Kentucky Hosts LSU for Senior Day on Thursday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – With just two home games remaining, the University of Kentucky women’s soccer team returns to the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex on Thursday, Oct. 14 for a 7 p.m. ET matchup against LSU.
Prior to the start of the match, the Wildcats will honor their five seniors in Marissa Bosco, Julia Grosso, Miranda Jimenez, Gretchen Mills, and Sarah Siekkinen as part of the senior day ceremony.
This will be the second nationally televised game for Kentucky, as Thursday’s match will be carried on SEC Network with Mike Watts and Jill Loyden on the call. For fans able to attend in person, admission to all matches at the Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex will be free to the public for the 2021 season.
The Wildcats enter Thursday’s contest with a 6-7-2 record on the year, which includes a 0-6 mark in conference play. Kentucky dropped a close 2-1 decision at Georgia in their latest appearance where Jordyn Rhodes netted her 10th goal of the season off an assist from Hannah Richardson.
Rhodes continues to lead UK in several categories: goals (10), assists (5), points (25), shots (48), and shots on goal (22). Her 10 goals and 25 points thus far both rank second in the conference while her 0.67 goals per game sit in third. She is also tied for the fourth-most goals scored in the NCAA so far this year.
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 18 goals so far this season, which ranks fourth nationally for top scoring duos.
Between the posts, Laura Nielsen has recorded 62 saves and 4.13 saves per game to rank second in league standings. Her .767 save percentage is fifth amongst all SEC goalkeepers and her nine saves at Georgia on Oct. 10 were two shy of her career-high 11.
LSU will arrive in Lexington with an 8-5 record on the year and is 1-5 in SEC action, most recently falling to No. 22 Auburn, 1-0, in overtime on Sunday. The Tigers’ sole league victory came in their conference opener against Mississippi State on Sept. 17 before dropping five straight matches.
Tinaya Alexander leads LSU with seven goals, three assists, 17 points, 46 shots, and 21 shots on goal. Goalkeeper Mollie Swift, who has recorded 48 saves and owns a .787 save percentage, ranks fourth in the SEC in both of those categories. The Tigers are led by Sian Hudson, who has amassed a 16-13-3 in her two years as the head coach.
Thursday will be the 23rd meeting between the Wildcats and Tigers in program history with UK looking to extend its all-time series record of 13-7-2. Kentucky will also seek to increase its mark on home turf, which currently falls in its favor at 5-2-2.
The last meeting between the two foes was on Oct. 31, 2019, in Baton Rouge which saw LSU defeat UK, 3-2. Rhodes recorded both goals in the 28th and 75th minutes, which was the second multi-goal game of the then-freshman’s career.
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.
