As the clock ticked down in the fourth and final overtime period, the jubilation on the Kentucky sideline was evident. The UK men’s soccer team was about to extend No. 9 Saint Louis to a penalty-kick shootout in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were about to make history.

Senior Chris McAlpine has also achieved much in the classroom. McAlpine is a two-time Southeastern Conference and Mid-American Conference Academic Honor Roll selection and has been inducted into the prestigious UK Society of Character.

“That was the proudest I have ever been as a soccer player,” Chris McAlpine said. “I played the whole game, and then for us to advance on penalty kicks was remarkable. It was a total team effort with each player working for the team rather than himself.”

McAlpine, a Centerville, Ohio, native, was a major contributor to a Cat squad that topped Saint Louis 4-2 in the shootout to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Now a senior, he is ready for more.

“That is why I came to Kentucky,” McAlpine said. “I wanted a school with the right soccer package. UK is a place where I feel my potential is not limited by anything and the team can make a lot of forward progress. That is what we have done, and we have the players to keep doing that.”

And four more of those players also hail from the Buckeye State.

Junior Brian Mitts, a Cincinnati native, has been involved in soccer for as long as he can remember, growing up in a soccer family. His sister Heather was a star at the University of Florida and now plays for the Philadelphia Charge of the WUSA.

That talent has rubbed off on Mitts, a 2001 All-Mid-American Conference candidate. Through the first seven games of this season, Mitts is second on the team and in the MAC with three assists. Last season, he made a solid contribution in the midfield. Starting 17 of the 21 games in which he appeared, Mitts tallied two assists, including one on the game-winning goal against Northern Illinois in the first round of the 2000 MAC Tournament. He even knocked in one of the penalty kicks to propel UK past Saint Louis.

“That game was huge,” Mitts said. “It was a big stepping stone for this program. Everybody was persistent and gave their hearts.”

Mitts says he can even see that same fire in this year’s team.

All-MAC candidate, Brian Mitts is second on the team and in the MAC with three assists.

“I like the competition in this team, especially with the people we’ve got coming in this year,” Mitts said. “This team is competitive at every position.”

Sophomore Brad Samelko came to the Bluegrass from the Cleveland area looking for a school with a great soccer atmosphere and great facilities, but more than that, it was the strong will to win every game that Coach Ian Collins exhibits that brought Samelko to UK.

Playing for Cleveland United, Samelko won the state championship six times, and as a sophomore, his high school also won the state title.

For the Cats, he played only 180 minutes during the 2000 campaign, but his experience practicing with the team and his tutelage under former Cat Brian O’Leary gave him a leg up on the starting job this season.

“Those are big shoes to fill,” Samelko said about O’Leary. “He was an outstanding goalie. I just try to do the best I can, and I learned a lot from him.”

At No. 4 Indiana, he faced 21 shots, surrendering just one goal while making a career-high eight saves. He collected a shutout against UNC Asheville and is ranked fourth in the MAC with a goals-against average of 1.05.

Once upon a time, Samelko even played in the midfield, but around the age of 12 he was thrown in goal.

“Stopping a goal is definitely as exciting as scoring one,” Samelko said. “It is just a great feeling. I think it also helps pump up your team more and makes it want to play harder.”

Joining McAlpine, Mitts and Samelko are transfers Jamal Shteiwi and John Monebrake. Shteiwi, also from Cincinnati, spent a redshirt year at Indiana while Monebrake, a Pickerington native, came to Lexington from Ohio State.

John Monebrake, the 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Ohio State, leads UK with nine points on three goals and three assists. He also is tied for second in the MAC in goals and assists.

Monebrake, the 1998 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, got off to a slow start for the Cats but has begun to find his place. In the third game of the season against 13th-ranked OSU, Monebrake scored the game-tying goal with 3:30 left in regulation to send the match to overtime, where the Cats extended the Buckeyes to a 2-2 tie. He also scored two goals, including the game-winner, in a 4-0 triumph over UNC Asheville. His three goals are ranked second in the MAC, while his nine points have him tied for second.

When Monebrake decided to leave OSU, he had a number of offers from other schools. But UK made the most sense to him.

“It was mostly the people who are involved in the program that brought me here,” Monebrake said. “UK has a nice complex, and after the team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, I could tell this team is only getting better. It was just the best place for me to go.”

With a No. 20 national ranking, these Cats do look to be making grand strides toward their ultimate goal: the NCAA College Cup. Thanks in part to their Buckeye brethren.