Oct. 12, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the seventh time in its first 13 games of the 2012 season, the Kentucky men’s soccer team will face off with a ranked opponent, traveling to take on No. 25 UAB, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET on Saturday at West Campus Field.
Kentucky (5-6-1, 0-1-1 Conference USA) will face off with its third consecutive ranked opponent and its seventh in the first 13 games of the 2012 season. In addition, UK will play five of those ranked opponents away from the UK Soccer Complex.
After starting the year with a 1-4 record with four one-goal losses, the Wildcats ran off a five-match unbeaten streak with four wins, including a 1-0 win at No. 18 Louisville in front of 5,583 fans at Cardinal Park.
The Wildcats have been paced by an explosive offensive attack in 2012, netting 21 goals in 12 games, averaging 12.6 shots per game. UK owns a 1.55 goals-against average defensively, using the goalkeeping combination of junior Jack Van Arsdale and freshman Callum Irving. A native of Richmond, Va., Van Arsdale has a 1.43 goals-against average in 10 games with 27 saves and two shutouts. Irving has started three games, with a 2.00 goals-against average and seven saves.
Junior forward Tyler Riggs has led UK in scoring with seven goals and four assists (18 points), firing 28 shots with 20 on target. Senior Charley Pettys has added four goals and three assists, while senior Matt Lodge has five goals and leads the team with 37 shots. Senior Gabriel Conelian has three goals, while senior Jacob Kemper has added four assists. Freshman Bryan Celis owns a goal and an assist, while junior defender Steven Perinovic has added a goal. Freshman Kristoffer Tollefsen has two assists, while freshman Jacob Scearce has charted an assist.
UAB (7-3-2, 2-1-0 C-USA) enters the game fresh off a thrilling 4-3 comeback win at South Carolina on Wednesday night. The Blazers have posted wins over Mercer, Georgia Southern, at Clemson, No. 2 Washington, Lipscomb, FIU and South Carolina. The Blazers have ties with No. 5 Charlotte and Fairleigh Dickinson, with their lone losses coming at ETSU, No. 8 New Mexico and SMU.
UAB has scored 20 goals in its first 12 games, averaging 1.67 goals per game and 14.3 shots a contest. Defensively, the Blazers have a 1.03 goals-against average with three shutouts.
Individually, Kofi Gyawu has four goals and four assists, leading the team with 33 shots. Mladen Lemez has five goals, while Chase Wickham has three goals and one assist. Freddy Ruiz has three goals, Karl Chester has two goals and two assists and Reed Matte has two goals and one assist. Ian Svantesson has a goal and three assists. In goal, Raphael Ville has a 1.03 goals-against average with 48 saves in 12 games.
The series with UAB and the Wildcats is tied 4-4, with UK falling in three consecutive meetings between the two teams. In games played in Birmingham, the series is tied 2-2 with UK’s last win coming in 2008 in overtime. d
