LEXINGTON ? Brandon Stewart and Michael D?Agostino scored less than 10 minutes apart in the first half to lead the Kentucky men?s soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday night in sloppy conditions at the UK Soccer Complex.
With the win, Kentucky (10-4-3) reached the 10-win plateau for the eighth straight season. Cincinnati (6-8-2) had its six-game unbeaten streak snapped. The game was a rematch of last year?s first-round NCAA Tournament match, which Kentucky won on penalty kicks.
?This is a game that scared me because Cincinnati is one of the hottest teams in the country right now,? said Kentucky coach Ian Collins. ?On a difficult night, we did what we had to win and that?s the name of the game.?
Stewart broke through in the 19th minute when he headed home a Jamal Shteiwi corner kick. It was Stewart?s second goal of the season, both game-winners, and Shteiwi?s seventh assist.
?The first goal was in a set piece we?ve been working on all week,? said Collins. ?It paid off. Brandon finished it great and Jamal gave a great delivery.?
In the 28th minute, D?Agostino took a loose ball from 25 yards out and buried it past goalkeeper Mike Vessels just inside the left post for the final margin.
Cincinnati?s best chance at breaking through the Wildcat defense came in the 14th minute when Jeremiah Gallegos fired a shot past goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum. However, Nathan Li cleared the ball off the line with a header to keep the game scoreless.
In the second half, neither team was able to mount many good scoring opportunities.
?In the second half, we got a little more conservative. It?s hard to play out here. Obviously the conditions were a factor,? said Collins. ?But I?m happy with our guys. They trained real hard all week.?
It was the 15th straight game Kentucky has held an opponent to one goal or fewer and the sixth time in that span the Wildcats have blanked an opponent. Four of the shutouts are in Kentucky?s past seven games.
The Wildcats return to action on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when they face No. 17 UAB in Birmingham. Kentucky is 0-3-2 against ranked foes this year.
?We have to go play a real tough team in a real tough place,? Collins said. ?I think we?re moving on. We?re in a great position to get an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament right now.?
