Another Day, Another Draw for Kentucky Men's Soccer

Not much has changed as Kentucky Men’s Soccer came out with their second-straight draw.

Kentucky (3-6-2; 0-3-1 Sun Belt) traveled to Conway, South Carolina on Saturday night for a conference match-up against Coastal Carolina (3-4-3; 1-1-2 Sun Belt). Both teams took to the pitch and got off to a good start, but as the game went on, neither could gain an edge. In the end, one goal from each team resulted in another tie for the Wildcats.

It was Kentucky’s sixth draw through 11 matches so far this season, but this was the first in conference play, earning the ‘Cats their first point of Sun Belt action. UK tallied 19 shots — eight on goal — in comparison to Coastal Carolina’s seven with two on goal. Kentucky also recorded six total corner kicks on the evening while the Chanticleers did not have any. In spite of that, the ‘Cats head back to Lexington with just the one point.

Kentucky off to a good start

The ‘Cats started off with possession. Each team struggled to get near a goal within the first 10 minutes. But Kentucky gained some momentum first after transfer Aboubacar Camara had a shot attempt in the 11’.

UK continued to pick up energy early in the first half as they put up three shot attempts by the 18′. This has been an area of play that the Wildcats have struggled in throughout the season thus far. Most of the matches that the ‘Cats have lost have been due to low energy in the first half and the opponent’s early goals.

Things were continuing to look up for UK in the 19′ when freshman Isaiah Chisolm found the back of the net off of an assist from UK captain Max Miller to give the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead. Chisolm came right back out and got another attempt off in the 22’, but was not as lucky as before.

GOOOOOOAAAAAAAL KENTUCKY!!!!!!!!!!!!

19' | Isaiah Chisolm sends a stunning cross from his right foot into the bottom right of the goal. He was assisted by Max Miller.

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— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) October 7, 2023

Fouls add up for UK

Although Kentucky had gotten off to a strong start, fouls came back to bite them in the 30′. A UK foul gave Coastal a penalty kick which they were able to sink in the net to tie the match up at 1-1. The rest of the first half was back and forth from both squads as the score remained tied heading into the locker rooms.

The ‘Cats came out on the pitch looking promising for the second 45. Unfortunately for Kentucky, so did Coastal. The Chanticleers got a shot off within the first 10 seconds of the second half, but sophomore goalie Casper Mols did not allow the ball to have a chance at finding the back of the net.

As the second half went on there was no luck scoring from either team. UK had four shot attempts by the 75′; Coastal also had four. Even though the tries were there, neither squad could find tack on a potential game-winning goal.

The streak continues

By the end of the match, the score remained 1-1 with Kentucky tallying 12 shot attempts by the end of the second half compared to Coastal’s five attempts. UK has had trouble scoring ever since the first few matches of the season. Although they were able to come away with a total of 19 shots, the ‘Cats were not able to keep the ball away from the Coastal Carolina goalkeeper.

Following their second draw in a row, Kentucky will be back at The Bell on Friday, October 13 at 7:00 p.m. EST. The Wildcats will face off against James Madison University in Lexington as they will take the pitch to try and win a match for the first time since Sept. 8.