Indiana Comes Back in Second Half to Steal Victory from Kentucky
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kentucky men’s soccer (2-3-4, 1-0-2 Sun Belt) fell 3-2 to long-time rival Indiana (4-3-5, 2-1-2 B1G) on Tuesday at Bill Armstrong Stadium.
Finding an early goal in the first half, senior Logan Dorsey took a right-footed shot from the top of the box. The rocket soared into the bottom right of the net, missing the Indiana goalkeeper in the 23rd minute. The goal was unassisted as Dorsey recorded his third goal of the 2024 season.
With a 1-0 advantage over the Hoosiers, nearly 10 minutes of play proceeded before the Cats set up for a corner kick. The shot sailed into the mix of UK and IU student-athletes before it was popped back to Bertil Alban. The freshman connected with the shot to assist Mateo Franzotti who sent a right footed ball into the bottom right of the net. His first career Wildcat goal bumped the score up to 2-0 Kentucky.
As the first 45’ of time expired, back-to-back Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Week, goalkeeper Ryan Jack, tied his career high of five saves in a single match. Although most of the procession was held by the Hoosiers in the first half of play, including 14 shots to Kentucky’s 3, the Cats led 2-Nil.
The second half of regulation began as Kentucky held a comfortable lead. However, after nearly 10 minutes of play, Indiana’s Tommy Mihalic, assisted by Jack Wagoner and Collins Oduro, scored in the 53’ to put IU on the board. With the score now sitting 2-1, it was not long before Mihalic found another scoring opportunity in the 57’ to equalize the contest. His second goal was assisted by Jansen Miller and Samuel Sarver.
Time continued without a break in the 2-2 draw until the 85’ when Indiana found its third and final scoring opportunity. Michael Nesci scored the game winner from his left foot, assisted by Oduro, to put the Hoosiers up 3-2 over the Wildcats.
Kentucky and Indiana hold an updated all-time series record of 3-21-5 (UK) with the first contest taking place in 1992. The Wildcats have only defeated the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. twice – 1995 and 2022.
UK will return to The Bell Soccer Complex on Friday continuing Sun Belt play against Old Dominion. The 7 p.m. EST match will be the start of Alumni Weekend. At halftime, the Cats will honor the lives and legacies of two Kentucky men’s soccer alumni, Jason Bell and Jamal Shteiwi.
Big Blue Nation can purchase single match, group, and season tickets by clicking here. Tickets will also be available for purchase upon arrival to The Bell. Gates will open one hour prior to kick-off.
For the latest on Kentucky Men’s Soccer, follow @UKMensSoccer on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKAthletics.com.
