Second Half Surge Powers No. 8 South Carolina Past
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Kentucky women’s soccer team
dropped its second match running in the heat and humidity of the Palmetto State
on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks remained undefeated in
2016 by knocking off UK, 3-0 at Stone Stadium.
After a scoreless first half that saw UK fend
off 14 USC shots and five of them on goal, the Gamecocks exploded in the middle
part of the second half, striking for three goals in 11 minutes to put the
match away.
The match-winning goal game in the 56th minute
off the foot of Sophie Groff, her first goal of the season, off a rebound
inside the six-yard box. Groff took the rebound off of a Savannah McCaskill
shot that UK goalkeeper Evangeline Soucie saved well and poked it into the back
of the net for the goal.
With the win, South Carolina remains as one of
the few unbeaten teams in the country at 10-0-1 on the year and is now a
perfect 4-0-0 in the Southeastern Conference sitting on 12 points. Kentucky
drops to 4-5-2 on the season and is 0-3-1 in the SEC with one point to its name
on the SEC table.
The Gamecocks second goal came on 64 minutes
in the match when USC defender Kaleigh Kurtz scored a fantastic goal going
upper 90 from 26 yards out off an attempted clear that was virtually unsaleable
by Soucie and into the back of the net. The strike was also her first of the
season.
USC would tack on a third goal in the 67th
minute off a serve and finish inside the area. Lindsey Lane scored the goal off
a cross from McCaskill, who netted her second point on the day – also assisting
on the Gamecocks first goal of the match in the 56th minute.
Kentucky will look to snap its two-match
losing streak on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Ole Miss Rebels at
the Bell Soccer Complex. The match will be shown live on the SEC Network+,
ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Dave Baker and Megan Skiller calling the
action.
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.
