Road Trip to No. 9 Arkansas Marks Final Test for Women’s Soccer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 2022 season reaches its conclusion for Kentucky women’s soccer this Thursday when the Wildcats (7-8-2, 0-7-2 SEC) make the trip to No. 9 Arkansas (10-3-3, 5-2-2 SEC) for a 7:30 p.m. EDT tilt on SECN+.

UK is bidding for its first win against a ranked opponent since the Cats defeated No. 15 Arkansas back in 2016, and the program’s first victory over a top-10 squad since beating No. 5 Florida in 2014.

Kentucky has earned results in two of its last three matches, posting draws against both Florida and Missouri before suffering a loss to Georgia this past Sunday.

Hannah Richardson and Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir lead the Cats with 17 points apiece, while senior Jordyn Rhodes follows closely behind at 15 points for the season. A trio of Wildcats have reached 5,000 minutes for their collegiate careers this year including Rhodes, Maggy Henschler and Taylor Hattori.

Arkansas enters Thursday’s match tied for third in the SEC standings. The Razorbacks have played 180 minutes of scoreless soccer over their last two matches, drawing both LSU and Ole Miss, 0-0. A stingy Arkansas defense has allowed just 10 goals all season, matching South Carolina for the fewest goals against in the conference. Graduate goalkeeper Grace Barbara leads the SEC with 10 shutouts, boasting 45 saves and a 0.833 save percentage. Offensively, junior Ava Tankersley has a team-high 20 points on five goals and 10 assists, while Anna Podojil has scored six times to lead the squad.

The Wildcats own a 13-10-2 advantage in the all-time series with Arkansas with its last win over the Razorbacks coming back in 2016.

For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKWomensSoccer, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.