Too Close for Comfort: Kentucky Soccer Remains Undefeated After Draw With Dayton

No. 2 Kentucky men’s soccer is having an unforgettable season so far, and they continue to thrive under pressure. The Wildcats’ record comes to 8-0-3 (3-0-1 Sun Belt) on Wednesday night after a close call against No. 16 Dayton in Lexington (8-0-4; 2-0-3 Atlantic-10). Kentucky tied the Flyers 2-2 thanks to a late goal from the home team.

We have a barn burner, folks! In the 87’ undefeated, @UKMensSoccer and the Dayton Flyers are tied up. pic.twitter.com/4j1ewr4qMm

— katelyn perkins (@kperky20) October 13, 2022

Although the ending was a good result for Kentucky, they were down early in the first half. Just one minute into the match the Flyers were able to find the back of the net and go up one to nil over the ‘Cats. Dayton was not finished there and found the goal again later in the first half at the 38th minute to go up 2-0.

Another goal for the Flyers at the 38 minute mark, they go up 2-0 on @UKMensSoccer pic.twitter.com/F0c7bXIOF5

— katelyn perkins (@kperky20) October 12, 2022

Cats Struggle With Possession

Kentucky struggled to find its footing — literally. Players from both squads were slipping all over the place due to the steady downpour of rain that coated the field during play. Dayton held possession of the ball for the majority of the first half, but the ‘Cats were able to finally get in a rhythm with a score right before halftime, cutting their deficit to just one.

After their goal going into the half, Kentucky found the spark that they had been looking for. They held possession of the ball more in the second half and did not allow the Flyers to score again in the match.

Kentucky Able to Find Rhythm

It was a slow second half for both teams with no goals until the 85′ and Kentucky staring down its first potential loss of the season.

But freshman defender Max Miller was able to find the goal and get the score for the ‘Cats with nearly five minutes to go in the match. Miller’s goal tied up the match for the Kentucky Wildcats.

GOAL @UKMensSoccer in the 85’! It’s all tied up here at The Bell pic.twitter.com/kEWq8oOVU2

— katelyn perkins (@kperky20) October 13, 2022

The ‘Cats were still able to uphold their undefeated record after closing out the match with a draw against the Flyers. This draw for the Wildcats proved that they are able to overcome a deficit and maintain their perfect unbeaten record on the season thus far.

Kentucky goes into the weekend looking to face off against their conference rivals, The Mountaineers of West Virginia University. The match will be at 7 pm on Saturday, October 15th.