LEXINGTON, Ky. — Sophomore midfielder Matt Lodge netted his third goal of the year and freshman goalkeeper Tyler Beadle gathered five saves to power the University of Kentucky men’s soccer team to a 1-1 tie in overtime against No. 16 Indiana at the UK Soccer Complex on Wednesday night.
The overtime battle was the ninth of the year for the Wildcats, setting a school record for overtime games. Kentucky was led in the game by Lodge, who paced UK with two shots on goal.
The Wildcats had its best chance to finish the game with a win with just 50 seconds remaining in the second and final overtime period. Lodge fired a hard-hit shot from about 30 yards out, forcing a diving save from Indiana’s keeper Luis Soffner. As the ball trickled back into play, Josh Albers was in the right place, firing a hard shot that bounced off the post, keeping UK from the golden-goal win.
Kentucky (4-6-4) finished with 13 shots taken in the game, while Indiana totaled 21 shots. UK got an outstanding outing from Beadle in goal, totaling five saves, keeping the Wildcats in the game throughout. Soffner totaled two saves in the contest, as IU totaled a 9-6 advantage in corner kicks.
The tie was just the fourth game in the 18-game series history with Indiana where the Wildcats have not lost, posting one win and three ties in series annals. UK and Indiana have now tied two of the last three meetings, as the Wildcats posted a 1-1 tie in 2008 in Bloomington.
Kentucky will return to action on Sunday, hosting league-foe FIU at 12 p.m. ET at the UK Soccer Complex.
Lodge got UK on the board in the 32nd minute, giving the Wildcats an early 1-0 lead with his third goal of the game. Lodge checked in off the bench and under two minutes later, the Rossington, England, native had the ball played back to him at the top of the 18-yard box by Jordan Rose. Lodge took a hard-hit volley and snuck it in by the far post on a brilliant goal. The assist was Rose’s team-best third of the year.
The Hoosiers (7-4-2) got on the board in the 48th minute, evening up the game at 1-1. IU forced a corner kick of a UK handball inside the box, with Indiana’s Andy Adlard beating UK goalkeeper Tyler Beadle with a hard-hit shot at the far post, just out of the reach of a diving Beadle.
Kentucky did an outstanding job controlling Indiana leading scorer Will Bruin, who entered the game with 10 goals in 12 games. UK got strong defensive efforts from Brad Walker, Ellis Vienne, Dylan Asher, Drew Midkiff and Shaun Deliberato in controlling Bruin’s offensive chances.
