No. 3 Kentucky to Wrap Road Slate Sunday at FAU
BOCA RATON, Fla. – With two rounds of league play to go, the No. 3 Kentucky men’s soccer team will battle for three vital points in Conference USA at Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The matinee will mark UK’s last road match of the regular season.
That match will be streamed live without commentary on the CUSA.TV paid subscription service.
The setup
Kentucky (13-1-1, 5-1-0 C-USA) goes into the weekend in a three-way tie on 15 points atop the C-USA table alongside Old Dominion and Florida International. All three sides have two matches remaining with ODU and FIU to play each other at 7 p.m. ET in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday.
Kentucky will wrap its regular season on Friday, Nov. 2 against Old Dominion, a fixture which could have huge ramifications in the conference standings.
The Wildcats closed out their non-conference season on Wednesday at The Bell with a 4-0 victory against Evansville. The win gave Kentucky the most wins in a season during Head Coach Johan Cedergren’s seven-season tenure.
Kentucky has won four matches in a row, by a combined 15-1 margin, following its first loss of the season at FIU on Oct. 7.
The closer look at Kentucky
The Wildcats are ranked a program-record No. 3 by the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News. UK is No. 8 in the most recent NCAA Ratings Percentage Index.
Kentucky’s team goals-against-average of 0.45 ranks No. 3 in the nation. The Wildcats have kept shutouts in 11 of 14 games, tied with St. Mary’s (Calif.) for the most in the nation.
Goalkeeper Enrique Facusse‘s 85-percent save percentage ranks third in the nation.
Junior forward JJ Williams has a conference-leading 13 goals on the season. He has six game-winners, which is tied for second most in the nation.
Williams is in a five-way tie for second most-ever goals by a Wildcat in a single season. His 18 career goals rank eighth on the UK all-time list.
Sophomore midfielder Kalil ElMedkhar was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday. His 20 points this year is second most to Williams on the team and is tied for tenth most by a Wildcat in a single campaign.
Senior co-captain Tanner Hummel scored for the first time in his career after finishing a penalty on Wednesday. He also tallied an assist from Williams’ goal.
Freshmen Nicolai Fremstad and Clay Holstad also got on the score sheet on Wednesday. Both Wildcats scored their second goals of the year, with Holstad having scored in each of the last two matches.
The opponent
Florida Atlantic has earned three points from five games in C- USA, a Sept. 7 1-0 victory against South Carolina in overtime. The Owls have a won-lost-drawn record of 2-10-0 (1-4-0 C-USA). FAU is on a seven-game losing streak. Two of its last three matches have gone into double overtime.
FAU is 2-3-0 at home this season.
The history
Kentucky leads FAU in the overall series 5-0-1 and 1-0-1 in Boca.
The Wildcats have outscored the Owls 18-2 all time and hold a three game winning streak against FAU.
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