LEXINGTON ? When Kentucky and Akron meet on a soccer field, it?s always a high-stakes game and Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex will be no different when the Wildcats host the ninth-ranked Zips.
The two teams battled for Mid-American Conference supremacy for a decade until the Wildcats left for Conference USA. From 1997-2004, UK and Akron combined to win the league title every year and took home the tournament championship every year from 1999-2004. The regular-season match up between the two became the focal point of the MAC championship race, with the winner taking over the role of frontrunner.
Despite not battling over conference championships anymore, Kentucky versus Akron is still a big deal. Last season, undefeated and top-ranked Akron escaped with a 1-0 home victory over a six-win UK team in a game that saw the Wildcats hit the crossbar, put more shots on goal and earn more corners.
It was the third straight year the two teams played within one goal of each other or tied. In all, six of the last eight matchups have been decided by a goal or ended in a draw. The teams are 3-3-2 against each other in that span.
This season should be no different. Akron is 6-2 entering the contest and UK is 7-1-1. Both teams have won five of their last six games.
Kentucky?s defense has been rock solid all year, posting a miniscule 0.43 goals-against average and shutting out six of nine foes. Led on the back row by veterans Nathan Li, Andrew Alexander and Nathan Marks, the Wildcats are holding opponents to an average of fewer than eight shots per game.
However, the difference this year could be the offense and senior striker Riley O?Neill. He sat out last season?s game with the Zips due to injury. Now fully healthy, he ranks second in the nation with 11 goals and has been an unstoppable force for UK. With his leadership, the Wildcats rank fourth nationally in scoring at more than three goals per game.
The last time Akron came to Lexington was 2004. In that game, Kentucky scored a 1-0 win over a 12th-ranked Zips squad on an O?Neill goal en route to the MAC Championship.
Saturday?s game is the first in a four-game stretch in which Kentucky faces all top 20 opponents. Indiana follows on Wednesday before the Wildcats begin Conference USA play with South Carolina and defending league champion SMU, which has been ranked as high as No. 1 this year.
Due to weather concerns, the Liga Latina All-Star game originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Saturday at UK has been postponed for now. A make up date could be announced at a later time.
