In a Thursday night matchup which pitted Kentucky women’s soccer head coach Troy Fabiano against a familiar foe, the Wildcats scored a 4-1 win over Wright State at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex. The result brings the Cats to 6-1-0 on the 2022 season, continuing the program’s best start since 2015.
Junior Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir notched a pair of goals, and nearly managed a third, while Maggy Henschler and Jordyn Rhodes had one apiece in what was the penultimate non-conference match for the Kentucky.
Fabiano, who spent the past seven seasons in the Horizon League at Milwaukee, earned the victory against his old-conference rival, improving to 9-0-1 against the Raiders in his career.
The first chance of the night came in the eighth minute when winger Rafferty Kugler lofted a perfect cross over the Wright State defense for an Úlfarsdóttir header which hit off the left post.
Not to be denied an early lead, however, Kentucky came back in the 14th minute and capitalized on its first corner of the match. Senior captain Hannah Richardson played the lucrative set piece, which found its way to fellow captain Maggy Henschler. Henschler proceeded to bump a left-footed shot past the Raiders’ goalkeeper, making the score 1-0 in the Wildcats’ favor.
Just minutes later, UK doubled its lead as junior midfielder Úlfa Úlfarsdóttir produced a highlight-worthy goal, curling a left-footed shot perfectly into the upper-right corner from 25 yards out.
Kentucky would take that 2-0 advantage to the half, marking the fifth time this season in which the Wildcats have owned the halftime lead.
The Cats widened the margin in the 61st minute as Jordyn Rhodes was the beneficiary of another Richardson assist. After Richardson carried the ball into the offensive zone, the senior gave to Rhodes, who cut back to her left foot before firing a shot off a Wright State defender and into the left side of the goal.
The visitors got one back in the 64th minute on a header by senior Kaylin Helinski, but Kentucky regained the three-goal spread when Úlfarsdóttir converted a penalty kick in the 71st minute of the match.
In the waning minutes of play, senior goalkeeper Steph Stull checked into the match for the Wildcats for what was her first appearance on the 2022 season. Stull did not see a shot in the final five minutes of action, and the whistle blew for a 4-1 final.
UK rounds out the non-conference portion of its schedule this Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Cats face Eastern Michigan at the Bell Soccer Complex. The match will serve as Senior Day for Kentucky with 10 Wildcats set to be honored at a pregame ceremony beginning at approximately 12 p.m.
For the latest on UK Women’s Soccer, follow the Wildcats on Twitter and Instagram at @UKWomensSoccer, on Facebook and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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Greg Welsh
