Nov. 15, 2013
Lexington, Ky.
UK Soccer Complex
Kentucky 3 (14-6-1, 7-4-0 SEC); Ohio State 1 (10-7-3, 4-5-2 Big Ten)
Attendance: 984
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Ohio State women’s soccer team fell to Kentucky, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening at the UK Soccer Complex. With the loss, the Buckeyes’ season ends with a 10-7-3 record, while the Wildcats move on to the second round with a 14-6-1 mark.
“We started eight freshmen or sophomores and gained a ton of experience being here,” Ohio State head coach Lori Walker said. “Kentucky has a great squad and presented a lot of problems for us. Both teams have been riddled with injuries and fortunately we were able to get two players back but we lost a couple key players, Ellyn Gruber and Danica Wu, for this game. We’re clearly disappointed and will miss some great seniors. We always try to play as long as we can until we run into a team that is better than us and that’s what happened tonight so hats off to Kentucky.”
The first solid opportunity of the first half came in the 23rd minute when Kentucky caught the Buckeyes with a counter but Zoe Swift’s shot from 15 yards was blocked by Ohio State defender Marisa Wolf as the game remained scoreless.
The Wildcats earned another chance in the 34th minute when a corner was partially cleared but played back in by a Kentucky defender who found Swift open on the far side of the box. Swift fired a shot far post but it deflected off the post and was cleared away.
Nichelle Prince was able to create a few opportunities for the Buckeyes as the half went on, but Ohio State was unable to connect in its attacking third as the game stayed scoreless heading into the half.
Kentucky held a 12-4 lead in shots and each team put one on frame over the first 45 minutes.
The Wildcats took the lead in the 51st minute when Caitlin Landis finished a rebound of an Olivia Jester shot from six yards to go up 1-0.
Kentucky tacked on another less than three minutes later when Arin Gilliland finished far post on a breakaway for her 10th goal of the season and a 2-0 advantage.
Ohio State had a chance to cut into the lead in the 67th minute when Michela Paradiso tried to finish a cross from Prince but her volley drifted wide right.
The Buckeyes then got on the board in the 73rd minute when Lindsay Agnew beat a pair of Kentucky defenders, found Prince with a through ball and the freshman finished far post from eight yards for her team-high 13th goal of the season.
However, Kentucky answered right back less than three minutes later when Swift snuck in behind the Buckeye defense and finished a one-on-one opportunity after a through ball from Gilliland to push the lead to 3-1.
The Buckeyes couldn’t muster anything the rest of the way as Kentucky advanced to the second round.
For the game, Kentucky held a 26-9 advantage in shots, 7-4 on goal.
The Ohio State seniors conclude their careers with 55 wins, the second-most in program history. Prince finished her freshman campaign tied for second on the Ohio State single-season goals list with 13 and fourth on the single-season points list with 32.
