Oct. 20, 2011
STARKVILLE, Miss. – It was another career performance for senior captain Kelsey Hunyadi as she netted a pair of goals in a 2-0 win over Mississippi State (5-9-3, 2-6-1 Southeastern Conference) Thursday night.
Hunyadi recorded her third career multi-goal game, while attempting a career-high and school record 11 shots, five on goal.
“I felt like in the first half we were very passive, and we talked about how hard Mississippi State was going to come after us because their season was on the line,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said. “Kelsey (Hunyadi) is the leader of this team. Her play, her body language, and her work ethic lead us. We really challenged her in the second half to give us more and I thought she did fantastic.”
Freshman goalie Kayla Price notched her sixth shutout of the season and third in league play. She finished with five saves while facing 10 Mississippi State shots.
“Kayla (Price) is playing very well, but I think more importantly, it’s our back five,” Lipsitz said. “It’s our four and our goalkeeper together that are really playing well. I think that all of our backs are playing well. Kayla is learning to play off of them and they are learning to play off of her.”
The win for Kentucky (12-5-0, 5-4-0) gave them five conference wins this season, the most since the 2006 squad collected six league wins. More importantly, UK picked up three points in the league standings giving it 15 on the season.
The Wildcats drew first blood in the 19th minute on Hunyadi’s career-high ninth goal of the season. Caitlin Landis stole the ball from a Bulldog defender inside the 18-yard box and pushed it to her left to Hunyadi who poked it to the right of MSU goalie Skylar Rosson for the 1-0 lead.
Landis and Hunyadi teamed up again in the 53rd minute, but in a different manner. Landis was fighting for the ball in the box and was dragged down by a Bulldog defender resulting in a penalty kick for UK. Hunyadi stepped up and buried it inside the right post for her second goal of the night and a 2-0 UK lead.
Arin Gilliland had a golden opportunity inside the first minute to give UK the early lead. Gilliland dribbled past a Bulldog defender and had a good look at an open net, but her shot went wide left. The freshman native of Lexington tallied a personal best six shots.
The Wildcats finished with a season-high 31 shots, the most since attempting 31 against Mississippi State in the 2008 season.
Kentucky closes out the home portion of its schedule on Sunday, hosting the Ole Miss Rebels on Senior Day. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET with Senior Day festivities beginning 15 minutes prior to kickoff.
