May 12, 1999
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” could have been the theme song for the University of Kentucky men’s soccer team during the 1998 campaign, as the Cats traveled over 8000 miles during the season.
The Cats tackled their toughest-ever schedule, facing six 1998 NCAA Tournament teams, including eventual national champion Indiana.
UK began the season by travelling up Interstate 75 to face regional rival Cincinnati. Already three games into their schedule, the Bearcats’ experience showed as they claimed the 4-0 win in the Cats’ opener.
The Cats then went west to California for the Cal-State Fullerton Classic, where the Cats faced two more NCAA Tournament and top-25 teams. Playing past midnight Eastern time, UK surrendered two late goals and fell to host CSFU 2-0 in the Classic’s opener. UK and San Diego faced off in the second match, a game USD would win 1-0 on a Kentucky own-goal.
The road-weary Cats hit the road again, travelling cross-continent to face 13th-ranked North Carolina Greensboro in the UNCG Classic. The Spartans and Cats fought through a scoreless regulation and overtime period before UK’s Giovanni Fernandes was sent off for elbowing in the 113th minute. UNCG seized the opportunity and edged the Cats 1-0, finding the net with less than three minutes left in extra time.
UK then took on Appalachian State in game two of the Classic. Lee Baker put one in the goal for the fatigued Cats, but UK’s travel schedule took its toll, as Appalachian State claimed a 2-1 win.
UK’s road warriors returned home to the Soccer Complex to turn their steak around. UK played host to the Kentucky Invitational, an event the Cats had not lost since 1994. Over 1,100 UK fans were out in force and saw the Wildcats take on The Citadel in the home opener. The two teams battled evenly through a scoreless first half. In the second stanza, UK pulled ahead 2-0 thanks to two Lee Baker penalty kicks. The Cats held on to the 2-0 margin and moved into the final to face Winthrop.
In the UKIT championship match, UK’s Rob Frey opened the scoring in the 34th minute, giving UK a 1-0 lead. It appeared the goal would be the game-winner until the 83rd minute, when Winthrop evened the score at 1-1. The Cats would not roll over, though, and Giovanni Fernandes drove home a 25-yard blast just 24 seconds later giving UK the 2-1 win and third consecutive UKIT title.
The Cats continued their win streak with a 2-1 win over South Alabama and a 4-1 win over Vanderbilt. Against the Commodores, Lee Baker and Ryan Grady found the net in the first 12 minutes of action, and Billy Dwyer and Bryan Mitts added late goals as UK crushed Vandy.
UK then headed to West Virginia to open Mid-American Conference action against Marshall, where the Cats and Thundering Herd battled to a 1-1 tie through 90 minutes. Tyler Cook answered the bell in overtime, finding the net on a header with just 1:28 left in the extra frame for a 2-1 UK win.
Western Michigan traveled to Lexington for UK’s next match, and it proved to be a wild one. WMU opened the game with goals in the second and sixth minutes to take an early 2-0 lead over the Cats. UK pulled to within one just before halftime on a Michael Stickler goal in the 42nd minute.
With just 15 minutes left in regulation, UK’s Ilkka Jantti found the net to even the score at 2-2. The tie was short-lived, however, as WMU scored just 37 seconds later to take a 3-2 lead. Three minutes later, the Broncos scored again to take a 4-2 lead in the 78th minute.
The Cats were not done, however, as UK rallied on a penalty kick by Lee Baker in the 80th minute to bring the score to 4-3. Then, with under five minutes left, Wildcat striker Jason Bell knotted the game at 4-4 on a blast past the WMU keeper.
The two teams battled through one scoreless 15-minute overtime period and the clock ticked down to under ten minutes remaining in the second overtime. Just as the game seemed to be destined to end in a tie, Michael Stickler found the ball in a crowd in front of the WMU goal and rocketed a shot in to the back of the net for his second goal of the game, giving UK the 5-4 win.
With the win, the Wildcats extended their win streak to six, breaking the three-year-old UK record of five consecutive wins.
The record would be short-lived, however, as went north to Buffalo for another MAC match-up just five days later. UK held the MAC’s leading scorer, UB’s Steve Butcher, in check, and topped Buffalo 4-2 to set the new record at seven.
The streak would be in serious danger in the next match, however, as UK hit the road again to face perennial MAC power Akron. The 1100-mile bus trek to Buffalo left the Cats beaten and the Zips were ready to capitalize. UK held Akron scoreless through the first half, but fatigue set in, and Akron scored four in the second half to snap the UK win streak. The Cats tried to recover, but dropped their next two matches to Belmont and No. 1 Indiana.
UK returned to its winning ways in its next match, topping Eastern Michigan. Lee Baker netted the game-winner in the 56th minute and Brent Rainey added an insurance goal late in regulation. Wildcat keeper Chris West was rarely tested and posted his first shutout of the season.
MAC rival Bowling Green then traveled to the UK Soccer Complex for a big conference showdown. The Falcons had ended UK’s 1997 season, and the Cats were looking for revenge. UK dominated play and held a 7-2 shot advantage, but BG’s All-American goalkeeper Scott Vallow kept the Cats out of the net for the first half. Then in the 59th minute, Wildcat Lee Baker slammed home a Giovanni Fernandes corner kick and the Cats claimed the 1-0 win.
The RedHawks of Miami then ventured to Lexington for another big conference match. The Redhawks struck first, when an MU corner kick ricocheted into the net in the 35th minute.
UK countered early in the second half when Tyler Cook found the net in the 51st minute to even the score at 1-1. But just 17 seconds later, Miami scored off a cross to take a 2-1 lead.
The Cats would rally once again, as Johnny Hinds’ through-ball gave Ryan Grady a one-on-one with the MU keeper in the 60th minute. Grady’s shot found the net just inside the far post and tied the score at 2-2.
Then in the 66th minute, Tyler Cook blasted an Ilkka Jantti cross into the MU goal to give UK the 3-2 win.
The “Cardiac” Cats faced one more regular season challenger, Northern Illinois, in a must-win match. The winner of the season finale would lock up a second-place finish in the MAC and a No. 2 seed for the upcoming tournament. UK dominated play and came away with a comfortable 2-0 win and headed into the MAC Tournament on a four-match win streak.
Eastern Michigan provided a stern test for the Cats in the opening round of the MAC, battling the Cats to a scoreless tie through the first 83 minutes. The Cats held a 17-4 shot advantage, but could not find the net. EMU was called for a foul in the box late in the game, and Lee Baker nailed a penalty kick to give UK a 1-0 win and a berth in the tournament’s second round.
Bowling Green had ended UK’s run in the MAC tournament three consecutive years and loomed in the next round. UK controlled play, out-shooting the Falcons 17-9, but could not find the net and the game remained scoreless through regulation and one overtime. Bowling Green squeezed a header into the UK net in the 117th minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Cats went on an all-out attack, and BG countered with an insurance goal and took the 2-0 win.
On the season, the Cats went 12-9, 7-1 in the MAC, good for a second place finish, and were 12-4 in their last 16 games. UK’s Lee Baker, Ilkka Jantti and Giovanni Fernandes were All-MAC and All-Mid-East selections. Jantti was chosen as MAC Newcomer of the Year, the second in school history.
“I was really impressed with the way our guys handled this schedule,” Coach Ian Collins said. “Early in the year we had to integrate a lot of new players into our system and the first few games were tough. But as the season went on, I felt like we improved dramatically. It was unfortunate that we had to bow out in the second round of the MAC tournament, but we have laid a strong foundation for our future.”
