EXINGTON ? Riley O?Neill scored the game?s lone goal in the 38th minute to lead the Kentucky men?s soccer team to a 1-0 victory over rival Louisville on Friday night at the UK Soccer Complex.
In the season opener for both teams, the Wildcats beat the Cardinals for the fourth straight meeting, this time in front of a school-record crowd of 3,227. It was the third time during the win streak that UK blanked Louisville.
?We had a great crowd,? Kentucky coach Ian Collins said. ?They were fantastic. Our students and everyone who turned up were great. It was a great night and I thought they got a well-played game. It?s a rivalry and both teams laid it on the line.?
O?Neill (Campbell River, British Columbia/Timberline) provided all the offense Kentucky would need. He came off the bench in the 32nd minute and scored less than seven minutes later on a tremendous move. After winning a free ball 25 yards out on the right side, he took the ball through a Cardinal defender?s legs and beat goalkeeper Charlie Edwards one-on-one from just inside the 18.
?What a player,? Collins said. ?He single-handedly changed the game by himself. It wasn?t just the goal, he was occupying four and five defenders at a time. What a great player. He played his butt off. More than just the goal, he really lifted our young players up.?
The goal was more than enough for the Wildcat defense, which gave up just five shots on goal and allowed only one real scoring opportunity for Louisville. That chance came well before O?Neill?s goal when Frank Jonke broke through on a breakaway but was stonewalled by Kentucky senior goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North).
Gruenebaum, a preseason first-team All-American, earned the shutout, which was his second over Louisville in as many years. Kentucky has not allowed goal in its last three home games and has a shutout streak of 264:11 at the UK Soccer Complex dating back to last season.
?We needed the defense to come up big. We thought we?d need a shutout and we got one,? Collins said. ?Andy made a couple of good saves early, but I give Louisville a lot of credit. They came out and fought and scrapped. All credit to them, I thought they played fantastic. If they play like that all year, they?re going to have a great season.?
Kentucky had a number of solid chances throughout, but were unable to finish. In the seventh minute, sophomore Andrew Alexander (Atlanta, Ga./Pace) had a clear look from the left side of the box, but sent it into the side of the net. Michael D?Agostino (Langley, British Columbia/Langley) also shot one wide into the netting later in the half.
In a dominating first 45 minutes, the Wildcats owned a 10-5 shot advantage and took four corners to none for the Cardinals.
Freshman Jess Mitchell (Plano, Texas/Plano), one of three freshmen to start for UK, had UK?s best chances in the second half, coming less than three minutes apart. He sent one shot high on with only the keeper to beat and had a second opportunity stopped by a diving Edwards.
Kentucky returns to action Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Alabama A&M at the UK Soccer Complex. The Bulldogs beat High Point 3-1 earlier in the day. Louisville faces the Panthers in the UK Invitational?s first game at 5 p.m.
