Kentucky’s historic women’s soccer winning streak is about to face a tough test: The SEC

The best start to a season in Kentucky women’s soccer history is about to meet its toughest test yet: The Southeastern Conference.

For the first time in program history, UK has won eight straight matches to start a season. The No. 20-ranked Wildcats (8-0-0) made several impressive statements during their nonconference season.

Top among them were a home win over perennial power UCLA, a home triumph over Morehead State (a 2023 NCAA Tournament team) and a true road win at Illinois.

Through eight matches, UK has scored 18 goals — led by four goals from senior transfer forward Makala Woods — while conceding only three times.

Kentucky’s body of work this season comes after the Wildcats began last season with a record-setting 13-match unbeaten run. However, UK still hasn’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since 2014.

Based on a weekend conversation with the Herald-Leader, head coach Troy Fabiano knows the SEC portion of UK’s schedule — which begins Thursday night with a home match against Florida — will dictate whether or not the Wildcats make that long-awaited return to the national postseason.

“Last year we started really well, maybe didn’t finish the way we wanted to,” Fabiano said. “It’s not really on how you start, it’s how you finish. So we talked about that. And we talked about how sometimes having pressure is a positive thing.”

Kentucky’s 10-match SEC schedule includes six games against league opponents that made the NCAA Tournament a season ago: Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi State, South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee. From that group, both Georgia and Mississippi State advanced to the Sweet 16.

And UK is far from the only SEC school that’s off to a hot start in 2024.

Auburn is also 8-0-0 to begin the season. Texas, one of the SEC’s two new schools this season, is also undefeated with a 7-0-1 mark. The Longhorns made the Sweet 16 a season ago.

Arkansas (5-0-1), Vanderbilt (5-0-2) and South Carolina (3-0-4) all also haven’t dropped a match in 2024.

The latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches college rankings includes five SEC schools: No. 3 Arkansas, No. 6 Auburn, No. 11 Texas, No. 20 Kentucky and No. 24 Mississippi State.

This underscores what Fabiano, who is in his third season as UK’s coach, has been saying since he was hired in November 2021: The SEC is an athletic, fast and physical league that will serve as a stern examination of Kentucky’s hopes to compete with the best in women’s college soccer.

“You probably can’t have better momentum (entering SEC play) than running the table in your nonconference schedule,” Fabiano said.

There are plenty of reasons to believe the Wildcats will be up to the task this year against top-level SEC opponents.

Last year served as a building block for Kentucky. After failing to record a win in SEC play during the 2022 season, Fabiano’s first at Kentucky, UK went a respectable 3-3-4 in conference matches last season and reached the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. This was the first time UK reached the SEC Tournament quarterfinals since 2014.

This season, Fabiano has an overhauled 40-player roster that features 25 newcomers (16 freshmen and nine transfers). Several of these new additions have been leading the way so far.

“That piece of having the luxury to go to the bench. That if kids need it, we have (players) to where the level is not going to drop off,” Fabiano said. “… It’s actually going up a level for us.”

Fifteen of UK’s 18 goals this season have been scored by new arrivals, either transfers or freshmen.

“(We’ve talked before) about the unknown of, ‘OK, what are you guys going to be?’ Because you have so many freshmen and transfers,” Fabiano said. “I always got asked that question over the summer. ‘How are you guys going to be?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know.’ Because it’s not like we really have that foundation, that base. … To go 8-0, it’s hard to do.”

At the other end of the pitch, a familiar face is leading the way for a stout UK defense that is allowing less than 1.4 shots on target per game.

Sixth-year goalkeeper Marz Josephson — who previously spent four years at North Carolina, but missed her sophomore and junior seasons due to injury — is 15th in the nation in goals-against average, having allowed just two goals in 666 minutes in net. Josephson’s four shutouts this season are also a top-20 mark nationally.

This follows an impressive first season in Lexington for Josephson. Last year, she finished with the third-best goals against average (0.62) in program history and totaled nine shutouts.

“This is a good pressure, a good stress. Can you manage it?” Fabiano said of the national focus now on Kentucky as SEC play starts.

“Because now, you’ve put the program in the national spotlight for a little, what are you going to do with it? For some programs it’s easy, right? It’s traditional and you think that it’s going to be there always. But for us, we’re trying to figure that out. These opportunities don’t come around that often. Let’s ride this as long as we can, but enjoy it at the same time.”

Thursday

No. 20 Kentucky vs. Florida

When: 7:30 p.m.

Online: SEC Network+

Tickets: Visit ukathletics.com/ticketing

Records: Kentucky (8-0-0), Florida (3-1-4)

Last meeting: Kentucky and Florida drew, 1-1, on Sept. 24, 2023, at the Donald R. Dizney Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

Series: Florida leads the all-time series over Kentucky, 25-5-5.

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