Sept. 25, 2012
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Senior Gabriel Conelian and junior Tyler Riggs each tallied a pair of goals to lead the Kentucky men’s soccer team to an explosive 5-1 win at IPFW on a chilly Tuesday night at Hefner Soccer Field.
Kentucky (5-4-0) totaled five goals for the 14th time in program history, using two goals from each Conelian and Riggs and the fifth goal of the year from senior Matt Lodge. The Wildcats finished with a 24-13 advantage in shots, a 10-2 lead in corner kicks and a 10-3 margin in shots on goal.
With the two-goal game, Riggs and Conelian became the 56th and 57th players in program history with a pair of goals. Riggs has now turned the trick twice, including a two-goal game in a win over No. 9 Michigan in 2011.
Lodge, a native of Rossington, England, led UK with a staggering nine shots in the game, the second-most shots in UK single-game history and now sits just one shot shy of tying the school record for most shots in his career. Conelian finished with five shots, while Riggs had three and Charley Pettys finished with two shots.
The win completes a rugged nine-game stretch to open the season where the Wildcats were on the road for six contests and faced a total of five teams ranked in the top-25 in the latest polls on Monday. After a 1-4 start to the year, the Wildcats have ran off a four-game winning streak to claim a winning record entering Conference USA action on Sunday with a home tilt vs. Memphis at 2:30 p.m. ET at the UK Soccer Complex.
During UK’s four-game winning streak, which started with a 1-0 win at No. 18 Louisville in front of 5,583 fans on Sept. 14, UK has outscored its opponents 11-2 and owns a 0.50 goals-against average in a span of 360 minutes. On the year, UK is averaging a pair of goals a game offensively and has a 1.21 goals-against average.
UK junior keeper Jack Van Arsdale saved one shot in the game, allowing just the IPFW tally. IPFW (0-10-0) keeper Brandon Cloutier finished with two saves in 76 minutes, with Will Brown working the final 14 minutes in goal.
The Wildcats got on the board in the 12th minute, as Conelian forced a foul at the top of the 18-yard box. Lodge took the kick, bending it over the wall and into the net at the far post. The goal was Lodge’s 22nd career tally and his team-leading fifth of the year.
In the 20th minute, UK took a 2-0 lead as Riggs found the ball inside the box. The Louisville, Ky., native finished a hard-hit shot past the keeper at the far post.
IPFW cut into the UK lead with a goal in the 22nd minute, as Jackson Tooke played a ball to Corey Tom, who fired a goal by Van Arsdale for his third tally of the year.
UK netted the first goal of the second half in the 61st minute, as Conelian fired a long strike across the box. The ball sailed into Cloutier’s hands, with the ball slipping out for the second goal of the year for Conelian.
In the 71st frame, Riggs struck again for UK’s four goal of the game. He swiped the ball from an IPFW defender on the attacking end and some nifty movement beat the charging keeper and left him an open net to finish.
Conelian, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, completed his first career multiple-goal goal in the 88th minute, getting the ball deep in the IPFW box and firing a shot into the far corner of the net.
GAME NOTES: Matt Lodge netted his 22nd career goal and now has 59 career points … Lodge now has sole possession of sixth place in the UK career record books in goals and points … Tyler Riggs finished his fourth goal of the year and now has 21 career goals and 50 points, to rank tied with Michael Strong for seventh-best in career goals in UK history … Riggs’ 50 career points ranks seventh-best in UK history … The UK duo of Lodge and Riggs are just the seventh and eighth UK players in program history to net 20 or more goals … Brad Doliner made his first appearance of the year, starting the second half on the backline … Over his last two meetings with IPFW, Lodge has four goals … Riggs is now tied for seventh-place all-time with Lodge and Barry Rice (2006-09) and Tim Crone (2007-09) on the career game-winning goals list … With nine shots in the game, Lodge now has 166 shots in his career, just one shot shy of Riley O’Neill’s (2003-06) school record of 167 shots … Lodge’s nine shots marked the second-most shots in single-game UK history … UK’s four-game winning streak marks its first since a five-game streak late in the year in 2009 … UK’s five-goal outburst is its first since a 5-1 win over Brown in 2011.
