Hutchins’ Header, Clean Sheet Help UK Soccer Defeat Louisville
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – Noah Hutchins headed a brilliant goal just before half, and the Kentucky men’s soccer defense kept another trademark clean sheet to treat 2,863 blue and white-clad supporters to a 1-0 victory over Louisville on Tuesday at The Bell.
The Wildcats have scored seven goals and conceded just one – none from the run of play as the one blemish was on a penalty kick vs. Dartmouth last Friday – in four matches this season.
Kentucky improved to W3 L0 D1 on the season. Louisville is 2-1-1.
The goal
Just inside five minutes until the interval, Charlie Reymann played a free kick from four yards behind the midfield stripe into the box where Noah Hutchins got free by back peddling from the edge of the box to 12 yards. There, with his back to goal, he directed a header perfectly over Louisville goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland’s reach, and just under the cross bar.
Hutchins scored his second goal of the season, while Reymann assisted his first.
The quote
“We look forward to this game every year,” captain Charlie Reymann said. “It’s huge for the fans. We were definitely hyped up for it. The past two years haven’t gone our way. This year we battled hard and came out with a result so it’s awesome and gives us a lot of confidence going forward.
The notes
Kentucky improved to W11 D7 L4 v Louisville all-time, and the Wildcats broke a two-match Cardinals winning streak.
Head coach Johan Cedergren is 2-2 v Louisville all-time (the sides didn’t play in 2013 — both teams had new stadium under construction that season).
Hutchins scored the winner in a 1-0 match for the second Tuesday in a row.
The 2,863 fans at The Bell on Tuesday made for the second largest crowd in the facility’s history. The record crowd at The Bell is the 3,368 that watched Kentucky and Louisville play in 2014.
The setup
Tuesday’s match will pit two undefeated sides that entered with two wins, a draw and no losses apiece.
Both teams were unchanged from the previous match.
With another Abe Out planned, plus the meaning of this fixture across the state a large crowd was expected in spite of temperatures that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the buildup.
The next one
Kentucky will play Furman at 7 p.m. on Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina.
