GREENVILLE, N.C. ? Thomas Senecal had a goal and an assist and Michael D?Agostino added a pair of assists to lead the Kentucky men?s soccer team to a 3-2 victory over East Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Bunting Field.
The win was the first on the road for the Wildcats this year as they improved to 5-5-4 overall and 2-3-1 in Conference USA action. It was the first time since a 3-2 victory over IUPUI in 2000 that Kentucky allowed two goals and won. The Pirates dropped to 0-11-1 and 0-5 in the league.
After falling behind 1-0 in the third minute, UK answered with three goal in the first 23 minutes of the game. Senecal (Bethesda, Md./The Maret School) put the Wildcats on the board in the seventh minute when he buried the rebound off a D?Agostino (Langley, British Columbia/Langley) free kick. It was Senecal?s third goal of the season, which is second best on the team.
Just 90 seconds later, Matt Baum (Cape Coral, Fla./Cypress Lake) found an open Tim Walters (St. Louis, Mo./Lafayette) at the top of the box, where he beat the keeper for his first career goal. Baum was forced to leave with five minutes remaining after he took an elbow above the eye that required stitches.
Leading 2-1, Kentucky got a much needed insurance goal from Michael Strong (San Antonio, Texas/Alamo Heights) in the 23rd minute. D?Agostino sent a free kick from 35 yards out to the back post where Senecal outjumped the keeper to send a header across the goal to Strong.
The two assists push D?Agostino?s season total to six, which is tied for eighth best in school history.
Strong?s goal turned out to be the game winner after East Carolina scored for a second time in the 88th minute. Zach Matthews brought the ball down the left side and fired a shot that deflected of UK defender Brandon Stewart (Dallas, Texas/Creekview) past goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North).
The final score did not reflect the dominating effort Kentucky put in. The Wildcats owned the shot advantage 12-6 and put nine on goal. Outside of the two goals, which came on the deflection and a defensive break down on a goal kick, the Pirates never threatened.
For the second straight game UK played without starting striker Riley O?Neill (Campbell River, British Columbia/Timberline), who sat out with a knee injury.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, Oct. 21 when it hosts defending conference champion Memphis at the UK Soccer Complex.
