(Oct. 12, 2000) — The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team travels to New York on Friday, October 13, to battle the Buffalo Bulls in a pivotal Mid-American Conference matchup. Action gets under away at RAC Field at 3 p.m.

The Cats (6-5-0, 2-1-0 MAC) are coming off a heartbreaking loss to MAC-rival Akron a week ago. UK dominated the match from the start, out-shooting the Zips 26-9, while holding an 11-3 advantage in corner kicks. However, the Zips were the only ones to find the net, as they triumphed 2-0.

With the loss, Kentucky fell into a three-way tie for second place in the league along with Akron and Northern Illinois.

Senior Giovani Fernandes and freshman Chris “Chi Chi” Soler lead UK. Fernandes and Soler have both notched two goals and three assists to accumulate seven points. Senior Ryan Grady, junior Ilkka Jantti and sophomore Chris McDaniel are not far behind with five points each, having tallied two goals and one assist a piece.

In goal, senior Brian O’Leary reigns for the Cats. He has faced 75 shots, giving up only eight goals while tallying 19 saves for a stellar 0.88 goals-against average, which is good for first in the MAC. He has notched four shutouts bringing his career total to 17.

The Bulls (4-5-1, 0-2-0 MAC) come into this contest after a win over Radford but suffered three consecutive shutout losses prior to that, including two MAC matches. Leading the way for Buffalo is a pair of 1999 second-team All-MAC performers: seniors Tim Songer and Brian McCallion. Songer has accumulated 10 points on four goals and two assists and ranks tenth in the MAC with one point per game. McCallion ranks second on the team with four points (one goal, two assists).

Buffalo is knotted with Bowling Green and Western Michigan for last place in the conference.