No. 3 Kentucky Men's Soccer Wins 6-1 Over New Mexico
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 3 Kentucky men’s soccer team scored four goals in the first 17 minutes and another two after halftime to move back into a tie atop the Conference USA standings with a 6-1 victory against New Mexico on a chilly, but sunny Sunday afternoon at The Bell.
Kalil ElMedkhar and Jason Reyes scored a brace each.
Both of ElMedkhar’s goals occurred in the first half and Reyes’ came on either end of the break. JJ Williams scored his team-leading 12th for UK’s fourth of the first half on 17 minutes. Freshman Clay Holstad rounded out the scoresheet with his first career goal in the 84th minute.
The Wildcats improved their won-lost-drawn record to 12-1-1 (5-1-0 C-USA). New Mexico dropped to 4-10-0 (2-4-0 C-USA).
UK, Florida International and Old Dominion are tied atop the C-USA table on 15 points from six games. FIU handed UK its only loss of the season earlier this month.
“We’re playing our best soccer now,” JJ Williams said. “To get 6-1 result shows that we’re not just a team that keeps clean sheets, we’re an attacking one as well … We’re going to be able to keep clean sheets, but if we really want to be successful and go where we want to this year we’ve got to step up and play a big part in scoring.
“I think we put in a lot of work and right now we’re reaping the benefits of that. And I’m really thankful that our team continues to put us in situations to succeed. Right now we’re the ones getting the benefits, but it’s the dirty work that goes in to give us these opportunities to be successful.”
The goals
Kalil ElMedkhar opened the scoring after six minutes collecting a pass from JJ Williams and dribbling by three defenders into the box before slotting his finish beyond UNM goalkeeper Parker Ford.
Jason Reyes doubled the hosts’ lead 101 seconds later, finishing a cross from Williams.
ElMedkhar finished UK’s third in the 11th minute with freshman midfield maestro Nicolai Fremstad assisting.
Williams got his third goal from the last three games in the 17th minute tapping home a Cole Guindon cross.
Antoine Vial brought one back for New Mexico in the 22nd minute, finishing across goal after Nick Taylor found him along the right side of the box. Vial’s goal was the first UK has conceded at The Bell this season, and just the seventh of the year.
The Wildcats would reassert their dominance in the second half with Jason Reyes executing a top-class finish on the turn with his back heel after Williams crossed it from the byline when ElMedkhar found him with a ball over the top.
Holstad finished six minutes before full time after Bailey Rouse and Robert Screen had connected via volley.
The notes
Kentucky has won three matches in a row following its first loss of the season at FIU on Oct. 7.
Kentucky’s team goals-against-average, which ranked No. 3 in the nation entering the weekend, dropped to .49. The Wildcats have kept shutouts in 10 of 14 games, second only to St. Mary’s (Calif.) in the nation.
Goalkeeper Enrique Facusse one save on Saturday, and has stopped 40 of the 47 shots he’s faced this year, good for an 85-percent save percentage, which ranks No. 5 in the nation.
Junior forward JJ Williams moved up to 12 goals this season, tied for the conference lead, including one from each of the last three. He has six game-winners, which is tied for third most in the nation.
Williams moved into solo second place for most-ever goals by a Wildcat in a single season, four back of Greg Kotzbauer.
His 18 career goals rank eighth on the UK all-time list.
ElMedkhar and Reyes each scored three goals this week.
Williams has 29 points on the year (12 goals, five assists), third on the UK single-season list and four back of Kotzbauer’s school record. ElMedkhar has 20 points (seven goals, six assists) this season, tied for tenth most by a Wildcat in a single campaign.
Nine substitutes made appearances for Kentucky, including goalkeeper Jackson Hawthorne who played the last eight minutes for his first regular-season appearance.
Kentucky won its 12th game of the year, tying the Cedergren-era record for wins in a season (2015).
UK’s six goals tied for fourth most in a game in program history and marked the most UK scored since putting six on FAU in 2013.
The Wildcats’ four first-half goals tied third most in school annals.
The quote
“It was a really good attacking day for us, and it was not New Mexico’s best day,” UK head coach Johan Cedergren said. “We were dynamic today, so we’re very happy. One of the things we talked about after the Marshall game last weekend was to be more efficient and to be able to score off the chances we had.
“Today four goals in 17 minutes – that was a very good start. We’re a good team, we just have to make sure we stay humble and keep working.”
The next ones
Kentucky will play its non-conference finale at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET against Evansville.
The Wildcats will conclude the regular-season road slate at FAU on Sunday, Oct. 28 before finishing the regular season at The Bell on Friday, Nov. 2 in a match against ODU that could have huge ramifications atop the C-USA table.
The setup
The Wildcats entered the weekend ranked a program-record No. 3 by the United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News. UK is No. 8 in the most recent NCAA Ratings Percentage Index.
Cedergren named an unchanged starting 11 from the one that began Tuesday’s 3-0 win against Ohio State.
The history
Kentucky improved to 5-1-1 and 3-0-1 in Lexington against New Mexico in the overall series.
Kentucky has a five-game regular-season (not including conference tournament) win streak against the Lobos, and two-game winning streak in all competitions.
New Mexico and UK drew 2-2 in the C-USA Tournament in 2016 with the Lobos advancing on penalties although that match was recorded as a draw by the NCAA.
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For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
