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Kentucky sophomore midfielder Joey Gaworecki netted the Wildcats? fourth penalty kick and sophomore goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum made an outstanding save in a shootout to lift UK (12-6-2) over Cincinnati (10-4-6) on penalty kicks, 4-2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. UK advances to the second round of the tournament to face the Indiana Hoosiers (12-3-5) in Bloomington, Wednesday Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
?I?m happy for our players,? said head coach Ian Collins. ?We have all the faith in the world in Andy and tonight he showed what he can do.?
Gruenebaum, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., made six saves in the course of the double-overtime nail-bitter, but his most memorable save of the night came in Cincinnati?s first shot attempt during the shootout. With the count at 0-0 following a John Adams save on Kentucky?s first attempt, Gruenebaum managed to tip Wiremu Patrick?s shot just enough to knock it into the post and prevent Cincinnati from taking a 1-0 advantage.
?(Andy?s) first save was world class,? Collins said. ?That would have belonged in the World Cup. It was the greatest save I?ve ever seen in my life. It was unbelievable.?
The sophomore added another save on Cincinnati?s third attempt and Gaworecki iced the game for Kentucky on the team?s fifth and final attempt of the shootout session following goals by senior Chris Austin, junior Jamal Shteiwi and freshman Nathan Li.
?I give credit to our assist coach Jeff Chaney, because everyday for the last 10 days our boys have been practicing penalty kicks and they were prepared,? Collins said. ?I didn?t watch any of (the penalty kicks) because I just can?t. I?m a little emotional and it is a nerve racking thing for me.?
In addition to the drama of the shootout period, the 1,500-plus fans who packed into the UK Soccer Complex were treated to an outstanding game between two evenly matched teams in Kentucky and Cincinnati. The Bearcats nearly snuck in a goal just seconds into the game, but Gruenebaum made a heads-up play in the box to record the first of his five saves in regulation.
?They came at us very hard and you could tell the difference in age and experience,? Collins said. ?They started 10 juniors and seniors and we started one senior and a couple of juniors. Our boys were very nervous and tentative in the first half. I think once we settled down the last 20 minutes of the second half and overtime, we were very dangerous.?
Kentucky missed on an early opportunity as well when Shteiwi?s free kick from 23 yards out in the 20th minute just missed the right post. Gruenebaum would record a second save in the half and the teams headed to the locker rooms tied, 0-0, after 45 minutes.
The game continued to go back-and-forth throughout the second half and two overtime periods with UK barely missing on a couple more opportunities to score. Lehtimaki, a junior from Hameenlina, Finland, missed wide-right from the top of the box just four minutes into the second half and Christopher Lefferts? attempt from 16 yards out in the first overtime period was saved by the Cincinnati goalkeeper.
After 110 minutes of scoreless soccer the game went into a shootout period with each team getting five chances to score. The Wildcats managed to outscore Cincinnati, 4-2, to advance to the second round of the tournament for the third time in four years.
?I hate to see the game end like this, but those are the rules,? Collins said. ?Somebody has to win and advance and go on. I challenged (our players) at halftime to step-up and represent our team, each other, the University and the people in the state who paid to watch them play better and I think they responded in a positive way. They are looking forward to Wednesday?s game at IU and I think it should be a good match.?
Kentucky picked up its third win in the NCAA Tournament in its young 12-year history and the Wildcats are set to face No. 8 seed Indiana for the third time this season. UK faced then No. 7 IU at the IPFW Soccer Showcase in a preseason match and defeated the Hoosiers, 2-1, with Li scoring the game-winner with 26 seconds remaining. In the Cats? final regular season game, IU edged the Cats, 1-0, in Bloomington with Kentucky missing two of its defensive starters, sophomore Thomas Senecal and senior Craig Pykett due to injury.
