The University of Kentucky women?s soccer team has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2005 season. The Wildcats, who return 18 players from a season ago, will play 11 of their 19 regular season games in Lexington at the friendly confines of the UK Soccer Complex.

The Cats kick off the 2005 season with a five-game homestand on Friday, Aug. 26, when they host the Big Ten?s Michigan State in a 7 p.m. contest. UK then faces first-year program and intra-state foe Eastern Kentucky in a mid-week match on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at 7:30 p.m. Miami (OH) (Sept. 3), Bellarmine (Sept. 6) and Cincinnati (Sept. 9) will also make the trip to Lexington before the Wildcats travel to their first road game of the year on Sept. 11 at Ohio State who had a solid 2004 campaign, finishing the year ranked eighth in the nation.

Marshall visits the Cats, Sept. 16, and UK travels to Western Kentucky on Sept. 18, in their final non-Southeastern Conference matches of the year.

The SEC slate begins with a pair of home games against LSU (Sept. 23) and Arkansas (Sept. 25). The Wildcats then open a four-game road swing with trips to Alabama (Sept. 30), Auburn (Oct. 2), Florida (Oct. 7) and South Carolina (Oct. 9). Kentucky hosts Georgia (Oct. 14), Tennessee (Oct. 16) and Mississippi (Oct. 23) in its final three home games of 2005.

The regular season wraps up at Mississippi State and Vanderbilt on Oct. 23 and 28, respectively.

?This is a schedule that will once again challenge us as a team,? said head coach Warren Lipka who begins his 14th season at the Wildcat helm. ?Hopefully, the early part of our year will prepare us for the always tough Southeastern Conference portion of our schedule and help us advance to the NCAA tournament in November.?

The Wildcats wrap up their spring exhibition schedule with a pair of home games this week. UK hosts Diadora Impact tonight, Apr. 19, at 7 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex. They will face FOSC Mirage on Thursday, Apr. 21, to wrap up the spring slate.