Sept. 6, 2003
The Kentucky men’s soccer team will play its season opener on Sunday, Sept. 7 against UNC-Asheville. The Wildcats and Bulldogs are set to take Greenwood Field at 2 p.m. in scenic Asheville, N.C.
Kentucky (0-0) is anxious to play its first game of the season after its original season opener against Louisville was postponed twice due to inclement weather in the Lexington area. The game has been rescheduled for Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the UK Soccer Complex. UNC-Asheville (1-0-1) opened its season with a 2-0 road win at Wofford College and tied with East Carolina, 1-1, on Friday.
“Our players are very excited to get the season underway,” Collins said. “We were obviously disappointed that the Louisville game was postponed but we have turned all thoughts towards getting prepared for UNC-Asheville.”
UK is 6-0 all-time against the UNC-Asheville. The last meeting between the two schools was in 2001 at the UK Soccer Complex where the Cats blanked the Bulldogs 4-0. However, Collins is not expecting Sunday’s match-up to be an easy one.
“UNC Asheville is a difficult place to play and a tough place to win,” Collins said. “It will be great to see where we are in our development and how all of our new and veteran players are meshing together”.
The last time Kentucky took the field was at the IPFW Soccer Showcase in Ft. Wayne, Ind., Aug. 22-24. UK downed then No. 7 Indiana, 2-1, in its first exhibition game and fell to Michigan State, 2-0, in its second exhibition game.
The Wildcats are led by junior Jamal Shteiwi, a third-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes selection, who was the leading scorer for Kentucky last season.
