No. 4 Kentucky Welcomes South Carolina for Saturday Showdown
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After earning its first win over a ranked opponent in its last outing, No. 4 Kentucky (9-0-3) is set to return to Conference USA competition for a matchup with unranked South Carolina (5-7-1) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET, broadcast on ESPN+ with Dave “Buzz” Baker in the booth.
Behind a 2-0-3 record in conference play, the Wildcats enter Saturday with nine points at fourth place the C-USA standings. The Gamecocks bring a 1-3-1 record and a seventh-place league standing to Lexington. As a matchup between the only two Southeastern Conference full-member institutions to field varsity men’s soccer, Saturday’s annual contest is colloquially known as the “SEC Championship.”
Last Tuesday, the Kentucky defense posted its eighth shutout of the season in a 1-0 double-overtime win over No. 25 West Virginia. Senior forward Daniel Evans scored the golden goal in the 105th minute, notching his third game winner of the season off assists by Nick Gutmann and Ben Damge.
The Wildcats remain unbeaten after 12 matches for the first time in program history.
South Carolina snapped its own four-game unbeaten streak on Oct. 16 with a 4-1 loss to then-No. 18 FIU at home. The Gamecocks are 0-2 against ranked teams this season.
Kentucky owns a 10-7-3 advantage in the teams’ all-time head-to-head series, claiming each of the last four battles and six of the past eight.
Admission to all 2021 UK soccer matches at Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex is free to the public. For the latest on the Kentucky men’s soccer team, follow @UKMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
