UK Women’s Soccer Visits Georgia on Sunday Afternoon
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s soccer team is back on the road to play Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 10 at the Turner Soccer Complex in Athens. The match will commence at 2 p.m. ET and be carried on SEC Network+ with Jeff Dantzler and Tatum Hodge on the call.
The Wildcats will arrive in Athens with a 6-6-2 record on the year, which includes a 0-5 mark in conference play. Kentucky dropped a 4-1 decision to Vanderbilt on Thursday in their latest appearance where Maria Olsen netted her second career goal off a header in the 72nd minute.
Leading Kentucky is Jordyn Rhodes in several categories: goals (9), assists (5), points (23), shots (46), and shots on goal (21). Her nine goals and 23 points thus far both rank second in the conference while her 46 shots and 0.64 goals per game sit in third and fourth, respectively. She is also tied for the fifth-most goals scored in the NCAA so far this year.
Hannah Richardson is right behind Rhodes with eight goals — good enough to be tied for third in the league and sixth in the nation — and paves the way for UK with a trio of two-goal games on the year. The dynamic duo of Rhodes and Richardson have combined for 17 goals so far this season, which ranks fourth nationally for top scoring duos.
Between the posts, Laura Nielsen has recorded 53 saves and 3.79 saves per game to rank second in league standings. Her .757 save percentage is sixth amongst all SEC goalkeepers.
The Bulldogs enter Sunday’s contest with a 9-3-1 mark on the season and are 2-2-1 in SEC action, most recently posting a 1-0 victory at Missouri on Thursday. Georgia has two ranked wins under its belt this year: It bested then-ranked No. 15 Clemson, 3-1, on Sept. 2 before taking down No. 5 LSU, 2-1, on Sept. 26.
Georgia forward Mollie Belisle sits atop the SEC leader board in goals (12), goals per game (0.92), points (25), shots (63), and shots per game (4.85). The graduate student’s 12 goals rank second in the NCAA as of Oct. 7, and she is tied for fifth nationally in points and ranks sixth in shots.
Belisle and Dani Murguia (7 goals), as well as Belisle and Danielle Lewin (7 goals), have each combined for a total of 19 goals. Both pairs of Bulldogs are tied for the top scoring duo in the NCAA this season.
Sunday will be the 27th meeting between the Wildcats and Bulldogs in program history with Georgia leading the all-time series record at 12-9-5. Kentucky will seek to take the lead of the teams’ all-time mark of matches played in Athens, which currently sits at 5-5-2.
The last meeting between the two foes on Oct. 11, 2020, ended in a 1-1 draw in Lexington with Rhodes scoring off a penalty kick in the 25th minute. The Cats and Dawgs are currently on a two-game tie streak after recording another 1-1 decision on Oct. 24, 2019, in Athens.
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.
