After a 10-day layoff the Kentucky men?s soccer team returns to action on Wednesday when it faces South Carolina in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament, played in Dallas at 2:30 p.m. CT.
The Wildcats enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed after a 6-7-5 regular season which included a 3-4-2 league mark. The Gamecocks have been on fire, going 10-1-1 in their last 12 games, en route to earning the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
?There is no question that South Carolina is one of the hottest teams in the country,? Kentucky coach Ian Collins said. ?They have a very talented team and we know they will be very well prepared.?
Part of South Carolina?s run includes a 1-0 victory over UK in Columbia, S.C. In that game, the Wildcats fired off five shots on goal to just one for USC, but couldn?t break through.
Top-seeded SMU is hosting the eight-team event after claiming the regular-season championship with an 8-1 record. The team?s seeded third through seventh were bunched together, just a game-and-a-half apart.
?This is going to be a very tough tournament,? Collins said. ?Every team here has a legitimate chance to walk away with the championship. So, I think our players are excited to get on the field and give it a go.?
Kentucky will rely on its defense, which placed three of the team?s four players on the All-Conference USA teams that were announced Tuesday. Senior goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum led the league in goals against to be named first-team all-conference. He was joined on the first team by senior defender Thomas Senecal, who ranks second on the team in goals with three.
It is the third straight first-team all-conference honor for both.
The Wildcats joined league champion SMU and South Carolina as the only team?s to place more than one player on the first team.
Senior defender Brandon Stewart was tabbed as second-team All-Conference USA and Michael D?Agostino earned third-team honors at midfield.
?Those players are very deserving of the awards they?ve received,? Collins said. ?The three seniors have been rock solid for us in the back for four years now and it?s nice for them to be recognized.?
