Oct. 24, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Winners of three consecutive matches, the Kentucky men’s soccer team looks to continue its winning ways with a Conference USA clash with Florida International, at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday at the UK Soccer Complex.
Kentucky (8-4-2, 4-1 C-USA) has posted three consecutive conference wins, including home wins over No. 18 South Carolina and UCF, and on the road at UAB in overtime. The Wildcats sit in second place overall with 12 points, three shy of No. 8 Tulsa’s league-leading 15 points. UK has a chance to equal its conference win total from a year ago with a win over FIU, which would mark the third consecutive season UK has totaled five C-USA wins.
The Wildcats are coming off a come-from-behind 2-1 win over UCF, getting goals from sophomore C.J. Tappel and Tim Crone. UK trailed in the 71st minute before Tappel hooked up with Marco dos Santos and Masumi Turnbull for his first goal of the season and the second of his career. Crone gave the Wildcats the lead seven minutes later, as UK’s assist leader, senior Chad Hagerty, crossed the ball to Crone who netted it for his fifth goal of the season.
In the win at UAB, UK got a goal from Stephen Beiro just 18 seconds into the match, a new school record for the quickest goal scored in a game. After leading for 82 minutes, UAB’s Curtis Ushedo was credited with a goal after a UK defender had it bounce off his body for an own goal. UK rallied back to post the win with a golden goal, as Hagerty delivered his second assist of the night, and a diving kick from Tyler Burns sealed the game in the 100th frame.
UK’s last loss came at the hands of now eighth-ranked Tulsa on the road and its three-game win streak is the best since posting three consecutive October wins in 2007. Of UK’s four total losses on the year, three came on the road at top-25 opponents, including in front of 2,753 fans at No. 7 UC Santa Barbara – the 2006 NCAA Champion.
The Wildcats entered its 2-1 win over UCF on Wednesday as the 16th-best scoring offense and the 22nd-best goals against average in college soccer. UK leads the conference in nearly every category, including points (86), goals (29), goals per game (2.07), assists (28), assists per game (2.00) – checking in second in goals allowed (0.79) and second in goals-against average (0.76). UK also leads the league in shutouts with six.
Senior forward Michael Strong has led the way offensively with 15 points (7 goals, 1 assist), despite playing in just 12 games – and only for an average of 42 minutes per game. Crone ranks second with 12 points (5 goals, 2 assists), with dos Santos checking in with eight points (3 goals, 2 assists). Co-captain Jason Griffiths (3 goals, 1 assist) and Sam Vernalls (2 goals, 3 assists) rank fourth on the club with seven points. Freshman Taylor White, who has played in just seven games and not since Sept. 26 at UNC-Asheville, has six points (2 goals, 2 assists) on the season. Hagerty, a native of Louisville, Ky., leads the club with four assists on the season.
Scouting FIU
FIU (2-8-2, 1-3-0 C-USA) has totaled two wins on the season, at Florida Gulf Coast University and at UCF. Juan Guerra has led the way offensively with six goals and three assists, accounting for nine of FIU’s 12 total goals on the season. WKU transfer and Louisville, Ky., native Will Thompson ranks second on the team with 13 shots. In goal, Jesse Fullerton has played in 10 games and 923 minutes, allowing 19 goals and a 1.85 goals-against average. Shane Lopez has played two games and 200 minutes, allowing six goals and a 2.70 goals-against average.
All-Time Series with FIU
Kentucky leads the all-time series with FIU, 2-1-1, posting two consecutive wins in the series. UK lost the first meeting in the series, a 1-0 setback on the road in 2001, before the Wildcats were a member of C-USA. In the lone meeting at the UK Soccer Complex in 2006, UK posted a 2-1, two-overtime win.
C-USA Domination
Since 2006, UK has been a front runner in the rugged C-USA, posting a 14-6-1 record in league play. The Wildcats have 43 total points during that time, second in the conference, seven points shy of Tulsa (16-3-2 since 2006) and three points ahead of SMU (12-5-4 since 2006). The third-place team in the conference, South Carolina (9-7-4 since 2006) has totaled 31 points in the last three seasons.
