Oct. 4, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After a split weekend which saw the University of Kentucky women’s soccer team pick up a draw against No. 6 Texas A&M, the Wildcats hit the road to begin a four-match road swing, traveling to Columbia, Mo., to take on No. 16 Missouri in a Friday night game commencing at 7:30 p.m. ET and concluding the weekend in Oxford, Miss., for a 2:00 p.m. ET tilt with Ole Miss.
“When Missouri was instituted into the SEC, we knew they provided another great program to the conference,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said. “We are excited to go and get the chance to play in Columbia. We know Bryan (Blitz) will have his team ready to go for us, and we will be ready to go as well. Missouri is ranked nationally for a reason, and it is going to be a fun test for our players against what I believe to be one of the best teams in our conference.”
The Tigers come into this weekend’s action tied with Florida atop the SEC East division, standing with a 10-2-0 overall record and a 5-1-0 conference mark. Missouri is 4-1-0 in its last five games, with its only defeat coming at the hands of Tennessee on Sunday afternoon in a tight 1-0 affair. The Wildcats are 1-0-1 all time against Mizzou, collecting a win in the series’ last matchup in 2004 in Lexington after a 1-1 draw in 1998.
The game between Kentucky and Missouri will have a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff in Columbia, as UK puts its undefeated night record on the line. The Wildcats have tallied a 5-0-1 record in night games this season, including wins against No. 12 Louisville and No. 13 Florida. The draw came last weekend in a 2-2 battle with No. 6 Texas A&M.
Sunday pits the Rebels of Ole Miss against UK for the 19th time in program history. Kentucky holds the slight lead in the series at 9-8-1; however the Rebels have rattled off four-straight wins dating back to the 2008 season. In 2011, Ole Miss netted the game-winning goal in the opening overtime session in Lexington to take a 2-1 win. The Wildcats have not earned a win in Oxford in 10 years of play (0-4-1).
UK is 8-3-1 on the season with a current RPI of 35 in the official NCAA RPI release. The Wildcats’ freshmen have been vital to the success of the club tallying 28 points. The breakdown shows that Courtney Raetzman, Kelli Hubly, Cara Ledman and Cailin Harris have netted 11 goals and six assists. Hubly and Raetzman, natives of Elk Grove, Ill., lead the team with four goals apiece.
The Wildcats currently have 10 points in the SEC table, currently sitting in a tie for fourth place with Tennessee, just trailing Texas A&M, Missouri and Florida in the standings. The top 10 teams in the table will qualify for the SEC Tournament in Orange Beach, Ala.
For continuing coverage of UK women’s soccer, log on to UKathletics.com.
