Oct. 31, 2008
DALLAS — Riding a five-match unbeaten streak and sitting in second place in the conference with title hopes still alive, the Kentucky men’s soccer team travels to face the No. 22 SMU Mustangs in a Sunday matchup, slated for 1 p.m. ET at Westcott Field.
Kentucky (9-4-3, 5-1 Conference USA) sits in second place in the conference with two C-USA games to play. No. 8 Tulsa leads the league with a 7-0 mark, with its final game against South Carolina on Saturday. UK faces SMU and then wraps up its season with Memphis the following weekend.
The Wildcats are coming off a 1-1 tie at No. 14 Indiana, the NCAA leader in the latest RPI. UK allowed a goal six seconds into the match, an IU school-record, but rebounded to get a Marco dos Santos game-tying goal in the 22nd minute.
UK has not lost since an Oct. 8 setback at then 14th-ranked Tulsa, posting four wins and a tie in its last five games. UK has totaled wins over No. 18 South Carolina, at UAB and at home against UCF and FIU during the streak. On the year, UK boasts wins over No. 13 Michigan, with three of its four losses coming at top-25 foes (No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, No. 24 Cal Poly and No. 14 Tulsa).
UK, who joins Tulsa as the only league teams to clinch a spot in the C-USA Championship has been paced by a potent offensive attack and a stingy, physical defense. UK ranks among the league leaders in nearly every category, including second in points (98), second in goals (33), second in goals per game (2.06), second in assists (36), second in assists per game (2.00) and second in goals-against average (0.83).
Individually, the Wildcats have been led offensively by senior forward Michael Strong, who has totaled seven goals and one assist for a team-leading 15 points. Junior forward Tim Crone checks in with 12 points, including five goals and two assists, while dos Santos has totaled four goals and three assists, to rank third with 11 total points on the season. Junior midfielder Jason Griffiths has gone 4-for-4 on penalty kicks on the year, adding one assist. Senior Chad Hagerty leads the team with five assists, while Vernalls and dos Santos rank second with three each.
In goal, UK has been led by one of the top keepers in the country, junior co-captain Dan Williams. Williams, a native of Fairfax Station, Va., has posted a 0.84 goals-against average, allowing only 14 goals on the year. Of the 14 goals allowed, two came as own goals, two came on penalty kicks, one an alleged offsides goals and the IU goal just six seconds into the match during a massively-quick defensive breakdown.
Last year, UK sprung a monumental upset of the then-No. 1 ranked SMU in the home finale of 2007. The Wildcats trailed 1-0 at halftime, thanks to Williams’ acrobatic goaltending. Crone came off the bench and needed just seconds to net the game-tying goal, later coming back with the game winner to lift the Wildcats to its first win over a No. 1-ranked team in program history.
The Mustangs (9-4-2, 2-3-1 C-USA) has posted wins in its last two matches, both 2-0 results at UAB and UCF. SMU has suffered losses in conference at Memphis and against Marshall and Tulsa, while posting non-conference wins over Old Dominion, Virginia, Stanford and Hofstra. Paulo da Silva leads the way offensively with seven goals and two assists, while Diogo de Almeida checks in with five goals and one assist. Dane Saintus has totaled three goals and two assists, while Gabe Arredono leads the club with six assists, along with Jeff Harwell. In goal, Craig Hill has posted an impressive 0.85 goals-against average, allowing just 13 goals in 1384 minutes, saving 56 shots and totaling six shutouts.
SMU leads the all-time series between the two schools 5-1, with UK’s last win in the series coming in 2007. UK is 0-3 in games played at Westcott Field.
