LEXINGTON, Ky. — Already honored on the College Soccer News National Team of the Week, sophomore forward Tim Crone has received his second accolade of the day, earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors, after netting both goals in leading the Kentucky men?s soccer team to an improbable 2-1 upset of No. 1 SMU on Saturday.
Crone, a sophomore forward, had missed the previous four games after suffering an injury that will require surgery at the end of the season. The Cincinnati, Ohio native, came off the bench in the 60th minute and needed just 23 seconds to tie up the game with the high-powered Mustangs. Crone headed the ball home after taking a brilliant lob cross from freshman C.J. Tappel and sending it into the back of the net from inside the penalty box. Just a few ticks later in the 65th, Crone netted the game winner for the Wildcats, taking a lob from UK assist man Masumi Turnbull, and heading the ball off the crossbar into the net. Crone ranks second on the team in points (11), tallying five goals and one assist on the year.
Crone was earlier honored by CSN [collegesoccernews.com] as one of 12 players named to its weekly National Team of the week.
The C-USA weekly honor is the first of Crone?s career and UK?s second of the season, as goalkeeper Dan Williams earned the accolade after posting a shutout in UK?s 1-0 win over UAB.
Kentucky (7-8-2, 5-2 Conference USA) is riding a four-game conference winning streak, boosting the Wildcats to third place in the conference entering the final weekend of action. UK had clinched a spot in the C-USA Tournament, held Nov. 14-18 in Birmingham, Ala.
UK returns to action on Friday with its final regular season game of the season, a 7 p.m. EDT showdown with South Carolina. With 15 points in the conference table, UK is firmly planted in third place in the C-USA standings.