TULSA, Okla. ? Riley O?Neill scored twice and Michael D?Agostino scored once as 13th-ranked Kentucky came back with three unanswered goals to beat No. 7 seed Memphis, 3-1, on Wednesday night in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament at the Tulsa Soccer and Track Complex.
After falling behind 1-0 in the 19th minute, the second-seeded Wildcats rallied to score their fourth-straight victory and run their record to 13-4-2 on the season. The win snapped a four-game losing skid in conference tournament games that dated back to UK?s time in the Mid-American Conference.
Trailing in the first half. D?Agostino leveled the game in the 31st minute. He cracked a great strike from the left half of the box off a rebound after Jase Griffith?s shot. It was the third time this season D?Agostino has netted an equalizer, two of which have resulted in wins. Kentucky is now 10-0-1 when he scores in his career.
The second half was all UK and O?Neill sealed the game with his two goals, both on headers. They gave him five multi-goal games this season ? including two straight ? and a school-record 17 total scores for the season. The first goal was the game-winner, extending his school record to seven this season.
O?Neill also tied the career points mark with 73 and took over sole possession of the career game-winning goals mark with 12.
His first goal came in the 64th minute off a free kick in which Masumi Turnbull sent in a great ball from distance. O?Neill was in the right spot and redirected just inside the left post to give UK a 2-1 lead.
Seven minutes later, Michael D?Agostino played to Matt Baum in the right corner. He took a touch before crossing to O?Neill at the back post, who flipped a header back towards where the ball came from. It went over the keeper into the side netting and made it 3-1.
Baum almost made it 4-1 after he took Andrew Alexander?s clear past the back line in the waning minutes. Once in the box, Baum dribbled left around the keeper, who had come out, but had his shot careen off the near post from a sharp angle.
Memphis scored first when a loose ball found Tripp Harkins in the box and he beat Matt Troop inside the left post for an unassisted goal. Troop would go on to make three saves while keeping the Tigers off the board the rest of the way.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday at 8:30 p.m., when it faces the winner of Wednesday?s late game between host Tulsa and Central Florida.
