Kentucky jumped out to a two-goal lead less than nine minutes into Sunday evening's (Sept. 7) match at the Bell Soccer Complex and cruised to a 3-0 victory over Morehead State.
The Southeastern Conference Wildcats improve to 5-1-0 overall, while the Ohio Valley Conference Eagles slip to 3-1-2. MSU is still three wins better than its six-match record (0-5-1) a season ago.
"I thought our team was ready to play, but we weren't ready to play at Kentucky's speed," Head Coach Warren Lipka said. "The first nine minutes were pretty rough, but I thought we made some adjustments, settled down and played competitive soccer after that."
Sophomore forward Jade Klump put Kentucky on the scoreboard in the seventh minute off an assist from senior forward Arin Gilliland. It was Klump's third goal of the campaign.
Junior defender Olivia Jester added her first goal of the year just two minutes later. Sophomore forward Michaela Dooley finished the scoring in the 31st minute on her third tally of 2014.
Kentucky posted advantages of 18-8 in shots, 7-3 in shots on goal and 3-2 in corner kicks. Morehead State was whistled for 10 fouls, while the Wildcats committed just one.
"We talked about not losing sight of our game plan if Kentucky scored first," Lipka said. "We certainly got out of our rhythm early, but eventually put the rough start behind us."
Sophomore forward Angela Black paced Morehead State with three shots, while senior forward Jade Flory added two. The Eagles had just four players with an offensive attempt.
Freshman goalkeeper Taylor Braun earned the win by collecting three saves in just over 81 minutes.
"I'm glad our young ladies had this experience," Lipka said. "Kentucky is very good and will likely be in the NCAA Tournament. We would love to win another OVC Tournament this year and take it a step further by playing well enough to defeat a quality opponent like UK."
Morehead State returns to Jayne Stadium on Friday (Sept. 12) when it hosts Louisville at 6 p.m. The Eagles wrap up the weekend against Wyoming on Sunday (Sept. 14) at 12:30 p.m.
"Our Friday night crowd was very good, and we hope that type of support continues," Lipka added. "Our student-athletes tend to play better in front of bigger home crowds. We appreciate everyone who came out and hope they come back when we play Louisville."