WKU Battles to 0-0 Road Draw at Kentucky

Sunday, August 25

Lexington, Ky.

1 P.M. CT

Western Kentucky University

1-1-0, 0-0-0

Kentucky

0-2-0, 0-0-0

Western Ky.

Kentucky

8/25/2019 4:45:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the first meeting between the in-state rivals since 2009, WKU and Kentucky battled to a scoreless draw over 110 minutes on Sunday afternoon at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex to close the opening weekend of the regular season.

WKU (1-0-1) extended its shutout streak to start the 2019 campaign to 200 minutes after also shutting out Belmont 5-0 on Thursday evening. The positive result on Sunday afternoon was WKU's first against an SEC opponent since also drawing 0-0 against Tennessee on Sept. 15, 2013.

Preseason All-C-USA selection Ambere Barnett led all players with four shots on the day as WKU amassed a 16-6 edge in shot attempts over Kentucky (0-0-2). The Lady Toppers also held a significant edge in corner kicks, outcornering the Wildcats by a 9-4 margin to generate pressure off the set pieces.

In total, 19 different players saw action for the Lady Toppers on Sunday afternoon, with all but two of those playing at least 10 minutes. WKU's back line defenders Kaylyn Bryant, Lyric Schmidt, Christina Bragado and Avery Jacobsen each played the full 110 minutes to anchor the stout defensive effort.

Anne-Marie Ulliac played the full match in goal for WKU, making five saves to preserve her first solo shutout on The Hill after missing all but one match in 2018. Three of Ulliac's five saves came in the final 15 minutes of regulation to stave off Kentucky's efforts to find a late match-winning goal.

"We felt we played a good match today and certainly created enough chances to get a better result. We need to be more clinical with our chances, and that will come in time," Head Coach Jason Neidell said. "Overall, we had a successful opening weekend and have a strong foundation to build on moving forward into the season."

For Kentucky, Miranda Jimenez led the way with three shots, putting a pair of those on frame. Steph Stull also played the full 110 minutes between the posts for the Wildcats, saving attempts from Chandler Backes and Deven Jackson to post a clean sheet.

WKU came out of the gates firing, nearly jumping ahead in just the second minute of play when Bryant found space and fired on goal, sending her chance just inches outside the right post. The Lady Toppers kept the early pressure on, creating four corner kick opportunities in the opening 10 minutes, but were unable to get a better look than Bryant's early effort.

Backes nearly broke through for the Lady Toppers in the 34th minute, spinning into the box and off of her defender to find herself with no one to beat before the goalkeeper. WKU's active leading career goalscorer put a shot on frame from the spot, but Stull was there for the stop to preserve the deadlock. Neither side was able to muster another shot through the halftime break, entering the locker rooms in a scoreless draw.

Two more corners in the 60th minute again came close to producing a breakthrough for WKU. Aleksandra Kozovic played in the second, with the ball pinballing around the box before falling to the foot of Bryant. Her initial attempt was blocked away by a Kentucky defender, but Barnett's followup would have found the back of the net had it not been cleared off the line.

Just under 20 minutes later, WKU again had a strong effort denied by Stull that ultimately sent the two sides into overtime. Jackson found space with a run through the right side but sent her shot straight into the hands of the Wildcats' keeper as the two sides closed out regulation still locked in a draw.

In the two 10-minute golden-goal overtime periods, the lone shot on goal came off the foot of Kentucky's Jimenez in the 92nd minute. Ulliac stepped up to deny the opportunity and both defenses held strong down the stretch as the Lady Toppers picked up the favorable result on the road.

With Sunday's bout complete, WKU will remain on the road next Friday evening at 7 p.m. as the Lady Toppers travel to Birmingham, Ala., to battle Samford. WKU trails 2-1 in the all-time series and has not defeated Samford since a 1-0 victory during the program's inaugural season in 2001. In the most recent match between the two, Samford picked up a 1-0 win in Bowling Green on Sept. 10, 2017.