Kentucky Men's Soccer moves to Sweet 16 with win over Santa Clara

The Kentucky Men’s Soccer Team is Sweet 16 bound after an impressive 2-0 win over the Santa Clara Broncos on Sunday night in Lexington. The soggy weather most certainly had an impact on this one. The wet field sped the pace immensely, but the Wildcats were ready.

Kentucky struck first in the 5th minute when Mason Visconti found Lucca Rodrigues on a beautiful corner kick. The ‘Cats doubled their lead only five minutes later after another set piece goal from Visconti in the 10th. This one was headed in by senior midfielder Marcel Meinzer.

DREAM START.

Lucca Rodrigues heads home Mason Visconti less than five minutes into this @NCAASoccer Second Round match.

📺 @ESPNPlus https://t.co/6erQ0AqjJO pic.twitter.com/Tc4WLN3a1Z

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) November 22, 2021

DREAM START x 2

Marcel Meinzer finishes a Mason Visconti corner kick five minutes later! Ten minutes gone, we lead 2-0 at The Bell!

📺 @ESPNPlus https://t.co/6erQ0AqjJO pic.twitter.com/TL9hMT8fak

— Kentucky Men’s Soccer (@UKMensSoccer) November 22, 2021

The Wildcats absolutely dominated the first half. They had five corner kicks as opposed to Santa Clara’s one, which came in the 28th minute. The ‘Cats racked up four shots on goal in the first 45, while the Broncos had zero. The possession was no different; Kentucky held the ball for 59% of the first half.

Despite the early 2-0 lead, the ‘Cats aggressively challenged every ball. They got two very good looks in the 28th minute, but both were blocked by back-to-back impressive efforts from Santa Clara goalie Ruben Stuiver.

Defense continues to impress

Wildcat goalkeeper Jan Hoffelner had a relatively lonely night between his posts, as Kentucky’s defense suffocated the Bronco forwards most of the game. Santa Clara got a solid chance in the 65th minute after a foul right outside the Kentucky box led to a promising free kick for the Broncos. But the shot was deflected by the Kentucky wall.

Santa Clara was able to find more chances in the second half, but could never convert. They ended the match with zero shots on goal.

Kentucky has 12 total NCAA Tournament appearances, eight of them coming in the last 10 years under current head coach Johan Cedergren. This is only the fourth Sweet `16 for the Wildcats in program history, but the third in the last four years.

The ‘Cats will now face the No. 8 seed Clemson Tigers. Time and date is TBD.