WEST LAFAYETTE, IN ? Freshman Laura Novikoff picked a fine time to score her first career goal as she found the back of the net with 5:03 left in the match to lift Kentucky (1-0-1) to a 1-0 victory over Loyola-Chicago (0-2-0).
Callie Lanphier pushed the ball down the right side and sent it into the middle where it was gathered up by Nicola Holdsworth who laid it off to Novikoff. Novikoff took the pass and scored the Cats? first goal of the season for the game-winner.
?Laura (Novikoff) is a dangerous player,? said head coach Warren Lipka. ?She has a great shot and is a deceivingly quick player. She puts herself in good position to score and I think she?ll get better with each minute.?
Freshman goalie Laura Baker recorded her second straight shutout of the season while knocking away six Loyola shots en route to being named the tournament?s defensive MVP with two shutouts.
?Baker has proven that she is now the goalkeeper at the University of Kentucky,? said Lipka. ?She has taken over the reigns and is doing a great job. She?s giving our defensive end a lot of confidence with her play right now.?
The Wildcats claimed second place in the Boilermaker Challenge Cup, scoring four points with a win and a tie, finishing as runner-up to the Louisville Cardinals who gained six points on two wins.
?I thought we took care of the ball better today,? said Lipka. ?We?re not there yet, we?ve still got a long way to go in our attacking, but we did better than Friday night and that?s what we want, is to see continuing improvement each time out.?
It looked as if UK was going to score early and often as they created scoring opportunities in the first 14 minutes, but the Loyola defense settled down and held the Cats at bay for the majority of the first half.
The Ramblers had their best chance in the 23rd minute when Cynthi Morote-Ariza took a shot off a free kick that grazed over the outstretched arms of Baker, but Lanphier was there to knock the ball away and keep the game locked at 0-0.
The Ramblers threatened to open the scoring in the 74th minute when Alexia Murray beat Kate Hughes and found herself wide open just inside the 18-yard box where she fired off a shot, but Baker was there for the save.
Prior to Novikoff?s goal, Kentucky?s offensive scoreless streak stretched to 328 minutes dating back to last season as the Wildcats were shutout in the NCAA Tournament to end the 2006 season and didn?t scratch a goal in their 0-0 tie with Purdue Friday night.
Kentucky plays its home-opener on Wednesday, Sept. 5 when the Wildcats host Evansville. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Free UK Women?s soccer schedule posters will be given out to all fans in attendance. Live stats will be available at ukathletics.com.
