The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team takes on Northern Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 1, looking to go 2-0 in the Mid-American Conference. Action gets underway at 2 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex.
The Cats (5-4-0, 1-0-0 MAC) are coming off of a difficult 1-0 victory over Western Michigan on Friday, Sept. 29. In a game with strong defense and very physical play, UK was able to get a goal in the 66th minute from senior Tyler Cook, who headed in a pass from freshman Chris Soler.
UK is led by senior Ryan Grady, junior Ilkka Jantti and sophomore Chris McDaniel, who have two goals each. Senior Giovani Fernandes leads the team with three assists, and along with McDaniel and Jantti, leads all other players with five points.
NIU (3-5-0, 1-0-0 MAC) comes to Lexington sporting a 4-5-0 record and is tied with Akron and UK for first place in the MAC. The Huskies are on a two-game winning streak with wins over Wisconsin and Marshall. Senior Dan Parisi, who has six goals and 13 points on the season, leads the Huskies.
The Cats and Huskies have met four times, with UK holding the 3-1-0 advantage. NIU’s lone win came during the 1999 regular season when they topped UK 4-2. However, the Cats avenged that loss with a 2-1 triumph to claim the 1999 MAC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth.
