TicketsSept. 13, 2008
CINCINNATI - The University of Cincinnati men's soccer team dropped a 4-1 decision to regional rival Kentucky on Saturday night (Sept. 13) at Gettler Stadium.
Kentucky (3-2-0) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just 2:26 in to the contest. Jase Griffiths looped a high, arching pass over the top of the UC defense. UK's Michael Strong, split a pair of defenders and chipped the ball over the head of charging UC goalkeeper Matt Williams (Portland, Maine/Cheverus). Williams recovered and attempted to punch the bounding ball out of harm's way, but Strong's head and Williams' fist met the ball simultaneously and Strong won the battle.
UC (2-2-1) controlled possession and tempo for the next 35 minutes and tallied the equalizer in the 23rd minute. Branden Stelmak (Broadview Heights, Brecksville-Broadview Heights) ran onto a through ball in the box, where he was taken down by Kentucky's Berry Rice, earning a penalty kick. UC's lone senior, Brad Simpson (Novi, Mich./Novi) stepped up to the spot and blasted the PK to the upper right for a 1-1 tie.
UC had two opportunities to take a 2-1 lead, but neither came to fruition. In the 31st minute, a UC cross was punched away by UK keeper Dan Williams. The ball found the feet of Paul Hoste (Clinton Township, Mich./De LaSalle), whose left-footed strike was saved by a sprawling Williams. Moments later, Colby Catlett (Dublin, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) had a shot one-on-one with Williams, but his shot to the far post, which got under the keeper's arm, slid just right of the post.
The Wildcats would not be held down for long, however, as sub Tim Crone finished a perfectly-placed Issam Sawtarie cross from the right flank for a 2-1 UK lead.
Less than five minutes later, Mark Lavery's throw in on the near side was chested down by C.J. Tappel to the feet of an unmarked Crone, who put home his second goal of the match for a 3-1 advantage.
The Bearcats again controlled possession for the majority of the second half, but in the 67th minute the Wildcats tallied again. Sawtarie was brought down in the box, earning a penalty kick. Griffiths beat Williams low left for his second goal of the season.
"We are very disappointed in the performance tonight," said head coach Hylton Dayes. "We had too many defensive breakdowns, but give Kentucky credit. They took advantage of our breakdowns and played very opportunistically. We need to address a few issues and work on changing our defensive mentality."
UC will look to tighten things up quickly, as it opens BIG EAST play next weekend on the road. The Bearcats visit nationally-ranked Providence (Sept. 19) and Connecticut (Sept. 21), posing a tall task for the young squad.