Jimenez’s Second-Half Strike Not Enough to Push UK Past Mizzou
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Miranda Jimenez scored her third goal of the season with a quality bit of individual skill to level proceedings in the 53rd minute, but it was not enough as the visiting Missouri Tigers took a 2-1 lead with eight minutes remaining and Kentucky was unable to equalize again.
Kentucky dropped to 7-9-0 on the season, 2-5-0 Southeastern Conference. Mizzou improved to a 6-9-1 (2-5-0 SEC) record under Brian Blitz this season.
Kentucky will finish the non-conference slate against Loyola University Chicago on Sunday. The Wildcats will honor seniors Katy Keen and Kelly Novak before the match.
The Wildcats looked dangerous going forward all night firing 10 shots and putting five of them on goal, but in the end they couldn’t find the net enough. They had multiple good chances to take the lead in the second half, but couldn’t quite put everything together in the final third.
Kentucky’s goal came after they applied a relentless spell of attacking pressure for nearly 30 minutes straight after they fell behind.
Missouri took the lead in the 27th minute through Sarah Luebbert who headed in a Savannah Trujillo cross that was pinged back across the box by Jessica Johnson.
Half an hour after Kentucky drew level at 1-1, Jessica Johnson put the visitors back ahead as Sarah Luebbert returned the assisting favor with a cross from a quick restart after Mizzou was awarded a free kick along the right flank.
The Wildcats have already equaled their SEC point total (6) from all of 2016 and have surpassed the overall win total (7) compared to all of 2016 (5). UK is currently 2-4-0 in SEC play with wins over LSU and Mississippi State.
UK has seven wins on the season under Ian Carry – two higher than 2016 with five matches still to play.
Kentucky is sitting on six points in league play with three matches remaining on the SEC schedule.
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.
