Fort Wayne, Ind. — The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team, ranked 20th in the NSCAA/adidas preseason poll, will begin its 2002 campaign Friday night when it plays an exhibition match against top-ranked Indiana at the IPFW Soccer Showcase. The Soccer Cats will face Michigan State on Sunday, concluding their 2002 preseason schedule.
The Wildcats will face off against top-ranked Indiana on Friday, Aug. 23, at 6:30 p.m. The Hoosiers were College Cup finalists a year ago. On Sunday, Aug. 25, at 1:00 p.m., the Soccer Cats will play Michigan State. The Spartans advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year, where they fell to Indiana for the third time that season.
The Wildcats finished the 2001 season with a record of 14-6-1. Winning the MAC Tournament championship for the third straight year, they advanced to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Mercer to earn their first NCAA Tournament victory. UK returns seven starters from last year’s squad, including two All-MAC first-teamers — senior John Monebrake and junior Nathan Fleetwood.
The Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the fifth-consecutive year in 2001, where they lost to North Carolina. The Indiana-Kentucky border war has been heated in the last few years. In the 1999 NCAA Tournament, the Cats took Indiana to double-overtime before falling to the Hoosiers. IU won the national championship that season, their fifth. In last year’s regular season matchup, the teams played for over two hours before the Hoosiers were able eke out a 1-0 victory.
Sunday’s match marks the first time UK will have faced the Spartans. Michigan State advanced to the finals of the Big Ten Tournament and the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, running into Indiana both times.
The 20th-ranked Wildcats will play four of their first five matches against teams ranked in the preseason top 25. Dates against No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Virginia, No. 10 Maryland and No. 19 Creighton will all take place by the first week of September.
Never shying away from a challenge, the Wildcats appeared in the IPFW Soccer Showcase last season and faced 17th-ranked South Carolina and 19th-ranked UAB. UK came away from the weekend 1-1, defeating UAB 2-1.
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