Oct. 2, 2008
Game Notes vs. South Carolina & Florida
Lexington, Ky. – The Wildcats’ (3-5-2, 1-0-1 SEC) three-game shutout streak will be put to the test this weekend, as they host 24th ranked South Carolina (7-1-3, 1-0-1) Friday night, followed by a Sunday match against 13th ranked Florida (7-2-1, 2-0-0) that will be televised live on Fox Sports South.
Kentucky posted shutouts last weekend against Auburn and Alabama to begin SEC play, and is currently tied for third in the league with four points after the first weekend of conference play.
The Gamecocks also enter Friday night’s contest with four points in league play. South Carolina posted a win over Tennessee and a tie with Georgia in the opening weekend, while Florida is one of two undefeated teams having tallied wins over Georgia and Tennessee.
Both teams are off to hot starts, resulting in top-25 rankings for each school. Meanwhile, the Cats will have faced six ranked opponents in their first 12 games. UK’s difficult scheduling early on has head coach Warren Lipka comfortable with where his team is heading into the weekend.
“There’s not going to be a team that we haven’t seen the best out of,” said Lipka. “We’ve played against North Carolina, who I predict to be in the Final Four. We’ve played the top teams. We aren’t going to find anything that’s going to be any different than what we know. Now we just have to do our job.”
The Wildcats own a 10-3-0 all-time record against the Gamecocks and have won three of the last four meetings. However, USC did post a 2-0 win over the Cats in Columbia last season.
“South Carolina is one of those hard-working, blue-collar teams. They’re similar to us,” said Lipka. “We’re not real flashy in our play; we’re going to try and outwork you and put you under pressure. I think that’s what South Carolina’s going to bring to the table.”
South Carolina is led by Kayla Grimsley who has a team leading 11 points on four goals, also a team high. Goalie Mollie Patton has posted a 0.61 goals against average (GAA) while recording five shutouts.
The Gators enter the match with a 14-2-2 all-time record over the Wildcats and have defeated UK in two of the last three matches.
“Florida brings technical, good players with loads of athleticism,” said Lipka.
The Gators enter the meeting having won three in a row and six of their last seven, including wins over fourth ranked Florida State, 18th ranked Illinois and 25th ranked Kansas.
Florida is led by Megan Kerns who has tallied a team leading 12 points and a team high five goals. The Gators have split time in the net between Meghan Berlingo, who has recorded a 0.79 GAA, and Katie Fraine who has a 0.95 GAA.
The Wildcats are unbeaten in their last four matches, recording two wins and two ties. Kentucky is led offensively by sophomore Laura Novikoff who has charted 11 points and five goals, both team highs. Sydney Hiance, the Cats’ sophomore goalie, has been on a tear of late, recording three straight shutouts, including clean sheets last weekend against Auburn and Alabama. For her efforts, she was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week. Hiance has a 1.34 GAA, but a 0.00 average in league play.
Kentucky and South Carolina will kickoff Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The first 50 fans will receive a free drink voucher and everyone in attendance will have an opportunity to win two tickets to Big Blue Madness. Sunday’s match against Florida will be televised live on Fox Sports South, with a 1:06 kickoff. Admission will be $1 and fans will have a final opportunity to win two Big Blue Madness tickets.
