Photo via Regina Rickert
After a slew of losses over the last several weeks, the UK Men's Soccer squad grabbed a win on the road against Old Dominion. The win improved the Cats' record to 3-5-0 on the season, with Senior Brad Doliner scoring twice, including the winning goal in overtime. With the win behind them, Kentucky returned home for its longest home stretch of the season. The stretch opened with the Evansville Aces, who boasted a 6-3-1 record coming into tonight's match-up.
Before their last game the Aces were on a roll, having won five straight matches. The streak was snapped last week against Drake, though, in a 4-1 loss. The tough loss was clearly on the Aces' minds when they came out firing tonight, scoring a goal early in the game at the 10 minute mark. The goal from Souder came after several saves from UK Goalie Irving, though the UK Defense would fail to clear it and the ball would find the back of the net to give Evansville a quick lead. The Aces wouldn't be contempt with a one goal lead, scoring again from 23 yards out in the 23rd minute on a strike from Opperman. The half would end with a score of 2-0, with each team having eight shots in the first half.
After another half of scoreless soccer, UK would strike quickly off of a goal from veteran Tyler Riggs. The goal came off of a pass from Laird, and was Tyler's first score of the season. Despite the drought to start the season, the goal tied Tyler for 4th all-time in UK Soccer history with Matt Lodge. Despite an early goal, though, the Cats would fail to reach the back of the net again for the rest of the match, despite a ridiculous 18 shots to Evansville's 3. With no more goals, Kentucky would fall again for the 6th time this season.
FINAL: Evansville 2- 1 Kentucky
The season has been a disappointment so far, that goes without saying. Early on I projected Kentucky would take advantage of an "easier" schedule. The schedule has been tougher than originally thought, though there have still been chances that the team hasn't taken advantage of. With a win against Old Dominion and a return home, hopes were high for a big win tonight. With all the negativity, there still was a silver lining with Tyler Riggs scoring. For this team to be successful Riggs has to be on top of his game, something he's failed to do for the first portion of this season. Hopefully tonight was a sign of good things to come.
UK will be back in action again on the 13th against South Carolina. As mentioned before, the Cats are on their longest home stretch of the season so head out to the match if possible. Until then, here's an aerial shot of construction at the UK Soccer Complex.
https://twitter.com/UKMensSoccer/status/387689478229196800
Photo via Regina Rickert
After a slew of losses over the last several weeks, the UK Men's Soccer squad grabbed a win on the road against Old Dominion. The win improved the Cats' record to 3-5-0 on the season, with Senior Brad Doliner scoring twice, including the winning goal in overtime. With the win behind them, Kentucky returned home for its longest home stretch of the season. The stretch opened with the Evansville Aces, who boasted a 6-3-1 record coming into tonight's match-up.
Before their last game the Aces were on a roll, having won five straight matches. The streak was snapped last week against Drake, though, in a 4-1 loss. The tough loss was clearly on the Aces' minds when they came out firing tonight, scoring a goal early in the game at the 10 minute mark. The goal from Souder came after several saves from UK Goalie Irving, though the UK Defense would fail to clear it and the ball would find the back of the net to give Evansville a quick lead. The Aces wouldn't be contempt with a one goal lead, scoring again from 23 yards out in the 23rd minute on a strike from Opperman. The half would end with a score of 2-0, with each team having eight shots in the first half.
After another half of scoreless soccer, UK would strike quickly off of a goal from veteran Tyler Riggs. The goal came off of a pass from Laird, and was Tyler's first score of the season. Despite the drought to start the season, the goal tied Tyler for 4th all-time in UK Soccer history with Matt Lodge. Despite an early goal, though, the Cats would fail to reach the back of the net again for the rest of the match, despite a ridiculous 18 shots to Evansville's 3. With no more goals, Kentucky would fall again for the 6th time this season.
FINAL: Evansville 2- 1 Kentucky
The season has been a disappointment so far, that goes without saying. Early on I projected Kentucky would take advantage of an "easier" schedule. The schedule has been tougher than originally thought, though there have still been chances that the team hasn't taken advantage of. With a win against Old Dominion and a return home, hopes were high for a big win tonight. With all the negativity, there still was a silver lining with Tyler Riggs scoring. For this team to be successful Riggs has to be on top of his game, something he's failed to do for the first portion of this season. Hopefully tonight was a sign of good things to come.
UK will be back in action again on the 13th against South Carolina. As mentioned before, the Cats are on their longest home stretch of the season so head out to the match if possible. Until then, here's an aerial shot of construction at the UK Soccer Complex.
https://twitter.com/UKMensSoccer/status/387689478229196800
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