Fireworks, lightning and delays ignite the rivalry against Louisville
September 5, 2015
By Jordan Ondrof
The stadium was filled with anxious cheering fans as the UK women’s soccer team took the field against rival Louisville. But moments before kickoff, lightning hit in the distance and the players were called back to their benches.
After over an hour delay, the stadium’s energy and numbers had not dwindled.
“There is nothing like Big Blue Nation. To see all of the support we had, even after the delay, was huge for us,” midfielder Courtney Raetzman said.
UK came out with determination, having something to prove after dropping from No.16 to No.22 in the rankings this week.
Attacking the Cards back line, the Cats came out aggressively in the first 10 minutes, getting multiple shots on goal, but they were unable to execute in the first half.
“Once our forwards and the midfielders got on the same page of where to get the ball and where to play them, it helped us start to connect the ball and propelled us into getting a goal,” midfielder Katy Keen said.
The physical nature of the game was in the Cats favor, out-muscling the Cards to win balls in the midfield.
Raetzman was playing like she was twice her size. The 4’11 midfielder was barreling through her opponents and knocking down anyone that stood in her way.
At the beginning of the second half, Raetzman got the ball in the corner, beat 3 defenders and got a shot off, not needing any assistance from her team mates.
In typical UK vs. UL fashion, things got chippy in the second half. Keen got a yellow card after an altercation defending Raetzman, who she referred to as “shorty.”
“Our team is so close and we fight for one another. I would do anything for every single one of those girls out there, “ Raetzman said.
Keen used the yellow card as fuel to her fire, scoring a few minutes later with a strike from the top of the box.
It was the perfect first goal for Keen coming against an in-state rival, a sort of initiation into Kentucky.
“It was my first collegiate goal and I couldn’t have dreamed it being in a better way,” Keen said.
Despite the lead, head coach Jon Lipsitz was visibly frustrated with the way his team handled the last few minutes of the game.
“We have to do a better job, which means I have to do a better job preparing the team for end of game situations,” Lipsitz said. “We haven’t had a game quite like that where there is so much more emotion in a rivalry game.”
