Miami Closes Spring Season with Draw Against Kentucky

RedHawks finish 3-0-2 in exhibition action, allow two goals all spring

OXFORD, Ohio – The Miami University women’s soccer team finished its spring exhibition season with an unblemished mark in the loss column, as the RedHawks notched a late goal to earn a 1-1 tie with Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Miami Soccer Field. The ’Hawks finish the spring season 3-0-2 while conceding just two goals in the five games, with the other coming last Saturday in a tie with Butler.

“Last week wasn’t awful but it wasn’t what we wanted. Today we came out strong and played well throughout the entire match and that’s something that we haven’t quite been able to do this spring,” head coach Bobby Kramig said. “We’ve played well this spring but we’ve had our inconsistent moments. I thought we put together a solid performance today.”

Rising senior goalkeeper Rachelle Boff allowed her first goal of spring action to the Wildcats, although Kentucky was actually the beneficiary of a Miami own goal. The Wildcats got on the board when a failed clear attempt off a UK corner kick ended up in the back of Miami’s net. Boff had two complete game shutouts and two single-half clean sheets entering Saturday’s match. Redshirt freshman Shannon Rosenberg, who surrendered last week’s goal, blanked Kentucky in the second half, as her and Boff split time in net for the third game this spring.

“I’ve had teams in the past that would have really been shaken by (the own goal) but our kids today didn’t miss a beat, shook it off and continued to play well,” Kramig said. “I thought we were the better side on the day and unlucky to not win the game.”

The RedHawks finally evened the score with four minutes remaining in the contest as rising senior Sara Lund beat the Wildcats’ keeper for the game-tying tally to earn the 1-1 draw.

“I thought we defended exceptionally well, especially in the midfield, which is something we’ve been working on,” Kramig said of the game overall. “I thought our kids were energetic and excited to play and they really played well. It was a good performance and a good way to end the spring.”

With the spring season now concluded, Miami breaks for summer before resuming practice in August. The RedHawks are scheduled to begin their fall slate Aug. 20 against Alabama A&M.

“Our goals coming into this spring were that we knew we were going to be trying some people at new positions and certainly having those players step up and perform well in those situations was a plus. We had a lot of players this spring that saw their first opportunity to really compete for us and get some game time. I thought a number of them rose to the occasion, as well,” Kramig said. “We had a large graduation class this past year and had a lot of holes to fill and I think we were able to do that, so I’m very pleased with where our team is right now and what we’ll be able to do this fall.”