Skip to main content

Kentucky Women's Soccer Kicks Off SEC Play with Top 20 Upset

Nick-Roush-headshotby: Nick Roush6 hours agoRoushKSR
Mallory Glass slides for the Kentucky women's soccer team, via Camryn Williams, UK Athletics
Mallory Glass slides for the Kentucky women's soccer team, via Camryn Williams, UK Athletics

The Kentucky women’s soccer team bounced back from a loss to the No. 20 team in the country by beating the No. 20 team in the country.

The Wildcats were shut out in a 2-0 loss to No. 20 Ohio State on Sunday at The Bell. When the deck was reshuffled in the national rankings, it brought No. 20 Oklahoma to Lexington. This time, Kentucky was prepared to play spoiler.

Anna Sikorski was the catalyst for Kentucky in the first half. Her cross ricocheted off a Sooner’s arm. She was awarded a penalty kick and got the Cats on the board in the 43rd minute.

Kentucky did not lose that momentum during halftime. The Cats came out hot, with Sikorski leading the way in transition. She connected with Tanner Strickland, who slipped one right beneath the goalie’s legs to give Kentucky a 2-0 advantage. It’s the junior’s second goal of the season and the first against an SEC opponent in her career.

Kentucky was in control throughout the match. The Wildcats possessed the ball for 62% of the match and had 7 shots on goal, compared to just 3 for the Sooners. Oklahoma made a late charge, scoring a goal in the 83rd minute, but could not overcome the deficit.

Kentucky won with a final score of 2-1, improving to 7-2-0 on the season. It’s the third straight season they’ve picked up a Top 20 victory, and the first time since 2015 the Wildcats have won an SEC opener.

The Kentucky women’s soccer team will hit the road to take on Georgia next Thursday, before returning home to take on Missouri at The Bell on Sunday.

Sign up for KSR+ today – $1 for the first week, plus a complimentary year of access to The Athletic included.

Discuss This Article

Comments have moved.

Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.

KSBoard

2025-09-13