Soccer Suffers First Setback Of The Season At Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jacksonville State dropped its first match of the season with a 4-1 loss at Kentucky on Sunday afternoon at the UK Soccer Complex.

In a battle of a pair of unbeaten clubs coming into the final Sunday of August, the Wildcats moved to 4-0 on the season, while the Gamecocks fell to 2-1 overall.

After a scoreless first 20 minutes of the outing, the Wildcats scratched the scoreboard first with a goal by Makala Woods in the 23rd minute. UK extended the lead with a goal before intermission with Mia Brookhard’s goal in the 39th minute.

“The first 25 minutes were brilliant, and I thought we played so brave defensively and in possession. Obviously, when they scored, it changed to be fair and that is the big lesson today and we need to learn how to respond to that,” said head coach Sean Fraser. “We have to develop our resiliency .”

UK tacked on an early second half goal with a successful penalty kick in the 50th minute. It was UK’s second of the contest as Jax State keeper, Poppy Bastock denied the first UK penalty kick in the first half. Bastock finished with eight saves in the setback. UK capped off the scoring with a goal in the 85th minute. UK held a 22-6 advantage in total shots.

Jax State registered its goal off the foot of junior Allison Sibley. The Torrance, California native took a cross from graduate Melissa Kuya Strobel for her first goal in a Gamecock kit. Kuya Strobel was credited with her third assist of the season. She also led Jax State with a pair of looks at the goal.

“She (Allison Sibley) could have had two and we had other chances today,” added Fraser. She has that ability to do that in every game.”

Jax State remains on the road to close out the opening month of the season with a trip to the Tar Heel state to face UNC Asheville on Thursday, August 29.

“We will build off some moments in this game and I thought we competed so well today. There were a few things defensively that we have to get better at and you can’t learn that until you experience it, so we will now work toward Thursday,” mentioned Fraser.

The Gamecocks return home on Sunday, September 1, hosting regional rival Chattanooga. Kick off is set 6 p.m. at the Jax State Soccer Complex.

For the most up-to-date information on the Gamecocks, follow Jax State women’s soccer on X,  and join them on Instagram by searching for “JaxStateSOC.”