Carter, Jester, Ledman, Raetzman Named to 2015 SEC Watch List
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The four University of
Kentucky women’s soccer captains, Alex Carter, Olivia Jester, Cara Ledman and
Courtney Raetzman, were named to the 2015 Southeastern Conference watch list,
it was announced by the conference office on Thursday.
Between the four players, there is 36 NCAA
Tournament games played in, 10,000 minutes on the pitch, 18 goals scored, five
All-SEC selections and have started 193 out of a possible 203 games played in, a
starting percentage of .950.
Kentucky is coming off the best season in
program history in 2014, as UK advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, as
well as finishing fourth in the Southeastern Conference, and getting to the SEC
Tournament Championship game against Texas A&M for just the second time in
program history. Kentucky was selected as a host site yet again for the NCAA
Tournament, where UK advanced to the Charlottesville Regional, and advanced 3-1
over Arizona State from three goals, all scored by returning players, including
one from Raetzman and Ledman, captains for 2015.
Carter, a junior from Conway, Ark., has played
in 37 games in her career, earning 33 starts and has logged over 2,000 minutes
on the pitch for the Wildcats. She was a key cog in the epic turnaround of UK’s
season last year, moving into a starting centerback role after the midway point
of conference play. Carter has scored four goals in her career and was named a
CollegeSoccer360 National Team of the Week member on Oct. 22 of 2014.
Jester was Carter’s centerback partner in
2014, helping lead to five straight shutouts in SEC play a year ago, and joins
Carter as a captain for the 2015 season. Jester started her career as a
midfielder before being converted to a centerback in the 2013 season. Jester has
started in all 65 games of her career, and has played the most minutes of
anyone on Kentucky’s 2015 roster. Jester scored a critical game-winning goal
against Auburn in 2012 to solidify a SEC Tournament spot for the Wildcats off
of a corner kick for her first-career goal. The Cincinnati, Ohio native is a
communications major and is set to graduate next May.
Ledman has played in 65 games in her career,
starting in 64 of those games. She was also a converted player under Lipsitz,
coming to Kentucky as a forward, where she scored five goals in her first
season as a Wildcat. Then in the preseason of her sophomore season, Ledman was
converted to a wideback, where she was then named All-SEC her sophomore season,
and has shined ever since. The Franklin, Tennessee native has scored seven
career goals, and has two game-winners to go along with nine assists for 23
career points. One of Ledman’s most critical goals came in the 2014 NCAA
Tournament Second Round, when she scored UK’s insurance goal over Arizona State
to help solidity the Wildcats’ first-ever spot in the Sweet 16.
Raetzman, standing at just 4-11 is one of UK’s
scrappiest players, having played in 42 games in her three-year career,
starting in all 42 of them. The Elk Grove, Ill., native missed half of her
sophomore season due to a MCL tear, but recovered in time to be eligible for
the NCAA Tournament win over Ohio State in the regionals. She is a two-time
All-SEC performer, and has scored 11 goals and has nine assists in her career.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
