FORT WAYNE, Ind. ? Matt Groenwald scored twice to lead second-ranked St. John?s to a 2-1 victory over Kentucky on Sunday at the IPFW Soccer Showcase.
Despite owning possession most of the game, the Wildcats made a pair of mistakes that led to easy goals for the Red Storm and gave them the victory. The goals overshadowed what was an outstanding effort against the 2003 national runner-up.
?I?m encouraged today,? said head coach Ian Collins. ?The boys worked really hard and came in and took the game to them right away. We?ll get back to practice right away and work off this and get ready for the regular season.?
Kentucky took the game to St. John?s and nearly took the lead less than a minute into the contest. Jamal Shteiwi got free down the right side and beat goalkeeper Bill Gaudette only to see his shot careen off the far post.
?We started off great and could have scored after a minute but we hit the post,? said Collins. ?I though we dominated play for most of the first half and looked very good. I think we learned a lot from the Michigan State game. I?m very encouraged with the way we played. We came out strong and we battled.?
St. John?s scored first in the 19th minute. Groenwald got behind the Kentucky defense and Ryan Kelly fed the ball over the top to put Groenwald in position for the goal.
His second goal came in similar fashion three minutes into the second half. Gaudette cleared the ball deep into the Kentucky half of the field and Groenwald won the footrace to it. Goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum had to come out of net to try to play the ball, but Groenwald won it and scored an easy goal.
?Those are two goals you will never see a Kentucky team give up but we gave them up today,? Collins said. ?But it?s something we can go back and correct, so it doesn?t worry me.?
Kentucky controlled the flow of the game throughout the first half and notched seven shots in the frame. However, only one was able to find the back of the net. The Wildcats outshot St. John?s 9-7 for the game.
Kentucky?s goal came in the 39th minute on a brilliant effort by Shteiwi. Olli Lehtimaki won the ball at midfield and hit Shteiwi down the left side. After eluding three defenders at the edge of the box, Shteiwi beat Gaudette to tie the game.
Keeping the pressure on, the Wildcats had a chance to take the lead three minutes later. Gaudette was unable to control the ball in the box and found himself out of position with the ball and an empty net behind him. However, Riley O?Neill?s shot went just wide from a sharp angle.
Being an exhibition, Collins used the opportunity to get a lot of players in the game, most of whom played the majority of the second half.
?A lot of guys got to play this weekend. We got to see a lot of the freshman play and I think we have some really good tools to work with,? Collins said. ?The result wasn?t the most important thing for us. We were able to learn a lot about ourselves and now we?re ready to move forward.?
After Groenwald?s goal in the 48th minute, the team?s battled back and forth with each producing good scoring opportunities.
Jonathan Brunet had the Wildcats best chance to tie the game in the 77th minute. He took a perfect cross from Michael D?Agostino and put it in the corner of the goal. Only a tremendous diving stop by goalkeeper Jason Landers prevented the equalizer. Landers had replaced Gaudette at the half and made two saves.
?Against good teams, we?re creating good chances and that?s a hard thing to do,? said Collins. ?We?ll get to the point where those chances will find the net. Just like any sport, the more you get into a rhythm, the more you will do well. We?re only five days into this and those goals are going to come.?
The game was the final exhibition for Kentucky in the preseason. The Wildcats will have just under two weeks of practice before the season opener on Sept. 3, when it faces SMU in the SMU Mi Cocina Classic.
