COLUMBIA, S.C. — The streaking Kentucky men?s soccer team puts its four-game Conference USA winning streak on the line, traveling to Columbia, S.C., for its final regular season match of the season, a 7 p.m. EDT showdown on Friday with South Carolina.
Kentucky (7-8-2, 5-2 C-USA) enters the game fresh off one of the most historic wins in the 17-year history of the UK soccer program, a 2-1 upset over No. 1 SMU. The win was the first over a top-ranked foe in school history. Sophomore forward Tim Crone came off the bench in the 59th minute and needed only 23 seconds to pull UK to a 1-1 score with the national power. Just five minutes later, Crone pounded home the game-winner to give UK a 2-1 lead that it would not surrender.
The Wildcats own a 1-3-1 all-time record vs. South Carolina, including a 1-0 double overtime win last season at the UK Soccer Complex. Riley O?Neill?s 106th-minute goal lifted Kentucky to a thrilling 1-0 upset of then sixth-ranked South Carolina. The game wasn?t nearly as close as the final score as UK outshot the Gamecocks 17-8 overall and had four legitimate scoring chances go unfinished in the second half. UK keeper Dan Williams earned a clean sheet with three saves, including one on a penalty in the fifth minute.
Leading the way for UK this season, both offensively and defensively, has been center back Barry Rice. Rice, a sophomore from Parma, Ohio, has been UK?s vocal and physical leader, ranking as the team leader in goals, points, minutes played, and games started. Rice has totaled seven goals, with six coming in the form of headers. Crone, the reigning National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Player of the Week, ranks second on the team in goals with six. Senior forward Aaron Swanson has totaled five goals. In between the pipes for UK, Williams has toiled a steady hand in the midst of a constantly changing, injury-depleted defense. Williams, who made five crucial saves to keep UK in the game vs. SMU, earned Soccer America National Team of the Week honors in recognition of his performance.
The game marks the final regular season contest for UK, and depending on the outcome of the Tulsa vs. UAB game, the Wildcats could secure a second-place C-USA regular season finish. The Wildcats would need a win and a Tulsa loss to wrap up second-place. Tulsa enters the game with 17 points and UK with 15 in the conference table, which gives each team three points for a win, no points for a loss, and one point for a tie. UK begins the C-USA Tournament on Monday in Birmingham, Ala.
