April 17, 2009
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Kentucky men’s soccer team posted two impressive spring wins over IUPUI and Northern Kentucky, using goals from Taylor White, Thomas Zimmerman, Tim Crone and Jason Griffiths. UK returns to action Saturday, April 18, hosting Evansville at 5 p.m. ET and Rio Grande at 6:30 p.m. ET at the UK Soccer Complex.
On a gorgeous day for soccer and with a good spring crowd at the UK Soccer Complex, UK welcomed Marshall, IUPUI and Northern Kentucky for a round robin tournament. Kentucky notched a 2-1 win over IUPUI and a 3-0 result against NKU.
UK fielded a very inexperienced team in the game with IUPUI, with only two players participating having seen any game action in their careers at UK. The Wildcats jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Zimmerman and White, with White returning to action after a lengthy injury. IUPUI responded right before halftime with a goal from Eric Weigman, narrowing UK’s lead to 2-1. UK dominated the pace of play in the second half, but was unable to add to its lead despite numerous scoring chances and the IUPUI goalkeeper making some quality saves. UK freshman goalkeeper Joey Peglow played every second in goal, enjoying a relatively quiet game.
In the win over NKU, a 2008 NCAA Division III Final Four participant, UK started the game well, narrowly missing taking an early lead when a header from Dayton transfer Josh Albers was well saved by the NKU keeper. Crone had a good chance early, but his shot failed to find the back of the net.
UK keeper Dan Williams, a 2008 All-Conference USA honoree, thwarted an early Northern Kentucky scoring opportunity, one of the only threats mounted against the stingy UK defense.
UK came out strong in the second half, taking a lead just 40 seconds into the game. White got behind the NKU defense and his cross was met by Crone, who slotted the ball home for the lead. UK’s second goal came three minutes later as C.J. Tappel, a Lexington, Ky., native, made a strong run down the left side and his cross was turned in by Radford transfer Josh McRay, for McRay’s second goal in two weekends. UK added to its lead with a goal from Griffiths, who scored from 25-yards out. The Wildcat offense continued to click, as Tyler Burns hit the post and a good run from George Davis IV resulted in White hitting the bar on a header from eight yards out. Northern Kentucky had a free kick opportunity late in the half, but Williams was able to secure the threat in goal. Throughout the weekend White, Albers, Tappel and Griffiths performed extremely well for the Wildcats.
