Women’s soccer secures third-straight win over Louisville
Junior forward Arin Gilliland scores from a penalty kick against Louisville at UK Soccer Complex in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, Sept. 6, 2013. Photo by Tom Hurley
September 8, 2013
By Kevin Erpenbeck | Women’s Soccer Beat Writer
UK women’s soccer faced Louisville on Friday at the UK Soccer Complex. After 90 minutes of play, the Cats defeated the Cardinals for the third consecutive time, this time with a score of 2-0.
UK went into the match on Friday riding a three-game undefeated streak, and had only allowed one goal in 290 minutes of play. Cats head coach Jon Lipsitz alluded to his team’s excitement in his media press conference on Thursday.
“They’re so ramped up and excited for this game,” Lipsitz said on Thursday. “They don’t need our urging to get them going, that’s for sure.”
UK senior goalkeeper Kayla King recorded her second shutout victory of the season. King combined with freshman goalkeeper Ayanna Parker for a shutout victory against Eastern Kentucky University on Aug. 30. The Louisville native was playing her final match against her hometown school.
“It’s a great team shutout,” King said. “Shutouts are what we want, and it’s a little sweeter against Louisville on our home field. I think this is a moment I won’t ever forget.”
The senior goalkeeper kept true to her leadership mentality, however, as she noted that the Cats have quick turnaround ahead of them.
“Tomorrow, this goes away,” King said. “We need to get another shutout and another win at home against Dayton on Sunday.”
Junior forward Arin Gilliland scored her first goal of the season. After attributing to four assists before Friday’s match, Gilliland said it felt great to finally score.
“I kind of felt like I was in a hump,” Gilliland said. “But I don’t mind being the person who does the assists. Being able to score is great, but at the end of the day, it’s the scoreboard, and it’s a win.”
Lipsitz noted that in the first half, the team was playing at a slow pace, and that they needed to play faster and more physical in the second half. The players responded with junior midfielder Stuart Pope’s goal in the 51’ minute. It was Pope’s fourth goal of the season.
“They really responded at half time,” Lipsitz said. “We made a very specific adjustment for what we wanted to do before we crossed the ball, and they did it. I was very proud of them.”
Lipsitz also noted that a rivalry game like this can really help accelerate the growth of the young players on the team, which has 23 underclassmen this year, depending on how they respond in the next game.
“The question is do they get psyched up for this game, and now they’re done,” Lipsitz said. “Or do they see this as a door they walk through and close it behind them, and get better next game. Consistency is the most difficult thing about coaching young players. Now the challenge is for them to do it again.”
The Cats stay at the UK Soccer Complex over the weekend to face the University of Dayton (2-3-0) on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
