Aug 30, 2013
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team got points from seven different players in the offensive attack as the Wildcats shutout the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 7-0, on Friday night at the UK Soccer Complex.
Freshman Zoe Swift recorded goals in the 18th, 51st and 58th minutes to record the first UK hat trick since 2006. The three tallies on the night were also the first six career points for the Naperville, Ill., native, who also added an assist on Stuart Pope’s 60th-minute goal for a seven-point night.
“Zoe is very good at finding little schemes and little holes to score goals,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz said. “We knew that she would score a lot of goals here, but part of being a goal-scorer is that you have to have a very short memory. She had a couple last week that she should have finished, and she’ll be the first to tell you that. All we told her was just keep working and it will come.”
Swift posed a multitude of problems for the Eastern Kentucky (0-3-0, 0-0-0 OVC) defense, who got in behind the back line multiple times, taking quick, effective touches and putting home chances. The hat trick for Swift came as the first for UK since Guileana Lopez scored three times against Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 1, 2006 at the UK Soccer Complex.
In addition to the three goals from Swift, the Wildcats got three assists from junior Arin Gilliland, who was inserted into the lineup as a forward for the first time all season on Friday night. Gilliland tied the UK program record with three assists in a single game, as the Lexington, Ky., native became the first Wildcat to accomplish that feat since Elizabeth Ramsey had three assists in a game in 2003 against the Arkansas Lady Razorbacks.
“What I like is her mobility and the way that she combined and played with her teammates,” Lipsitz said. “Sometimes, we look at Arin and just think that she should just take everybody on her own. She let the game come to her and didn’t force it and found her holes.”
Kentucky struck early and often, as Pope scored the first goal of the match in the seventh minute as she got a tremendous through ball from defender Cara Ledman on the left flank, who then served it into the box where it was finished to the far post for Pope’s first goal of the season.
Pope would add another goal in the 60th minute on a ball that worked its way to Cara Ledman at outside back, who then played it across the middle to a waiting Pope at the top of the 18, who rifled it past a diving keeper to give the Fayetteville, Ga., native the two-goal game.
Junior Caitlin Landis also got in on the action, scoring a goal in the 35th minute to record her first goal of the season, and first point of the 2013 season.
Kentucky dominated the game for all 90 minutes, possessing the ball a majority of the match, and outshooting the Colonels 30-5 in the two halves of play. The Wildcats took 11 shots in the first half and launched a season-high 19 shots in the second half.
The seven goals for Kentucky marked the first time UK has scored seven or more goals in a single game since Kentucky charted seven goals against EKU in the 2006 season. UK also earned seven corner kicks on the night, with sophomore Allie Gorgol taking a career-high three corners.
“We obviously spent a lot of time on our attack this week in training,” Lipsitz said. “We made a lot of changes. There was a lot of excitement in the program this week, not just with the coaches, but with the players as well. They were really excited. We also finished chances, and that’s something we have been struggling with.”
Senior captain Kayla King and freshman, Ayanna Parker, combined to post Kentucky’s second-straight shutout in as many games. The Wildcat back line of Kelli Hubly, Cara Ledman, Olivia Jester and Kaitlin Miller combined to allow only five shots for EKU in the game.
UK will now complete its second-straight weekend split as the Wildcats venture north to Toledo, Ohio to take on the Toledo Rockets in a Sunday match at 1:00 p.m. ET.
For continuing coverage of UK women’s soccer, log on to UKathletics.com.
