Nov. 8, 2002
The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team advanced to the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Championships with a 4-1 win Friday against Buffalo. The Wildcats will face Bowling Green at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, in Huntington, W.Va., on the campus of Marshall University.
The Wildcats got on the board early when junior Craig Pykett connected with Chris McDaniel on a 50-yard pass. The senior forward chipped the ball over goalkeeper Brian Wozniak to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute — it was his third career goal in MAC Tournament play.
The Cats would strike again only a minute and a half later, when sophomore Jamal Shteiwi, Kentucky’s leading scorer, took a long pass from junior Nathan Fleetwood, Kentucky’s assists leader, and put home UK’s second goal.
In the 28th minute, senior J.D. Stephenson took a free kick from midfield that found it way into the box where freshman Anthony Peters was able to tuck it into the back of the net. The Cats took a 3-0 lead into the half behind their best first half effort of the season.
The teams came out in the second half a little flat, combining for half as many shots as they had taken in the first period. The score remained steady until the 88th minute, when UB’s Dave Pidgeon spoiled Kentucky’s shutout off a set-piece from just outside the box.
UK would hit an insurance goal with only 30 seconds remaining when senior John Monebrake’s through-ball found Adam Walker alone on a breakaway. The freshman dribbled around Buffalo’s Chris Vavrina to give UK the 4-1 victory. It was Walker’s first career goal in his first action this season — he originally came to UK as a goalkeeper.
The win is Kentucky’s ninth consecutive in MAC Tournament play, as the Wildcats have won the past three MAC Championships. UK holds a 7-0 record in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament, appearing in the semifinals all eight years since joining the league in 1995.
“I think our guys played very well. We’ve had trouble finishing some of our chances during the season but we were able to finish three of them early in the game,” Coach Ian Collins said. “I think that really set us up for a good game. Now, we just have to rest up and be ready for Sunday’s match against Bowling Green.”
1 2 FKentucky 3 1 3Buffalo 0 1 0
Scoring SummaryUK McDaniel (Pykett) 08:13UK Shteiwi (Fleetwood) 09:49UK Peters (Stephenson) 27:11UB Pidgeon (Peplinski) 87:40UK Walker (Monebrake) 89:29
Shots: UK 12; UB 16Saves: UK 2; UB 4Corners: UK 4; UB 1Fouls: UK 15; UB 15Cards: UK 2; UB 5Attendance: 287
