Tylenda’s Brace Rescues Cats, Defeats ETSU
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Thanks to the second brace in three matches from Alexis Tylenda, including an 89th minute game-winner, Kentucky (3-0-0) rescued a 2-1 victory over East Tennessee State (1-1-1) to continue its perfect start to the 2025 season.
Tylenda now has five goals through the first eight days of the season, surpassing her mark of three goals scored during her SEC All-Freshman Team campaign last year. A Kentucky player has scored a brace in all three matches this season, with Tylenda achieving the feat in each of the last two matches.
With the victory, Kentucky has extended its unbeaten streak at home to 17 matches. Also, the Wildcats have claimed victory in each of their last 15 regular season non-conference matches. Both of those streaks date to the 2023 season.
On the night, the Wildcats dominated possession 61 percent to 39, but were actually outshot by ETSU 12-11, a stark contrast from the one shot allowed by Kentucky over the first two matches this season. Kentucky took nine corners compared to ETSU’s two and the Cats committed 10 fouls to the Bucs’ two.
After a fairly uneventful opening quarter-hour, Tylenda opened the scoring in the 16th minute. A free kick from Anna Sikorski bounced around in the six-yard-box, allowing Tanner Strickland to deflect the ball towards the Cats’ leading goal scorer, who easily buried the close-range hit with her right foot. The assist from Strickland was her third on the year, a team-leading mark.
The Buccaneers had their first chance in the 21st minute, but starting goalkeeper Khadijah Cissé picked up her first collegiate save by knocking the ball away. ETSU was able to take a shot off the rebound that hit the post, but Kentucky was eventually able to clear and sustain its advantage.
In the 30th minute, Strickland drew a penalty kick for the third time in three matches, but Catherine Rapp’s attempt went off the left post and into the mitts of ETSU keeper Addison Yelton.
Other than a fairly simple save from Cissé in the 41st minute, the first half ended without any more action and with Kentucky leading 1-0.
The Wildcats continued their trend of switching goalkeepers in between halves, with Megan Holland tending the net for the final 45 minutes. Despite Kentucky taking control of possession out of the break, ETSU was able to equalize on a counterattack in the 57th minute and score the first goal against Kentucky this season. A long ball near midfield was played by Ella Parker and a failed clearance allowed Alex Beck to chip Holland and level the match.
Despite continued attack from Kentucky, the 1-1 scoreline would hold for nearly the remainder of the match. The Cats would come closet to finding the net was in the 77th minute when Tylenda played a laser from the top of the 18-yard-box to Strickland, whose attempt at a redirect at the goal mouth spun just wide.
With the match seeming all but drawn, Tylenda took matters into her own hands. Receiving the ball from Anna Sikorksi after a string of successful passes from the Cats, the Pittsburgh native turned on the ball from around 25 yards out, made a move past her defender, switched the ball to her right foot, and delivered a 16-yard strike into the upper right corner of the net to net the third game-winning goal of her career.
The final two minutes did not pass without events, however, as Holland was forced to come up with a massive save in the 89th minute to preserve the Kentucky advantage. The freshman from Barrington, Ill. earned her first career win in net on the night after totaling three saves in her one half of play.
The Wildcats will continue their season-opening nine-match homestand on Sunday, August 24, welcoming Detroit Mercy to the Bell for a 1 p.m. ET contest on the SEC Network +. Admission to all 2025 Kentucky Soccer regular season home matches will be free to the public.
For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Facebook, Instagram, X and at UKathletics.com.
