LEXINGTON, Kentucky. – The Kentucky women’s soccer team (2-0-0) remained perfect Sunday night, defeating rival Morehead State (0-1-1) 2-0 at The Bell. The Wildcats had two new scorers on the night as freshman Abigail Stager and graduate student Makala Woods opened their 2024 scoring list.

This battle in the Bluegrass was a close one, with both sides committing numerous fouls and receiving four yellow cards: three for Morehead and one for Kentucky. The Eagles committed 12 fouls throughout the game, while the Wildcats committed 8. Despite the aggressive nature of the action on the court, the battle was in Kentucky’s favor in the first half, as the Wildcats fired 13 shots at Morehead State goalkeeper Claire Cress. The Eagles did not manage a shot at all in the first half, and were outscored by Kentucky 25-2.

The shot paid off for the Wildcats in the 36th minute when freshman Abigail Stager, playing in just the second game of her career, intercepted a pass in Morehead’s defensive half, beat the center back and then fired a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net to make it 1-0. It was the first career goal for the Pennsylvania native and gave Kentucky a slim halftime lead.

The second half got even better for the home team, albeit after a period of indecision from the referee. In the 52nd minute, Makala Woods picked up the ball on the other side of the box and was hit in the back with an arm, sending her to the ground in the box. The referee waved off the play at that moment before being asked to review the play on the monitor at the next set ball.

After a lengthy review, the referee ruled that Woods had been fouled and the Wildcats were awarded their first penalty of the 2024 season. Woods stepped up to take the penalty and easily beat Cress in the left corner to make it 2-0.

The Wildcats rallied once again for the remainder of the game to score a third goal, peppering the Eagles’ goal with shots for 20 minutes, but despite their efforts, no goal was scored. The Wildcats will look to keep the momentum going when they return to the Bell to host Detroit Mercy on Thursday, August 22 at 5:30 p.m.

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