Goalie Marz Josephson had seven saves Friday. (Vicky Graff Photo)
Goalkeeper Marz Josephson was at her best when it mattered the most.
She made two saves on penalty kicks as Kentucky women’s soccer beat West Virginia 4-2 in penalty kicks to earn a NCAA Tournament win Friday night at the Bell Soccer Complex.
The win puts UK into the second round of NCAA play for just the fourth time in program history where it will play Notre Dame.
“Marz has not been busy most of the season and came up huge this night in PKs with the flow of the game and we needed her to,” Kentucky coach Tony Fabiano said. “They were at times able to get behind us and that’s when Marz would come up with a save. Just a little bit of a roller coaster.
Sometimes you’re on the opposite end of PKs and it’s a tough way to lose, but excited to move on.”
It’s the first penalty shootout victory for the Wildcats since 2014 when Kentucky defeated SIUE in a shootout in the NCAA tournament first round.
West Virginia had eight shots on goal to Kentucky’s four, forcing Josephson into seven saves, the most in a game this season.
“I thought if (WVU goalkeeper) Olivia Shertzer was our MVP, then so was Kentucky’s goalkeeper,” West Virginia coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “I thought she was fabulous. We had great opportunities around the net, and she made first and second saves. I thought in regulation we had a couple of really good looks and she did her job, and she did it so well. She was fabulous tonight.”
The West Virginia coach said her team tried to move Josephson rather than shoot straight at her.
“You have got to move her. You have got to move her left or right, to do some cutbacks, get some service in. We just wanted to continue to move her, and shooting from range isn’t going to be where her weaknesses are,” the coach said. “So, we really wanted to make sure that we had some different angles and areas so we can move her around, because she has springs in her shoes, the kid can just fly.”
Josephson made two saves denying West Virginia’s second and fourth attempts to send Kentucky to the second round of the NCAA tournament.
“Obviously as a goalkeeper, when making saves, you are getting more confident. I just try and do what I can to help the team and keep them out of the goal as best I can,” Josephson said.
She didn’t feel any added pressure in the shootout.
“All the pressure is on the shooter because they are supposed to score every single time. If I make a save, it looks good on me; if they score, they should — no pressure on me,” the UK goalie said.
The Kentucky fan support also helped her.
“It’s crazy how much of a difference it makes when you have the support of not only your teammates, but the students and the community here as well. It makes a big difference when providing energy. It was a grind. 90 minutes and two overtimes, so we appreciate that,” Josephson said.
Fabiano also appreciated the way UK fans turned out.
“The biggest thing I will say is that I sat in here a couple days ago and asked BBN to come out, and boy they did come out tonight, so thank you for the support,” he said after the win. “It meant a lot for us all year and especially this game.”
