LEXINGTON, Ky. — Riding the momentum of its first two-game winning streak of the season, the Kentucky men?s soccer team returns to Conference-USA action, playing host to the No. 14 Tulsa Golden Hurricane on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, at the UK Soccer Complex.
Kentucky (3-5-2, 1-0 C-USA) has caught fire in its last two contests, earning a crucial win over state rival Western Kentucky and opening conference play with a thrilling 1-0 win over a 2006 NCAA Tournament team, UAB. The Wildcat defense clamped down on the Blazers, who entered the contest averaging 1.56 goals per game, holding them to just one shot on goal on Saturday. Sophomore defender Barry Rice broke the scoreless tie in the 82nd minute, heading a corner kick from UK?s Masumi Turnbull off the top post and into the back of the net. Wildcat keeper Dan Williams kept the Blazers from sniffing the net, saving the only shot on goal to earn C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Tulsa (5-2-2, 0-0-2 C-USA) enters the contest as one of the top teams in the nation, earning a ranking in all four of the major polls. The Golden Hurricane have faced a gamut of top-ranked competition this season, squaring off with then No. 3 Virginia, No. 18 Virginia Tech, picking up an upset win over No. 4 Creighton, and playing No. 8 SMU to a 2-2 tie. Leading the way for the Golden Hurricane has been senior forward Todd Goddard, who leads the club in goals with seven. Junior Eric DeFreitas ranks second on the team in points, contributing two goals and three assists. Senior forward Eric Burkholder leads the squad in assists, doling out six. In between the pipes for Tulsa, has been senior Dominic Cervi, a 6-foot-6, Norman, Okla., native, who has posted 39 saves and a 1.37 goals against average.
UK leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-1. Last season, UK won both meetings between the two teams, pulling out a 1-0 win in October and a 3-0 win in the tournament semifinal in November. In the last meeting in November, Jase Griffiths had two goals and an assist to lead UK to a deceiving 3-0 win over Tulsa in the Conference USA Tournament semifinal. The Golden Hurricane owned the shot advantage, 11-9 and forced UKkeeper Matt Troop to make a number of tremendous saves to earn the clean sheet. Griffiths put UK ahead in the 11th minute. After battling back and forth, Matt Baum?s crack from the right side made it 2-0 in the 68th. Griffiths finished it off in the 85th.
In the regular season meeting on October 25, Baum scored his first goal of the year on a header off a set piece to lift Kentucky to a 1-0 road win over Tulsa. The Wildcats controlled the run of play, particularly in the first half when if held an 8-3 shot advantage and an 8-2 lead on corners. Eight of UK?s shots went on goal while the Golden Hurricane put only one effort on goal that Matt Troop saved easily for his first clean sheet of the year. Baum found the net off Michael D?Agostino?s free kick in the 64th minute for the win.
Kentucky will be looking for its first 2-0 start to its C-USA schedule in school history. UK has only been a member of C-USA since 2005, having been a member of the Mid-American Conference for a decade.
