By Kevin Erpenbeck

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UK women’s soccer dropped its first conference game of the season on Friday, losing to Arkansas 2-1 in double overtime.

The Cats fell behind early in the second half when Arkansas defender Alexandra Fischer took a header from midfielder Claire Kelley and shot the ball past UK freshman goalkeeper Taylor Braun.

UK responded with a goal of its own 20 minutes later when sophomore forward Jade Klump scored the equalizer for her fourth goal of the season.

The game was pushed to overtime after ending in a 1-1 tie in regulation. Arkansas controlled the pace in the first overtime, outshooting the Cats by a margin of 4-1, but could not score the winning goal in the 10 minute period.

It was not until the fifth minute did the Razorbacks make the game-ending goal when midfielder Tyler Allen shot a free kick past Braun and straight into the net.

The Cats doubled up the amount of shot attempts that Arkansas took during regulation by a margin of 18-9, but it was the extra periods that doomed them, taking only one shot compared to Arkansas’ six. Braun kept UK in the game, making five saves on the day, including two during the overtime periods. But it was not enough to get UK a W in its first Southeastern Conference opponent this season.

The Cats will return home on September 26 to take on Mississippi State at the Bell Soccer Complex.