LEXINGTON, Ky. – It was the ideal season opener for the Wildcats women’s soccer team on Wednesday evening, marking the inaugural start of the calendar year for UK Athletics. The blue and white held nothing back, coming up with a 6-0 win in convincing fashion from start to finish.
It was two minutes into the game when the Wildcats struck first, with junior Lexi Tylenda sending a ball in from the left wing, unmarked and unassisted. Into the upper 90 it snuck, giving Kentucky the opening goal of the season and a 1-0 lead.
Moments later, the Titans snuck on the attack, but sophomore goalkeeper Megan Holland was there for the clean save and the only of the match.
Maintaining possession, the Wildcats saw a second opportunity just 10 minutes later at the 12 minute mark, as senior midfielder Nadia Ramadan hit one from the stripe of the penalty marker to extend the lead to two.
At 18 minutes on the clock, freshman forward Kyla Dawn took a hard foul in the box and a yellow card against Detroit Mercy’s goalkeeper Eva Hill. This rewarded Ramadan with her second made PK of the day to extend things to 3-0 in favor of Kentucky. Dawn went out for a moment but continued to play shortly after.
Dawn got an opportunity of her own at the 21-minute mark in the first half as junior midfielder Juliette Rayo snuck one inside the box for a finish right in front of the goal for the freshman. This extended the lead to 4-0, wrapping up all the action for the Wildcats in the first half where they took 14 shots to the Titans three.
In the second half, the Wildcat defense continued to stand strong alongside the electric offense, led by center backs Katherine Truitt and Michelle Moskau. The senior-junior duo held the Titans to zero shots in the second half and gave many in-the-air opportunities to UK on their 12 corner kicks in the later 45 minutes.
Continuing the attack, the plentiful substitutions kept legs fresh for the Wildcats. This proved to be too much for the Titans as Hill let the fifth goal soar past her due to a shot from outside the box by Rayo. Hitting the back of the net, Rayo led Kentucky to a 5-0 lead and was assisted by a beautiful pass from freshman Elle Price in minute 74 of play.
Finishing off the scoring with five minutes remaining, it was a freshman to freshman connection. Sydney Arendarczyk played a ball across and it was flicked in by Dani Chaump using her head for her first collegiate goal.
The strong night on the attack and solid defense led the Wildcats to their first victory of the season. The Bell rang six times as they gained confidence on both sides of the ball and completed the shutout.
The women’s soccer team (1-0-0, 0-0-0 SEC) will resume regular season play on Sunday as they host Kent State at 1 p.m. ET. Admission is free all season for all fans who wish to attend.
For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Facebook, Instagram, X and at UKathletics.com.
