Kentucky Hosts No. 18 Auburn in Critical SEC Home Match
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s soccer
team will host No. 18 Auburn at the Bell Soccer Complex on Thursday night at
7:30 p.m. ET for a critical Southeastern Conference showdown. The match will be
shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Neil Price
(pxp) and Megan Skinner (analysis) on the call from Lexington.
Kentucky is looking to snap a three-match
losing streak. The Wildcats dropped an overtime decision to Ole Miss on
Saturday night despite outshooting the Rebels 19-3 in the match. Kentucky has
not lost four matches in a row since 2009, which was Jon Lipsitz’s first year
at Kentucky.
The Wildcats currently sit at 4-6-2 overall on
the season and 0-4-1 in the SEC on one point, but still well alive for a spot
at the 2016 SEC Tournament in Orange Beach with positive results down the
stretch. Auburn enters Thursday’s match at 8-4-0 overall and 4-1-0 in league
play.
Auburn has not lost a road match yet this
season and currently is slotted at No. 18 in the national polls and No. 16 in
the RPI, fighting for a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Coming off a 1-0
win vs. Mizzou on Thursday night last week, Auburn has held its opponents to just
12 goals in 12 matches. Kristen Dodsen leads the Tiger attack with seven goals
on the season, with Cassie Ramsier and Courtney Schell each scoring three
times.
Kentucky’s leading scorer continues to be
Mexican international Tanya Samarzich, who has scored seven goals and tallied
one assist inside the opening 12 matches of the season. Sitting in 15 points,
Samarzich is five points ahead of Kaitlin Miller, who has slotted in three
goals and three assists for UK.
Inside the series, the Wildcats have won four
of the last five games against the Tigers. In 2014, Kentucky beat Auburn twice,
including in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals with a 2-1 victory. Overall, Kentucky
leads the series 11-9-3. The last time Kentucky lost at home against Auburn was
in 2006 (1-0), in overtime.
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.
