohio to a 6-0 defeat in the day?s opening match.
Kentucky?s Danielle Slupski, playing in her first regular-season match since September of 2003 after recovering from a knee injury, immediately made the most of her return. In the 11th minute, Slupski took a well-placed feed from sophomore Kristen Jedlo and beat West Virginia?s Lana Bannerman for an early 1-0 Wildcat lead.
The 1-0 lead Kentucky took into halftime grew almost immediately after the intermission. With some help from sophomore Elisabeth Jones, freshman Callie Lanphier found the back of the net 15 seconds into the second period to give the Cats a 2-0 lead. West Virginia?s Marisa Kanela booted in a loose ball in the 63rd minute to cut the Mountaineer deficit in half before recording the equalizer 13 minutes later. UK and WVU traded opportunities throughout the remainder of regulation, though each chance proved fruitless.
After a scoreless initial overtime period, the Mountaineers? Cocchi took a timely feed from Rachael Minnich, via Ashley Weimer, and sent a header past a diving Anne Ogundele for the game winner in the 107th minute.
Kentucky meets Wisconsin at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday in the final day of the Kentucky Invitational, while West Virginia takes on Ohio at 11:30 a.m. Both matches will be held at the UK Soccer Complex.
Goals:
West Virginia: Kanela (Kane) 62:02; Kanela 75:09; Cocchi (Weimer, Minnich) 106:38 Kentucky: Slupski (Jedlo) 10:22; Lanphier (E. Jones) 45:15
Goalkeepers:
WVU ? Lana Bannerman ? 5 saves UK ? Anne Ogundele ? 6 saves