LOUISVILLE ? Kentucky scored two second-half goals after an uneventful first half to pull away from in-state rival Louisville and tally a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night at Cardinal Park.
The Wildcats won for the first time this year and improved to 1-2 after playing three games in five days to open the season. Both losses came to top 20 teams. They also handed the Cardinals their first loss of the year as Louisville fell to 2-1.
Kentucky extended its winning streak over the Cardinals to five in Louisville. The Wildcats are 5-0-1 all-time at Cardinal Park.
?I?m very, very proud of the guys after the weekend,? said Kentucky coach Ian Collins. ?What we came off on the weekend ? a tough loss on Sunday ? was brutal. I want to give Louisville credit. They stuck at it and stuck at it. But I want to give our guys credit too.
Michael D?Agostino initiated the scoring in the 48th minute. He took a feed from Jamal Shteiwi 20 yards out to the left of the circle and, after two touches, rocketed a shot into the left side of the net for his first career goal.
?What a goal, from 25 yards, upper 90,? said Collins. ?I mean, he just cracked it. What a strike!?
Shteiwi put the game away with a penalty kick goal in the 86th minute. Riley O?Neill drew the penalty after he outran the Louisville defense to Andrew Alexander?s throw in down the right side.
It is the second straight game Shteiwi has found the back of the net as he extended his point streak to four games dating back to last year. It is tied for the fourth longest streak in school history.
An uneventful, physical first half, which included 21 fouls, concluded with a flurry as Matt Rose roped a shot from 35-yards out that looked good, but found the right post and bounced clear.
The first 20 minutes was spent mostly in the Louisville defensive half, but Kentucky was unable to create many scoring chances out of it. The Wildcats managed just three shots, only one on goal, as the Cardinals packed its defense back.
?I thought we started really well,? Collins said. ?We dominated the first 15 or 20 minutes. Then we lost our way a little in the last 15 minutes. You have to credit Louisville for that.?
Kentucky?s best first-half chance came when Riley O?Neill took a ball even with the Louisville defense. However, keeper Charles Edwards charged from the net and made a sliding deflection on O?Neill?s shot.
?Riley did a nice job to create his own chance. It was a nice save by the goalkeeper,? noted Collins.
Louisville offered up only three first half shots, finding opportunities mostly on the counterattack. Justin Pierre used his speed on the right side to fire off a pair of shots.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday at 7:30 p.m. for its home opener against UNC-Asheville.
