Kentucky Hosts No. 5/1 Florida on Thursday in SEC Opener
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Southeastern Conference
season kicks off at the Bell Soccer Complex on Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET live
on the SEC Network as the Kentucky women’s soccer team will host the No. 5/1
Florida Gators.
The game will be shown live on the SEC
Network, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app as the SEC Network kicks off its third
season of unpresented women’s soccer coverage. FOX World Cup play-by-play
announcer Jenn Hildreth will call the match with former U.S. Olympic Gold
Medalist Heather Mitts.
The first 250 fans into the Bell Soccer
Complex on Thursday night will receive UK Women’s Soccer Thunderstix.
Kentucky (2-2-1, 0-0-0 SEC) is coming off a
stellar weekend. The Wildcats picked up their first two wins of the season,
including a sixth-straight win in the “Battle of the Bluegrass” against rival
Louisville, 3-1. After falling behind in the 8th minute, UK scored three
unanswered goals en route to the win.
On Sunday, junior Tanya Samarzich had two
goals and freshman goalkeeper Evangeline Soucie recorded her first-career
shutout as the Wildcats blanked High Point, 3-0, at The Bell. For her efforts,
Soucie earned the SEC Freshman of the Week award, from the league office on
Tuesday. She is now at a 1.53 goals against average in her 470 minutes in net
on the season with 17 saves made and eight goals allowed. The Milford, New
Jersey., native has led Kentucky to a 2-2-1 record.
The No. 5/1 Gators (4-1-0, 0-0-0 SEC) are off
to a flying start in 2016 with a 4-1-0 record through the first three weekends
of the season. UF scored a whopping seven goals in one half alone in a
thrashing of Oklahoma State on Sunday, which gave the Gators their fourth win
of the season. The Gators, led by head coach Becky Burleigh, lead essentially
every statistical offensive category in the SEC, including a monstrous 3.8
goals per game, having already played four ranked opponents. UF has scored 19
goals all together this season, with Savannah Jordan tallying six goals in five
games.
This week’s matchup marks the 27th all-time
meeting between the Wildcats and Gators, with this the 11th meeting in
Lexington between the two teams. Kentucky has had the better of the two late,
having gone 2-1-1 against the Gators in the last four years, with both wins
coming at the Bell
Soccer Complex (2012, 2014). Last season the Wildcats
held on for an impressive 1-1 draw in Gainesville despite being outshot 26-7 in
the match. UK would advance up to No. 9 in the nation, its highest-ever ranking
following that result. UF leads the all-time goals count in the series, 59-24,
but in the last four years, it’s 5-5 in goals.
Match Day No. 6
No. 5/1 Florida at Kentucky
Bell Soccer Complex, Lexington, Ky.
TV: SEC Network (Jenn Hildreth, Heather Mitts)
Watch online: http://es.pn/2bBHKeShttp://es.pn/2bBHKeS
Live Stats: UKathletics.com
Tickets:
$5 adults, $2 children (6-18) and seniors (65+), FREE (5 and under)
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.
