Kentucky Welcomes Louisiana Lafayette to the Bell on Thursday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following a victory in the home opener on Sunday, the University of Kentucky women’s soccer team returns to the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex to take on Louisiana Lafayette at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 26.
Admission to all matches at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex will be free to the public for the 2021 season. For those unable to attend in person, the game will be carried on SEC Network+ with Dave Baker and Payton Atkins on the call.
The Wildcats enter the contest with a 1-0-1 mark on the season after battling Purdue to a 1-1 draw in the season opener and posting a dominant 3-0 win against Marshall in the home opener. Jordyn Rhodes scored all three of UK’s goals against the Herd for the second hat trick of her career, the first which came during the SEC Tournament First Round on Nov. 13, 2020.
Following her three-goal effort, Rhodes is now just the second UK player to ever record more than one hat trick in their time in the blue and white, joining Cheryl Shimovetz who also had two back in 1992. Now with a pair of hat tricks on her resume, the junior is also one of only five Wildcats to ever score at least three goals in a given contest.
Rhodes, who also had an assist at Purdue, leads Kentucky with seven points and 11 shots, including six on goal. Hannah Richardson notched the first goal of the season against the Boilermakers for two points, while Miranda Jimenez and Maria Olsen both have one assist on the year. In net, Laura Nielsen has recorded 11 saves for a .917 save percentage through the first two matches.
The Southeastern Conference announced its preseason watch list ahead of the season opener with four Wildcats receiving a nod from the league. Rhodes was tabbed to the watch list for the second year in a row, while Julia Grosso, Olsen, and Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir appeared on the list for the first time in their careers.
UK returned 21 letterwinners and added 11 newcomers to its roster this fall. The returning players are responsible for 100 percent of goals scored, 98 percent of shots taken, 100 percent of shots on goal, and 100 percent of assists recorded during the 2020-21 season. Combined with the proven skill set of the returners, Kentucky’s freshman class provides the Wildcats with depth in every position.
The Ragin’ Cajuns will arrive in Lexington with a 1-1 record on the year after being picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll under head coach Lance Key, who is now in his third season at the helm. Benefitting off an own goal, Louisiana bested Prairie View, 1-0, in the season opener before falling to Mississippi State, 2-0.
After two games, Hailey Hoffman leads the team with three shots while Libby Harper has recorded six saves for a .750 save percentage. Louisiana also returns senior midfielder Lizzie Mayfield, who landed on the 2021 Preseason All-SBC team. In 2020, Mayfield was the team’s leader in points (18), goals (6), assists (6), and shots (50) en route to earning First Team All-SBC honors and being named the league’s Newcomer of the Year.
Thursday’s match will be the first meeting between the Wildcats and Ragin’ Cajuns in program history.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer program, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter and on Instagram, on Facebook, and on the web at UKathletics.com.
