Oct. 3, 2008
Lexington, Ky. – The UK women’s soccer team (3-6-2, 1-1-1 SEC) couldn’t muster enough offense to overcome two Gamecock goals, dropping their first SEC match of the season, 2-0 to the 24th ranked South Carolina Gamecocks (8-1-3, 2-0-1).
Despite outshooting the Gamecocks 11-6, the Wildcats were unable to connect on a goal while having their three-match shutout streak snapped in the process.
“I thought we didn’t take care of the ball tonight,” said UK head coach Warren Lipka. “I didn’t think the energy level was where it was last weekend. When a team comes in and takes care of the ball on your own field, it’s very frustrating. We should have played with more energy, more passion. We did the last 15 minutes of the game, but it was too late at that point. For the all the work we’ve done to come forward, I thought we took a step back tonight.”
South Carolina ended UK’s shutout streak nearly 10 minutes into the match on a goal by Kayla Grimsley. Grimsley took a pass from Maria Petroni, then dribbled through a couple UK defenders and poked a shot just to the left of a diving Sydney Hiance for a 1-0 lead.
Grimsley netted her second goal of the night in the 58th minute, taking a pass from Brooke Jacobs four yards out and punching it home for a 2-0 USC lead.
UK had an opportunity to cut the lead in half with 17:07 left in the match when South Carolina was whistled for a foul inside the 18-yard box. Kristin Kover stepped up to take her second penalty kick in as many matches, but she sent the shot high.
The Wildcats close out their six match home stand on Sunday, hosting the 13th ranked Florida Gators in a 1:00 match on Fox Sports South. Admission is $1 and fans will have an opportunity to win tickets to Big Blue Madness.
