Alabama
3-4-2
Kentucky
7-1-1
Alabama Soccer Falls to Kentucky, 1-0
9/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Sept. 18, 2015
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama soccer team was defeated by the Kentucky Wildcats by a final score of 1-0 on Friday night at the Alabama Soccer Complex. Kentucky's Katy Keen scored the game's only goal in the 11th minute, converting a corner kick from junior Kaitlin Miller. With the loss, Alabama falls to 3-4-2, including an even 1-1 mark against Southeastern Conference opponents. The Wildcats improve to 7-1-1, 2-2 against conference foes.
"I'm obviously disappointed with tonight's result," said head coach Wes Hart. "There were times throughout the game when I thought our team lacked some energy, and that is very uncharacteristic for us. We showed some life late in the game, but unfortunately were not able to find the equalizer."
Alabama was held to just five shots throughout the contest, as the Wildcats posted their SEC-leading 7th shutout of the 2015 season. Sophomore Hailey Brohaugh led the Tide with a pair of shots, while junior Celia Jimenez collected the team's lone shot on goal. Keen's goal for Kentucky was the sophomore's second of the season.
"I give all the credit in the world to Kentucky," Hart added. "They are a very well-coached, highly-efficient team. We started to show some more energy in the final minutes of the match, but Kentucky did a good job of countering us all night."
Keen unlocked the scoreless tie at the 10:36 mark in the opening half, finding the back of the net on a corner kick re-fire from Miller. The ball was played by Miller from about 30 yards from goal on UK's right side of the attack where Keen was making a run and finished towards the left post.
"We were able to clear the initial corner kick, but didn't do a good job of marking on the weak side," said Hart. "As we were coming out, we lost track of the weak side runner and they were able to convert."
A momentum swing for Kentucky numbers-wise in the 74th minute saw Alabama's Tori Gann booked by the center official for the second time in the match (60:05) and was sent off, forcing the Tide to play with ten for the final 17 minutes of the match.
Alabama will close out this season-long, four-game homestand on Sunday when it welcomes Jacksonville State to the Alabama Soccer Complex. Opening kick between the Tide and Gamecocks is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be available on SECN+.
"As with all games, we will let it soak in tonight, learn from it, and then move on," Hart added. We have another game on Sunday that we now shift our focus towards."
Get all the latest information on the team by following AlabamaSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. General athletic news can also be found at UA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram and Alabama Athletics on Facebook.
Team Stats
Keen, Katy (2)
Assisted By: Miller, Kaitlin
converted corner, left footer
10:36
