UK Women’s Soccer loses after Second Half Surge by No. 8 South Carolina

The Kentucky women’s soccer team dropped its second match running in the heat and humidity of the Palmetto State on Sunday afternoon, as the No. 8 South Carolina Gamecocks remained undefeated in 2016 by knocking off UK, 3-0 at Stone Stadium.
After a scoreless first half that saw UK fend off 14 USC shots and five of them on goal, the Gamecocks exploded in the middle part of the second half, striking for three goals in 11 minutes to put the match away.
The match-winning goal game in the 56th minute off the foot of Sophie Groff, her first goal of the season, off a rebound inside the six-yard box. Groff took the rebound off of a Savannah McCaskill shot that UK goalkeeper Evangeline Soucie saved well and poked it into the back of the net for the goal.
With the win, South Carolina remains as one of the few unbeaten teams in the country at 10-0-1 on the year and is now a perfect 4-0-0 in the Southeastern Conference sitting on 12 points. Kentucky drops to 4-5-2 on the season and is 0-3-1 in the SEC with one point to its name on the SEC table.
The Gamecocks second goal came on 64 minutes in the match when USC defender Kaleigh Kurtz scored a fantastic goal going upper 90 from 26 yards out off an attempted clear that was virtually unsaleable by Soucie and into the back of the net. The strike was also her first of the season.
USC would tack on a third goal in the 67th minute off a serve and finish inside the area. Lindsey Lane scored the goal off a cross from McCaskill, who netted her second point on the day – also assisting on the Gamecocks first goal of the match in the 56th minute.
Kentucky will look to snap its two-match losing streak on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Ole Miss Rebels at the Bell Soccer Complex. The match will be shown live on the SEC Network+, ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Dave Baker and Megan Skiller calling the action.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
————————–
by Chris Shoals
UK Media Relations