COLUMBIA, S.C. — Behind a pair of goals from sophomore sensation Tyler Riggs, the No. 29 Kentucky men’s soccer team smashed No. 15 Brown, 5-1 to claim the 2011 Gamecock Classic on an overcast Sunday afternoon at Stone Stadium.
Kentucky (6-2-1) destroyed the high-octane Bears in the championship game of the Gamecock Classic, posting five goals and owning a 21-10 shot advantage, behind dynamic outings from Riggs, Matt Lodge and Josh Mulvany.
UK got two goals from Riggs, as the Louisville, Ky., native also had a goal disallowed due to an offsides call and after his second multi-goal game of the year owns a staggering eight goals through nine games, including four assists. Overall on the weekend, Riggs netted three goals to earn the Offensive MVP accolade of the 2011 Gamecock Classic.
In addition to Riggs breakout performance during the demolition of the Bears, UK got the first career goal from Josh Mulvany and the first goals of 2011 from senior Josh McCrary and sophomore Brendan Murphy. Senior C.J. Tappel contributed his second two-assist game of the year, with Jacob Kemper adding his first career two-assist game and Lodge charting two assists. In addition freshman Steve Cabos added an assist and Charles Pettys collected his team-leading sixth assist of the year.
UK’s five-goal game was its best offensive outing since hanging up a 6-0 win over Central Arkansas in the season-opener in 2008. UK’s five goals rank as the fifth-best single-game total in program history. In addition, Murphy’s goal with just nine seconds left in regulation is now the second latest goal in regulation in program annals.
The win for the Wildcats is the second win over a top-15 team in 2011, as UK also posted a 2-1 result over No. 9 Michigan. UK has played a challenging schedule through the first nine games of the year, facing Michigan and Brown, in addition to matches at Stanford and No. 13 Cal. UK returns to action on Wednesday, traveling to No. 3 Creighton for an 8 p.m. ET matchup in Omaha, Neb. Fans can follow the action through an UKathletics.com interactive live blog. Creighton is the only team in the NCAA not to allow a goal.
UK keeper Tyler Beadle collected four saves in the game, facing 10 shots and allowing just one goal.
UK got on the board in the 14th minute, as Lodge played a ball to Tappel, who found Mulvany on the cross. Mulvany chipped a perfect shot over the head of Brown keeper Alex Carr for his first goal of the year.
In the 24th minute, Lodge found Tappel again, with Tappel lofting another long cross from around midfield to McCrary, who collected the cross with his chest and fired a left-footed strike past a diving keeper.
Brown (4-2-0) got on the board in the 77th minute, as Taylor Gorman played a ball into the box to T.J. Popolizio who despite traffic inside the box found room to get a shot off for the lone Brown tally of the game.
It didn’t take UK long to put the game out of reach, getting Riggs’ first goal of the game in the 80th minute as Kemper found Riggs for his first goal of the game.
UK added another goal in the 85th minute, as Charles Pettys lofted a corner to Kemper, who lofted a cross into the box for Riggs, who headed it to the far post for his second goal of the game.
The Wildcats subbed in several players right after the fourth UK goal of the game, including Craig Heard, Cabos and Murphy. With just nine seconds left in the game, Murphy got a ball from Cabos and fired a gorgeous shot from 20 yards out past the keeper for his first goal of the year and the second latest goal in regulation in UK soccer history.
