Kentucky women’s soccer (2-0-0) remained perfect Sunday night, defeating in-state foe Morehead State (0-1-1) 2-0 inside “The Bell.” The Wildcats saw two new goal scorers on the night as freshman Abigail Stager and grad student Makala Woods opened their scoring accounts for 2024.
This battle in the Bluegrass was a tight one, with both sides committing numerous fouls, leading to four yellow cards being issued—three to Morehead and one to Kentucky. The Eagles committed 12 fouls to the Wildcats’ eight throughout the game. Despite the aggressive nature of the match, the first half leaned in Kentucky’s favor as the Wildcats poured 13 shots on Morehead State goalkeeper Claire Cress. The Eagles did not generate a shot in the first half and were outshot by Kentucky 25-2.
The shooting paid off in the 36th minute for the Wildcats as freshman Abigail Stager, in just the second game of her career, intercepted a pass in Morehead’s defensive half, picking the pocket of the center back before finishing a right-footed shot into the left corner of the net to make it 1-0. It marked the first career goal for the Pennsylvania native and gave Kentucky a narrow lead at the break.
Things got even better for the hosts in the second half, though not without a period of indecision from the center referee. In the 52nd minute, Makala Woods picked up the ball on the far side of the box and appeared to receive an arm into her back, sending her to the ground inside the area. The center official initially waved play on but was later instructed to review the play on the monitor at the next dead ball.
After a lengthy review, the referee determined Woods was fouled, awarding the Wildcats their first penalty kick of the 2024 season. Woods stepped up to take the kick and easily beat Cress into the left corner for the 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats pressed hard for a third goal for the remainder of the match, peppering the Eagles’ goal with shots for 20 minutes, but no additional goals came despite their efforts. Kentucky will look to keep the momentum going when they return to the Bell on Thursday, August 22, to play host to Detroit Mercy at 5:30 p.m.
