March 24, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After the best season in program history last season, in which the University of Kentucky women’s soccer team advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history, as well as appearing in the Southeastern Conference Championship game, seventh-year head coach Jon Lipsitz announced the program’s 2015 fall schedule on Tuesday.
The 2015 schedule will feature 13 games at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex, 11 games against the SEC, three games against teams that finished in the top 10 of the final RPI from last year, and eight games against the top 50.
The fall season will get underway with a six-game homestand at the Bell Soccer Complex, embarking with a match against the Washington Huskies for the second year in a row. The Huskies and Wildcats will kick things off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Aug. 21 to get the season underway.
The opening weekend continues with another top-50 team from a year ago, and traditional soccer power, San Diego State on Sunday afternoon at 7 p.m. ET.
“Our schedule this season is amazingly challenging,” Lipsitz said. “We always want to challenge ourselves as much as possible in the regular season, and this season is no different. We have tremendous non-conference games against regional powers in Washington, San Diego State and Wisconsin, plus the additional 11 games with the SEC. This challenging schedule gives us an opportunity to finish high in the RPI, which puts us in a great spot for the NCAA Tournament.”
Fans should also be advised that ESPN, the SEC Network and its other national TV partners have not announced their national television schedule for the 2015 season yet, so all match times are tentative. All of UK’s home games will be nationally streamed on the SEC Network+, ESPN3, and the WatchESPN app on your smartphone or tablet device in addition to any nationally televised matches.
After non-conference home games with UNC-Greensboro and Toledo the following weekend, the schedule then turns to September for Kentucky’s annual showdown with in-state foe Louisville on the fourth of September. The last time UK and UofL played in Lexington, 1,687 fans showed up to watch the Wildcats take down the Cards for the third-straight season on two goals from Courtney Raetzman and Arin Gilliland. Kickoff for the Kentucky Derby will be at 7:30 p.m. ET.
SEC play will begin on Friday, Sept. 11, as the Wildcats will play their first road game at Ole Miss, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Last season, UK shutout the Rebels 3-0 in Lexington in a key game that was the second game of UK’s eight-game winning streak to close out the regular season.
After a Friday night of SEC play, UK will return to the non-conference portion of its schedule on Sunday, Sept. 13 against the Wisconsin Badgers, who were the 2014 Big 10 Champions. That game will be at 6 p.m. ET in Lexington.
Non-conference play will be capped off the following Sunday in Lexington, as UK will face the Butler Bulldogs at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 20.
The SEC home opener of the Wildcats’ schedule will be on Sept. 25, as UK welcomes in the Missouri Tigers to Lexington for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at the Bell Soccer Complex.
2014 NCAA College Cup participant Texas A&M makes its way to Lexington on Friday, Oct. 16 for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff in one of three stand-alone weekends for UK, in which the Wildcats will only play one game in a weekend. The other four stand-alone weekends are Oct. 2 and Oct. 9.
Senior Day will be on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7:30 p.m. ET, as Kentucky will face the LSU Tigers at the Bell Soccer Complex.
The 2015 SEC Tournament will once again be held in Orange Beach, Ala., where the Wildcats made a run all the way to the championship match last season. The tournament kicks off with first round action on Nov. 2, and the championship match held on Nov. 8.
The field of 64 teams for the 2015 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament will be announced on Monday, Nov. 9 before the opening weekend of matches for the NCAA Tournament Nov. 13, 14 and 15.
2015 Kentucky Women’s Soccer Schedule
Date Opponent Time
08/21 WASHINGTON 7:30 p.m. ET
08/23 SAN DIEGO STATE 7:00 p.m. ET
08/28 UNC-GREENSBORO 7:30 p.m. ET
08/30 TOLEDO 6:00 p.m. ET
09/04 LOUISVILLE 7:30 p.m. ET
09/06 OHIO 6:00 p.m. ET
09/11 at Ole Miss* 8:00 p.m. ET
09/13 WISCONSIN 6:00 p.m. ET
09/18 at Alabama* 8:00 p.m. ET
09/20 BUTLER 6:00 p.m. ET
09/25 MISSOURI* 7:30 p.m. ET
09/27 ARKANSAS* 6:00 p.m. ET
10/02 at Florida* 7:00 p.m. ET
10/09 VANDERBILT 7:30 p.m. ET
10/11 at Mississippi State* 7:00 p.m. ET
10/16 TEXAS A&M* 7:30 p.m. ET
10/23 at Auburn* 8:00 p.m. ET
10/25 at Tennessee* 6:00 p.m. ET
10/29 LSU* 7:30 p.m. ET
11/2-8 2015 SEC Tournament TBD
For continuing coverage of UK women’s soccer, log on to UKathletics.com.
