By Kevin Erpenbeck

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It was a challenging home weekend series that UK had to win after losing two consecutive overtime games against Pepperdine and Arkansas.

The Cats responded to that challenge winning 2-1 against Auburn on Sunday and 3-0 against Mississippi State on Friday.

“Sometimes your back is up against the wall, and you have to find out who you are,” said head coach Jon Lipsitz. “When you fall, the question is ‘Are you going to continue to fall, or are you going to get up?’ Pepperdine and Arkansas really stung, and we needed to find a way win two games.”

Sunday’s match against Auburn proved to be the most competitive match of the weekend, as the Tigers came into Lexington with a 6-3-1 record. But the Cats remained unfazed, even after seeing their first-half lead against the Tigers last just two minutes.

Sophomore forward Jade Klump notched UK’s first goal in the 28th minute after a mad scramble for the ball occurred in the box. But Auburn killed the momentum quickly, scoring on a shot from the top of the box that whizzed by sophomore goalkeeper Ayanna Parker, who was starting in goal for usual starting freshman goalkeeper Taylor Braun.

Braun was suspended earlier in the week for violation of team rules. While the freshman was reinstated for Sunday’s match, Lipsitz decided to stick with Parker after she secured a shutout against Mississippi State.

Close games got away from UK against Pepperdine and Arkansas. The Cats were not going to let it happen a third time.

In the 67th minute, sophomore Zoe Swift broke the tie with a header to secure UK’s victory over the Tigers.

“I just saw I had to put it in the goal and do the details we had been talking about in practice all week,” Swift said. “We had a good practice, and I worked on being more physical, getting low and doing the little things that I had been forgetting. But it’s all coming back to me, and I’m working on continuing to be a difference maker in games.”

Friday’s win over         Mississippi State was the first SEC win of the season for the Cats.

UK attacked early and often against Mississippi State, shooting the ball 19 times with 11 of them being on goal. Senior midfielder Courtney Raetzman scored two goals in the match, including the game’s first goal in the 16th minute.

“Honestly, I’m speechless about it,” Raetzman said after the win. “I’ve been waiting for this kind of thing to happen. We’ve been focusing on shooting, scoring and finishing this past week in practice. Finishing has been our big thing. So to get two goals really helps with my confidence, and it feels good to know that all of my hard work has been paying off.”

The defense stepped up to the challenge as well after allowing five goals in the Cats’ previous two games. Parker did not even have to make a single save in the match

“She trains so hard every day,” Lipsitz said about Parker. “I said many times that goalkeepers may not be physically exhausted, but they should be mentally exhausted. We train so that every player is ready, and when a player can’t play or isn’t chosen to play, then we say ‘Next,’ and the next player should step up and ready.”

After Sunday’s match, UK president Eli Capilouto presented senior captain Arin Gilliland with the Honda Inspiration Award. Gilliland received the award for inspiring her team and her coaches after losing her mother to cancer in 2011.

“It’s phenomenal for them to do that for me; to come out here and support me,” Gilliland said. “It’s above and beyond anything that I could have ever imagined. This game means the world to me, and I’m really honored to receive this award.”