Oct. 20, 2002
The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team dropped its fourth-straight match of the season Sunday, when it fell to Mid-American Conference foe Buffalo by a score of 2-1. Both teams now have a .500 record, with the Wildcats falling to 7-7-0 (0-2 MAC) while the Bulls improved to 6-6-1 (3-2).
Buffalo got onto the board first, when Geoff Thompson scored off an assist from Patrick Beckley in the ninth minute. It was the fifth time this season that UK had allowed a goal in the first 15 minutes.
The Cats roared back, though, when senior Monty Frazier headed a pass from junior Chris Austin into the back of the net at 38:14. The score was deadlocked at 1-1 at the half. Kentucky earned seven corner kicks and took 10 shots in the half, while Buffalo was held to six shots and no corner kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum, in his second collegiate start, made six saves in the game to keep the Wildcats in the match.
The game remained tied for 33 minutes of the second half, until UB’s Jeff Martinko placed a corner kick onto the head of Thompson, whose seventh goal of the season turned out to be the game-winner.
On the day, the Cats out shot Buffalo by a 19-14 tally. Both junior Nathan Fleetwood and sophomore Jamal Shteiwi, tied for the UK team lead with 11 points each, took five shots, but could not find the goal.
The match marks the first time the Cats have lost to Buffalo in five meetings. Both teams dropped double overtime contests to conference opponents on Friday.
The Wildcats will stay on the road with a match next Friday in Kalamazoo, Mich., against MAC rival Western Michigan. The match is scheduled for 3 p.m.
1 2 FKentucky 1 0 1Buffalo 1 1 2
Scoring SummaryUB Thompson (Beckley) 8:07UK Frazier (Austin) 38:14UB Thompson (Martinko) 78:27
Shots: UK 19; UB14Saves: UK 6; UB 6Corners: UK 11; UB 4Fouls: UK 13; UB 19Cards: UK 2; UB 1Attendance: 95
