OXFORD, Ohio – Miami University soccer heads back on the road for its next three matches, beginning with a trip to the Bluegrass state this weekend.
The RedHawks head out to Morehead State on Friday (6 p.m.) before wrapping up at Kentucky on Sunday (2 p.m.).
Miami (0-3) has dropped 1-0 decisions in its last two contests despite getting extended looks in the attacking third against Wright State and Cleveland State. In Sunday's home opener against Cleveland State, MU raced out to a 6-1 shot advantage, but a late corner kick goal kept the team winless in the early going.
Olivia Winnett has attempted 11 of the team's 30 shots while
Keara Kerr has the Red & White's goal this season. Sophomore
Izzie Vaccari made her first Miami start in goal on Sunday and made two saves.
Morehead State is coming off a 2-1 victory over Akron on Sunday that improved it to 1-2 on the season. Gabby Nastasi and Nicole Palmer both scored for the Eagles, who found the back of the net for the first time all season that afternoon. Playing time in goal for MSU has been spread evenly between Kayla Landman (2.67 GAA, .667 save%) and Grace Gaffney (2.00 GAA, .500 save%).
Kentucky is off to a 2-0-2 start to the fall campaign and topped George Mason and Youngstown State last weekend. The Wildcats have netted 10 goals in their first four outings, tallying three or more in a match three times thus far. Jordyn Rhodes has scored four of UK's goals thus far. In net, Steph Stull has logged all 400 minutes and has a 1.13 goals against average with a .688 save percentage along with a pair of shutouts.
Live stats will be provided for both contests and Sunday's tilt at Kentucky will be streamed live for subscribers on SEC Network+.
Free Kicks
All-Time Series: Miami has squared off with Kentucky three times in its history and is 0-3, though the teams last met in the 2006 season. The Red & White are 6-1 all-time against Morehead State with their last meeting coming in 2011.
Youth Will Be Served: The RedHawks boast an incredibly young roster with 21 of their 25 players being freshmen or sophomores. This marks the third-straight year that Miami has had at least nine freshmen on its fall roster. Of the 16 Miami players to see the pitch on opening weekend, seven were freshmen and eight were newcomers.
2017: 13
2018: 15
2019: 9
Keeping it Close: Miami's non-conference schedule is not only confined entirely to the Ohio Valley, it's nearly entirely in the Buckeye State itself. Five of MU's seven non-conference tilts are against in-state foes (Dayton, Wright State, Cleveland State, Ohio State and Xavier) while its other two (Morehead State and Kentucky) are within 150 miles of Oxford.
What's for the Encore: At 11 players, Miami's sophomore class is its largest group on the roster. The bulk of them saw extensive playing time as freshmen, combining for 30 points, 113 matches played and 89 starts among the returning sophomores. The three top minute getters for the Red & White last year were freshmen.
