By Glenn Osborne
Special to NKyTribune
By any measure, it’s been an exceptional year for University of Kentucky women’s soccer All-American Arin Gilliland.
She made the All-Southeastern Conference Tournament team last fall following a season that saw her named all-conference for the fourth straight year. She captured the prestigious Honda Inspiration Award and she was captain of the two most successful seasons (31-13-2) in program history. She led UK to four-straight NCAA Tournaments, four-straight hosting bids, two wins over top-10 teams and the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.
Along the way, Gilliland scored 30 goals and accounted for 85 career points, establishing school records with 278 shots, 81 shots on goal and a eight career game-winning goals.
So perhaps is will come as no surprise to find out that the SEC Defensive Player of the Year recently became the first Kentucky women’s soccer player to be drafted by a professional team.
She was the eighth overall pick, taken by the Chicago Red Stars of National Women’s Soccer League. Gilliland was the first SEC player selected as well.
“I could not be more excited for Arin to begin her career in Chicago,” UK coach Jon Lipsitz said in a news release. “Arin is a player who came into Lexington and helped transform the culture of our program and helped get us to places that we have never been before. Now it is time for her to take the next step of her career with the Red Stars and I think it’s a perfect fit for her.”
Lipsitz said hard work and rising to the occasion are two of the secrets to Gilliland’s success on the field.
“(Chicago coach) Rory Dames is an incredible coach and a great soccer mind that will help to mold Arin into the player we all know she can and will be,” he said. “She is a player that gives unbelievable effort every day in training and plays her best on the biggest stages under the most pressure. We can’t wait to see her play at the next level this spring and eventually achieve her life-long dream of playing on the full national team.”
Chicago is one of the youngest teams in the league with 10 players under the age 25. The Red Stars finished fifth in the league last season, going 9-7-8 and collecting 35 points to finish just one spot outside of the playoffs.
Gilliland has previously played on the United States U23 Women’s National Team. Chicago will open the 2015 season on April 18 when it hosts the Seattle Reign.
Due to the ongoing renovation work being done at Commonwealth Stadium, university officials have announced that there will be no spring Blue-White game this April. The practice schedule for coach Mark Stoops’ Wildcats has not been set, but it will include a few sessions open to the public so Big Blue fans can get a look at the team.
It is believed to be the first time since 1995 that the Blue-White game was not held and an athletics department spokesman said concerns about possible inadvertent NCAA recruiting violations prevented UK from holding the scrimmage elsewhere.
Moving the game is not without precedent, however. During Hal Mumme’s time as Kentucky head coach, the scrimmage was played at Rawlings Stadium in Georgetown one year due to another field renovation project. Mumme and staff visited both the Georgetown and Centre campuses to scout possible locations for the game before choosing to go with the home of the Tigers in what was also then the summer camp home of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaking of Gilliland, the deadline for sports reporters to submit ballots for the Lexington Herald-Leader’s annual Sportsman of the Year Award passed recently and she is sure to finish well. For the curious, here is what my ballot looked like:
Anthony Davis (NBA), AJ Reed (UK baseball), Arin Gilliland, Mitch Barnhart (UK AD), Brandon Doughty (WKU quarterback), Nick Burdi (U of L baseball), Aaron Harrison (UK basketball), Randall Cobb (NFL), Kelsey Nunley (UK softball) and Shoni Schimmel (U of L basketball).
The 34th Sportsman winner will be announced Feb. 4 simultaneously on Kentucky.com and at the fourth annual Bluegrass Sports Awards Banquet in Lexington. The full Sportsman of the Year results will run in the Feb. 5 Herald-Leader. Last year’s winner was University of Louisville men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino.
Fans who attend University of Louisville baseball games this year will once again be admitted free for 31 of the 32 home games scheduled for Jim Patterson Stadium. The one exception is the April 8 contest against Kentucky, when the Dugout Booster’s Club has priority for purchasing tickets.
The Cardinals draw good crowds for most of their home games and there is added enthusiasm this year with the team playing its first season as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. U of L is also coming off a College World Series appearance. Louisville began offering free admission in 2005, when Jim Patterson Stadium first opened.
“For our inaugural season in the ACC, it was important to us that we continue to provide the best fan experience possible at Jim Patterson Stadium,” said U of L senior associate athletic director Mark Jurich. “The 2015 season will be a special one for everyone with the Louisville baseball program, but it will also be a memorable one for our fans, who will have the opportunity to support an elite program in a first class facility against top-level competition.”
U of L drew more than 22,000 fans during last season’s postseason run to the NCAA College World Series.
Season tickets are now available for the upcoming Kentucky softball season. The Wildcats are coming off their first trip to the Women’s College World Series and a program-best 50 wins. Single-game tickets will go on sale on Feb. 16.
Season tickets for the 2015 season are $35 per seat and are general admission tickets (no reserved seating). Season tickets include all regular-season home games, including four three-game home sets in Southeastern Conference play against LSU, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. The Wildcats are also scheduled to face in-state foes Louisville, Eastern Kentucky and Western Kentucky along with Indiana, Florida Atlantic, Ohio and Marshall.
Kentucky will begin the season on Feb. 5 in Tallahassee, Fla., against Florida A&M, the first of a 24-game road stretch to start the season. The Wildcats home opener will be March 11 against EKU at 5 p.m.
Glenn Osborne is the sports editor for KyForward.com, where this story was originally published.