Aug. 23, 2002
Fort Wayne, Ind. – The 20th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s soccer team tied top-ranked Indiana 1-1 Friday night in front of nearly 5,000 fans at the IPFW Soccer Showcase at Hefner Soccerfields in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Wildcats led for over sixty minutes in the exhibition match, which was the first action of the fall 2002 campaign for both squads.
UK attacked off the opening whistle and earned a corner kick in the seventh minute. Junior Nathan Fleetwood found the head of sophomore Olli Lehtimaki in front of the goal to give the Wildcats an early lead. The teams combined for 11 shots in the first half, but each team only had one shot on goal.
In the second half, the Hoosiers put more pressure on Kentucky. The Wildcats defense held strong in front of senior goalkeeper Greg Raber, who made seven saves on the day. In the 72nd minute, however, Hoosier All-American Pat Noonan got behind the UK defense and found Vijay Dias in front of the goal for an equalizer.
Kentucky senior John Monebrake, the Wildcats’ leading scorer in 2001, had a late chance stopped by IU goalkeeper Jay Nolly. The Hoosiers outshot UK by a tally of 12-3 in the second half, but only came away with one score.
“This was a great preseason match,” UK Coach Ian Collins said. “We played well against the No. 1 team in the country. The match showed us that we have a lot to work on, but there were also a lot of positive aspects. We’re looking forward to bouncing back into action Sunday.”
Kentucky finishes the Soccer Showcase on Sunday, when it plays Michigan State at 1 p.m. The Spartans faced fifth-ranked Virginia in the second game Friday.
1 2 FKentucky 1 0 1Indiana 0 1 1
Scoring SummaryUK Olli Lehtimaki (Nathan Fleetwood) 6:13IU Vijay Dias (Pat Noonan) 71:49
Shots: UK 7, IU 19Saves: UK 7; IU 1Corners: UK 1; IU 8Fouls: UK 18; IU 9Yellow Cards: UK 1 (Fleetwood); IU 1 (Bock)
