Kentucky women's soccer shuts out Florida to advance in SEC Tournament
It just means more wins in the SEC Tournament for Kentucky women’s soccer, the sixth-seeded Wildcats getting their first victory in Pensacola with a shutout vs. No. 11 seed Florida to send the Gators back to Gainesville.
Catherine Rapp gave UK the lead just 11 minutes into the opening period and the Cats never looked back to finish with the 1-0 victory, building upon their momentum to end the regular season after winning 11 straight entering the conference tournament.
It marked the first SEC Tournament win for fourth-year coach Troy Fabiano in his third consecutive appearance in the event. The only time the Wildcats had advanced under his leadership came via penalties after a 0-0 tie against LSU in 2023. They entered postseason play with an 11-4-3 overall record and 5-2-3 in the SEC while also finishing fifth in the SEC table with 18 points — best for a Fabiano-led squad and a first for the program since 2014.
They backed that up in Pensacola.
Prior to Sunday’s win, Kentucky had lost five of its six prior matchups vs. Florida in the SEC Tournament with the lone win coming back in the 2006 Championship battle. The Gators came out on top most recently in the wild 6-5 finish back in 2020 — until today.
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With the win, the Wildcats move on to take on No. 3 seed Georgia, who sits at No. 17 nationally, in the quarterfinals at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 4 on SEC Network.
Individually, three Kentucky standouts earned All-SEC honors this season, led by junior defender Grace Hoytink on the All-SEC Second Team. She is joined by junior midfielder Tanner Strickland, who earned a spot on the All-SEC Third Team after starting every match for the Wildcats. Defender Gabi Poretto also received an All-Freshman Team nod.
Just how far can they go in Pensacola? Their journey continues on Tuesday.
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