LEXINGTON, Ky. – After withstanding an initial surge from Kentucky, the Miami soccer team put together some scoring opportunities, but UK eventually pulled away in the second half to prevail 3-0 on Sunday.
Miami (1-4) was under siege at the early onset as Kentucky fired the first eight shots of the contest and got a goal from Marissa Bosco in the 11th minute after she corralled a loose ball from a blocked shot behind the defense and finished.
Despite the Wildcats attack, the RedHawks kept it within a shot throughout the opening frame.
Soph Spinell registered MU's first shot in the 30th minute, breaking into the box and fighting off a defender for a bid that Stephanie Stull kept out. Final first half shots were 10-3 in UK's favor, but it remained a 1-0 contest at the break.
"The score does not reflect our performance today," head coach
Courtney Sirmans said. "We were able to out-possess an SEC opponent on a Sunday game. We created a number of chances again that we need to finish. The strides this team has taken since preseason are phenomenal and we couldn't be more proud."
Shots became tough to come by for the first 20 plus minutes of the second half with Miami getting some possession in the attacking third. It appeared the Red & White tied it up in the 66th minute when a feed in front of the net got fired home, but MU was flagged offside to leave it still down a goal.
Moments after catching that break, UK forced a turnover near midfield and eventually Hannah Richardson got fed behind the defense where she worked the ball up close for a tap-goal to make it a 2-0 contest. The Wildcats would then cap the scoring on a Gina Crosetti tally in the 88th minute wrap up the shutout win.
The Wildcats outshot the RedHawks 19-7 on the afternoon and held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Izzie Vaccari made five saves in her third straight start in net for the Red & White.
Miami returns to the pitch on Friday when it heads to in-state foe Ohio State for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
