Oct. 30, 2002

The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team will conclude the 2002 regular season on Friday, Nov. 1, when the Wildcats travel to Akron, Ohio, to face the Zips at 7:30 p.m. The match marks the final Mid-American Conference contest of the year and will determine seeding for the MAC Tournament, Nov. 8-10, in Huntington, W.V.

The Wildcats (9-7-0) bounced back from a pair of conference losses to defeat Western Michigan and Northern Illinois last weekend, evening their league record at 2-2. Kentucky has won 13 of its last 15 MAC games, dating back to the beginning of the 2000 MAC Tournament.

Akron (6-7-2) comes into the weekend with a 3-1 record in the MAC after dropping a 1-0 decision to Bowling Green on Sunday. Akron holds a 5-3-1 all-time advantage over Kentucky, but has lost the past two meetings between the squads.

Kentucky is the defending MAC regular season and tournament champion. The Cats have been eliminated from contention for this year’s regular season crown, but can prevent Akron from sharing the title with Bowling Green (4-1 in the MAC) with a win Friday.

Kentucky is currently fifth in the MAC, but could jump as high as third, ahead of Akron and Buffalo (3-3 in the MAC). As the third seed, the Cats would face Northern Illinois, seeded sixth, in the first round of the conference tournament. With the fifth seed, UK would get a rematch against fourth-seeded Buffalo.

“Akron is a much better team than their record indicates. They are an NCAA-caliber team that has played a very tough schedule,” Coach Ian Collins said. “We need to keep improving and learn how to play a full 90-minute game. It should certainly be a good game for the fans.”