LEXINGTON, Ky. — Tim Crone netted the game-winning goal in the 65th minute, to lead the Kentucky men?s soccer team to a dramatic, come-from-behind 2-1 win over the No. 1 SMU Mustangs on a chilly Saturday night at the UK Soccer Complex.
The win, arguably the biggest win school history, marked the first win for Kentucky over a No. 1 ranked foe in the 17-year history of the UK soccer program. The win extended UK’s conference winning streak to four games.
SMU (11-3-2, 6-1-1 Conference USA) entered the game as the top-ranked team in the land, rolling to an undefeated conference record, a seven-game winning streak, and needing only a win over UK to seal the C-USA Championship. The Mustangs held an all-time 5-0 record against UK, having pounded the Wildcats by a combined 6-0 score in two meetings last season. Kentucky entered the game having never scored more then one goal on the Mustangs. SMU has proven to be extremely stout defensively, allowing only 14 goals all season entering the game, including only allowing two goals in a game four times (No. 9 UC Santa Barbara, No. 18 Tulsa, No. 24 Washington, and Oral Roberts).
?Give all the credit to our guys,? Kentucky head coach Ian Collins. ?For us to be able to come out on senior night and beat the No. 1 team in the country, really says a lot about the toughness of this team. I am just so proud of them, it had nothing to do with coaching – it was all about the players leaving it all out on the field.
?Jase Griffiths was awesome – he really stabilized the field and helped to keep us in the game. Nathan Marks really shut down Bruno Guarda, who will win the national player of the year. So did Andrew [Alexander] who really had to battle with Ben Shuleva, and he really shut him down too.?
Scott Geppert gave SMU an early lead in the sixth minute, which made the game appear to be in the control of the top-ranked team in the land. Geppert took a feed from Bruno Guarda from the left side and netted the ball into the corner of the net from about 30 yards out. The goal was Geppert?s fifth of the season.
?After we gave up that first goal, we could have folded, but the team didn?t quit, they persevered and showed that they were the better team,? Collins said. ?I don?t think this was an aberration, I think we can really be that good and there is no doubt that we were the better team in the second half. There is nothing fluky about this game, we earned the win.?
Kentucky (7-8-2, 5-2 C-USA) goalkeeper Dan Williams kept UK in the game in the first half, making several miraculous saves to keep UK down just one goal heading into the final period. Williams finished with five saves, but the stat sheet does not tell the impact that the sophomore had on the SMU offensive prowess, as the keeper helped stifle every scoring chance created by an extremely athletic SMU team.
?Dan really kept us in the game,? Collins raved. ?He made some key saves and even after that first goal, with all the saves Dan was making, you could really see the momentum start to shift to our side. He is a keeper who really owns his box and he played so well tonight to keep us in the game, I am just really proud of his toughness and tenacity. He made some really fantastic saves in the game, and despite that one goal, he really pulled it out and showed what an amazing goalkeeper he is – absolutely one of the best in the country.?
?That is what I am in there for, to come up with saves and help the team,? Williams said. ?They have an amazing team with a lot of speed and athleticism and we knew we had to match their intensity for 90 minutes. We came out fired up and after we allowed that first goal, we could have folded, but we battled and came out with a win over the top-ranked team in the nation.?
In the 59th minute, Crone entered the game for the first time in the contest and the sophomore forward immediately had an impact on the game. Forward Mark Halma set up freshman C.J. Tappel on the left side of the field, and Tappel lofted a beautiful cross into the penalty box for a diving Crone, who connected with the ball for the game-tying goal.
?Tim had really been hampered by an injury and we haven?t been able to play him for the past several games,? Collins said. ?We knew that he could come in and force a lot of pressure around the penalty box and that is exactly what he did. He is a really scrappy, feisty player and he did exactly what we asked him to do. He got a lovely service from C.J. and really stepped up with a big goal.?
?C.J. [Tappel] played it out wide and sent a beautiful ball into me,? Crone said. ?I stepped inside the defender and buried it in. I was just trying to give the team a lift when I entered. That is what you want a sub coming off the bench to do, to come in and bring some energy to the field. I hadn?t played in the last few games and have missed a lot of practice, but I wanted to get back on the field and give my team a boost.?
Just minutes later in the 65th minute, with UK controlling the momentum, Crone took a cross from UK?s leading assist man, Masumi Turnbull, and headed the ball off the top post from about five yards out. The ball skidded off the cross bar and bounced into the goal, marking Crone?s fifth goal of the season and the first game winner of his career. The assist was Turnbull?s seventh of the year.
?We played it off the short corner,? Crone said. ?I caught the defender off guard and stepped out, heading it off the cross bar and into the net. Masumi?s ball was perfect and I hardly had to move at all. After we got the second goal, we knew that we couldn?t just sit back and absorb their pressure, we knew we had to keep attacking because they are such a good, dangerous team. We wanted to keep pressuring the ball and keep up our offensive gameplan.?
Kentucky wraps up its regular season next weekend, as it travels to Columbia, S.C., for a Friday night match with the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kickoff in Columbia is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
?We approach South Carolina the same as we approach every game, with a lot of hard work and focus,? Crone said. ?We can help ourselves in the conference race and we really want to keep competing at a high level.?
?We need to refocus and get ready for a really tough game at South Carolina,? Collins concluded. ?We won?t dwell on this game – that is not how this team is made up – it isn?t our style. Our results haven?t proven what a good team we have, but now that we are getting healthy and are starting to come together, I think the conference is wide open.?
The game was televised by CSTV and will be aired for the first time, on Monday at 8 p.m. EDT on CSTV.
Post-Game Quotes
Kentucky head coach Ian Collins
On the win ?
?Give all the credit goes to our guys. This is the first time all year that we have been able to pick our best 11 guys to go out there and play. Nathan Marks and Andrew Alexander were absolutely brilliant, and I am just so happy for our guys, this win is all about them, I just feel so great for them.?
On key players stepping up in the win ?
?Jase Griffiths was awesome, he really stabilized the field and helped to keep us in the game. Nathan Marks really shut down Bruno Guarda, who will win the national player of the year and so did Andrew [Alexander] who really had to battle with Ben Shuleva, and he really shut him down too.?
On the team?s mindset after allowing the first goal ?
?After we gave up that first goal, we could have folded, but the team didn?t quit, they persevered and showed that they were the better team. I don?t think this was an aberration, I think we can really be that good and there is no doubt that we were the better team in the second half. There is nothing fluky about this game, we earned the win.?
On Tim Crone?s two-goal game ?
?Tim had really been hampered by an injury and we haven?t been able to play him for the past several games. We knew that he could come in and force a lot of pressure around the penalty box and that is exactly what he did. He is a really scrappy, feisty player and he did exactly what we asked him to do. He got a lovely service from C.J. and really stepped up with a big goal.?
On goalkeeper Dan Williams? play ?
?Dan really kept us in the game early. He made some really key saves and even after that first goal, with all the saves Dan was making, you could really see the momentum start to shift to our side. He is a keeper who really owns his box and he played so well tonight to keep us in the game, I am just really proud of his toughness and tenacity. He made some really fantastic saves in the game, and despite that one goal, he really pulled it out and showed what an amazing goalkeeper he is -absolutely one of the best in the country.?
On battling through significant injury issues this season ?
?We have had ten players hurt this season and we finally had the chance to get a healthy team out on the field. For us to be able to come out on senior night and beat the No. 1 team in the country, really says a lot about the toughness of this team. I am just so proud of them, it had nothing to do with coaching – it was all about the players leaving it all out on the field.?
On focusing on South Carolina on Friday ?
?We need to refocus and get ready for a really tough game at South Carolina. We won?t dwell on this game – that is not how this team is made up, it isn?t our style. Our results haven?t proven what a good team we have, but now that we are getting healthy and are starting to come together, I think the conference is wide open.?
Dan Williams, So., GK
On beating the No. 1 team in the country ?
?We knew we had to bring our best game because SMU is one of the best teams in the country. We came out fired up and after we allowed that first goal, we could have folded, but we battled and came out with a win over the best team in the nation.?
On making five crucial saves to keep UK in the game ?
?That is what I am in there for, to come up with saves and help the team. They have an amazing team with a lot of speed and athleticism and we knew we had to match their intensity for 90 minutes.?
On keeping up the pressure after scoring the go-ahead goal ?
?We knew after we scored that second goal, we needed to keep the same kind of focus that we had brought to the whole game. We didn?t want to stop attacking and we wanted to keep playing the same way we had been throughout the game.?
Tim Crone, So., F
On pulling out the win over the No. 1 team in the nation ?
?Obviously, SMU is one of the best teams in the country. We knew that we had to come prepared after we had a tough loss on Wednesday to Indiana. We really wanted to play well for the seniors and send them out on a high note.?
On the team?s mindset after scoring the second goal of the game ?
?After we got the second goal, we knew that we couldn?t just sit back and absorb their pressure, we knew we had to keep attacking because they are such a good, dangerous team. We wanted to keep pressuring the ball and keep up our offensive pressure.?
On his first goal of the game ?
?The first goal came right after I entered the game. C.J. Tappel played it out wide and sent a beautiful ball into me. I stepped inside the defender and buried it in.?
On his mindset when we entered the game off the bench ?
?I was just trying to give the team a lift when I entered. That is what you want a sub coming off the bench to do, is to come in and bring some energy to the field. I hadn?t played in the last few games and have missed a lot of practice, but I wanted to get back on the field and give my team a boost.?
On the significance of the win ?
?It is a big win for the program. We knew where we stood in the conference race and we wanted to get three more points and move up in the table. We want to keep on pushing and get the best seed we can for the tournament.?
On focusing on South Carolina for Friday ?
?We approach South Carolina the same as we approach every game, with a lot of hard work and focus. We can help ourselves in the conference race and we really want to keep competing at a high level.?
On his second goal of the game, his fifth of the season ?
?We played it off the short corner. I caught the defender off guard and stepped out, heading it off the cross bar and into the net.?
