Kentucky eliminated in second round of NCAA Tournament
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kentucky’s season came to a close Wednesday evening with a 2-1 double-overtime loss to the No. 8 seeded Indiana Hoosiers at Bill Armstrong Stadium. The Wildcats (12-7-2), playing a man down for the final 12 minutes of the game, stretched the Hoosiers (13-3-5) to the limit in rain-soaked conditions before Indiana junior Greg Badger scored the game-winner in the 106th minute to advance his team to the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Hoosiers took advantage of having an extra player on the field in the second overtime period when Badger scored in the midst of heavy traffic following an Indiana corner kick. Kentucky goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum appeared to save the shot on his knees, but the officials ruled that he was inside the box and credited the Hoosiers with the “golden goal” win.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Kentucky head coach Ian Collins said. “They overcame a lot of adversity tonight. My kids gave every ounce of effort we asked of them and this is a difficult place to play.”
Indiana is now 41-3 at home in NCAA Tournament matches and advanced to face Virginia Commonwealth in the third round.
IU threatened to score early in the match when a Kentucky foul inside the box gave Indiana a penalty kick in the 17th minute. Gruenebaum stopped senior Vijay Dias’ attempt to keep the game scoreless. The All-Mid-American Conference first team goalkeeper made a total of five saves and several key plays to stymie Indiana scoring opportunities throughout the game.
The Wildcats got on the board first in the 27th minute of the first half when freshman Riley O’Neill netted his seventh goal of the season. Junior Jamal Shteiwi played a ball down the right sideline off a pass from sophomore Joey Gaworecki and whipped a pass of his own across the box that found O’Neill who fired a shot into the lower left-hand corner past Indiana goalkeeper Jay Nolly.
UK held a 1-0 advantage for the next 18 minutes of the match until Indiana freshman Jacob Peterson scored the equalizer from six yards out to tie the match just before halftime.
Kentucky’s defensive unit, anchored by Gruenebaum, stopped the Indiana offensive attack and limited the Hoosiers to three shots on goal in the second half. Neither UK nor IU could find the back of the net in the second 45-minute period and the teams went into overtime tied, 1-1.
In the first overtime period, Kentucky was dealt a stiff blow when junior Peter McLellan was disqualified from play after receiving a red card four minutes into the extra session. UK continued to rely on its tough defensive unit, playing with a man down, and forced the game into a second overtime period.
Kentucky played its third NCAA Tournament second round game in four years and its fifth overtime match in seven post-season contests. The Cats will look to improve on a stellar season as they return the nucleus of this year’s team in 2004.
