Wildcats Set for Quarterfinal Clash with Georgia on Tuesday
PENSACOLA, Fla. – Kentucky women’s soccer (9-3-6) meets the SEC East Division Champion, Georgia (8-4-5) in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament, Tuesday at 1 p.m. (ET) at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex. The game will air nationally on SEC Network with Mike Watts and Jill Loyden on the call.
The Wildcats advanced out of Sunday’s opening round in penalty kicks over LSU to punch their ticket to the conference quarterfinals for the first time since 2014. After 90 minutes of regulation and two, 10-minute overtimes did not provide a goal for either team, the match headed to penalty kicks to be decided. There, Kentucky buried four of its five attempts with Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir, Grace Phillpotts, Maddie Eastman and Jordyn Rhodes all finding the back of the net to help the Cats advance. Goalkeeper Marz Josephson stopped two LSU PK bids, adding to her six previous saves in what was the grad-transfer’s ninth shutout this season.
UK is now slated to battle Georgia for the second time in less than two weeks. The two sides met in Athens back on Oct. 19, with UGA emerging with the win, 1-0, courtesy of a first-half goal from SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, Summer Denigan. Denigan leads her squad with five goals this season, while midfielder Nicole Vernis has a team-best 13 points. Georgia’s group also features Second Team All-SEC selection, Croix Bethune, and SEC All-Freshmen member, Kierra Staude.
Tuesday’s meeting will be the second all time between Kentucky and Georgia at the SEC Tournament, the first coming back in 1999. That year, a 1-1 draw saw the Bulldogs advance through in penalties in the first-round matchup. UK trails the overall series with the Dawgs 9-15-5, having lost the last three contests between the schools.
The winner of Tuesday’s quarterfinal will advance on to the semifinal round on Thursday to face the winner of South Carolina and Texas A&M.
For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram at @UKWomensSoccer, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
