Sept. 2, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Junior forward Tyler Riggs netted his second goal of the year but No. 15 St. John’s used a pair of goals in a 2-1 win, on a blistering hot Sunday afternoon at Stone Stadium on the campus of South Carolina.
Kentucky (0-3) fell behind early, before Riggs evened up the game with a gorgeous goal. In the 20th minute the high-octane Red Storm struck for a penalty kick to take a 2-1 lead. The game wraps up the Gamecock Classic, with the Wildcats suffering a pair of close losses at the hands of No. 25 Northwestern and St. John’s, the defending Big East Champions.
UK keeper Jack Van Arsdale turned in a strong outing, saving two shots, while UK defender Charley Pettys also notched a save. St. Johns (3-0-1) keeper Rafael Diaz saved five UK shots in the contest.
UK will return to action on Friday, kicking off the UK Invitational Tournament vs. St. Joseph’s at 7:30 p.m. ET at the UK Soccer Complex.
UK finished with nine total shots in the game, including six on target. Matt Lodge led UK with three shots.
St. John’s got on the board in the 10th minute, using a run down the far sideline and some nice ball movement to set up a chance inside the box, including a back-foot flip that set up the scoring chance. Nick Matthews played the ball into the box for Juan Aguiar, who fired a low shot at the far post that just got past Van Arsdale.
The Wildcats answered in the 13th minute, as Riggs finished a gorgeous strike from about 25 yards out on a ball played down the middle from Jacob Kemper. The junior native of Louisville, Ky., now owns 18 career goals to rank eighth in UK career history. The assist was the first of the year for Kemper and the third of his career.
The Red Storm got on the board again in the 20th frame as Jack Bennett finished on a penalty kick chance, beating Van Arsdale with a hard-hit shot to his left.
GAME NOTES: Freshman forward Caleb Richardson made his first career start … Tyler Riggs netted his 18th career goal, ranking eighth in UK annals … Riggs’ 41 career points ranks tied with Todd Weismueller for ninth-best in UK career history … Freshman Jacob Scearce made his first collegiate appearance … Dylan Murphy made his first career appearance … Jacob Kemper notched his third assist of his career.
