The underdogs in Kentucky Women’s soccer dominated against ranked No. 9 UCLA Sunday afternoon at The Bell Soccer Complex the Cats beat the Bruins, making their record 7-0 for the first time since 2013.

Kentucky started strong in the first half by keeping the pressure on the opponents.

For the first goal of the game, Makala Woods was able to make a run for the ball that Maddie Kemp assisted into the box. Ryan Campbell, the goalie for UCLA, lunged out of her net and clashed with Woods, giving Kentucky its third penalty kick of the year.

At halftime the Wildcats were up 1-0, but head coach Troy Fabiano made sure the team stayed in front and balanced when to be aggressive and when to take a more passive defensive approach.

“I think we picked and chose perfect times, when to press and when not to press,” Fabiano said. “But towards the end, obviously keeping our back four always in front. So it’s a really good team effort from top to bottom.”

In the second half, in the 63rd minute, Kentucky got a foul call going its way after Mia Bookhard was pulled down on the far side close to the box.

Taking the kick for the Cats was Catherine DeRosa, who took the free kick and stepped up to shoot a well-placed ball over the wall that dipped down in time to get past Campbell and give her team a 2-0 lead.

The goal marked DeRosa’s first at Kentucky after transferring from Maryland.

The Wildcat game plan from then was to run out the clock and to play good defense against UCLA. The Bruins applied a heavy pressure against Kentucky, but the Cats handled eleven shots in the second period to complete the shutout.

For the Wildcats, the win marked their seventh straight at home dating back to last season. Furthermore, after three games in the history of the series, the Wildcats triumphed against the Bruins for the first time and forced UCLA to surrender its most goals on the season.

Kentucky’s next match will be this Friday at The Bell Soccer Complex against Kent State for senior night at 7:30 p.m. ET.