Kentucky women’s soccer (7-3-0, 1-1-0 SEC) fell to No. 21 Georgia (6-2-2, 2-0-0 SEC) by a final score of 1-0.
The Bulldogs nearly jumped out in front early in the 14th minute when freshman Ava Stack fired a shot on goal, but it was saved by Kentucky goalie Khadijah Cissé.
The rest of the first half was all defense for both teams, but specifically for the Cats, it was Grace Hoytink who would not back down and made it very tough on the Georgia offense.
Hoytink played very tough defense against the Bulldog offense, which was consistently applying pressure on the Wildcats’ defense. Georgia entered the box, and she would be right there to repel any attack it had.
The junior from Wisconsin has started in every game and clocked in all 90 minutes of the contest against the Bulldogs.
The one break that almost came in the 28th minute for the Cats was when Hoytink placed a corner kick right in front of the goal and Katherine Truitt took the pass and scored, but she was immediately ruled offside.
Coming out of the half, Georgia put a lot of pressure on the Cats’ defense, but they held strong. In the 74th minute, the Bulldogs almost got the break they needed when Mya Townes put a shot on goal, but it was scooped up and saved by Cissé.
Both teams were putting pressure on the goal for most of the contest, but the Bulldogs eventually broke the tie in the 78th minute with a goal from Stack.
Stack has had a quiet freshman season for the most part up until this point, but she came up big for the Bulldogs in the match and played 83 minutes, her highest total on the year.
The freshman hero is from Acworth, Ga. and in only her second game starting for the Bulldogs, she drilled the eventual game winner.
The Wildcats weren’t completely out of the fight just yet and in the 81st minute, Catherine Rapp almost tied up the game with a shot on goal, but it was reeled in by Georgia goalie Hannah Folliard.
The rest of the way was smooth sailing for the Bulldogs as they held control for the rest of the match and denied any other attempts from the Cats. Their defense was the standout of the contest, apart from the game-saving goal by Stack.
The Cats didn’t seem to have much of an answer for the Bulldog defense and couldn’t quite find the net in the three shot attempts they had.
The Cats return home to the Bell for its next match on Sunday, Sept. 21st, at 1 p.m., where they look to respond in a conference showdown with the Missouri Tigers. The contest will be streamed live on SEC Network+.
