NO. 21 SOCCER OPENS C-USA PLAY AT NO. 13 UCF
Wildcats Face Red-Hot Golden Knights
ORLANDO -- The NCAA
leader in goals scored through 11 games, the 21st-ranked Kentucky men’s
soccer team opens Conference USA play, traveling to No. 13 Central
Florida for the conference lidlifter, set for 7 p.m. ET at the UCF
Soccer Complex. Kentucky (7-3-1, 0-0-0 C-USA) enters the
game with UCF ranked as the NCAA leader with 25 goals scored through 11
games, tied with No. 2 Maryland for the nation’s lead. UK enters the
game with UCF looking for its third win over a top-15 opponent in 2011,
also topping No. 9 Michigan and No. 15 Brown, in addition to losses at
No. 3 Creighton, No. 13 Cal and Stanford. The Wildcats
will face UCF on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, before embarking on a trip to
Miami for a Sunday match at FIU. The two-game trip will conclude a
brutal travel stretch that has seen the Wildcats travel to each coast,
Nebraska and venture to the Sunshine State. Overall, during 15 days of
travel, UK will have logged over 9,700 miles. The game
will be televised on Florida on the Brighthouse Network, with
UKathletics.com offering a comprehensive, interactive live blog of the
action. Kentucky has been led with the nation’s most
prolific offense by forwards Matt Lodge and Tyler Riggs. Lodge leads UK
with 21 points, owning seven goals and seven assists, leading UK with
54 shots. Riggs owns a team-best eight goals with four assists, while
Charles Pettys is tied for the team lead with seven assists. Josh
Mulvany has two goals and two assists, while C.J. Tappel has added a
goal and four assists. In goal, sophomore netminder Tyler Beadle has
posted a 1.55 goals-against average with 29 saves in nine games. UK
is coming off a 3-2 win over Evansville on Friday, as UK got goals from
Mulvany, Lodge and the game-winning goal from Sam Brooks in the 85th
minute. UK allowed a UE goal just 33 seconds into the game, before
rebounding to even the game on Mulvany’s goal and take the lead on
Lodge’s tally. After allowing the game-tying goal, Lodge found Brooks
with a gorgeous sliding touch inside the box, with Brooks pounding home
the game-winning goal. UCF (6-1-1, 0-0-0 C-USA) enters the
game as one of the hottest teams in college soccer, ranked as high as
No. 8 last week before falling in its first loss of the year against
Florida Gulf Coast on Sept. 24. UCF has wins over Jacksonville,
Massachusetts, Belmont, North Florida, Mercer and American, with a tie
at George Mason. The UCF match with UK will mark its first matchup
against a top-25 opponent, with UK facing its fourth top-25 foe in 2011. The
Knights have been led by C-USA scoring leader McKauly Tulloch, who has
nine goals and two assists in six games. Nik Robson has three goals and
four assists, with Kevan George leads the team with five assists. In
goal, Shawn Doyle has saved 25 shots and posted a 0.75 goals-against
average, allowing six goals in eight games. In the meeting
with the Knights last year, UK got a goal just three minutes into the
game from Brooks, before UCF got the equalizer in the 78th minute, with
the game going as a 1-1 tie during a rainy contest at the UK Soccer
Complex. UK ranks throughout the NCAA stats, as the
Wildcats lead the nation with 25 goals, ranking as the 17th-best
scoring offense in college soccer with 2.27 goals scored per game.
Individually, Lodge and Pettys lead the NCAA with seven assists each,
while Lodge ranks No. 3 in total points (21) and Riggs ranks No. 5 in
total points (20). Riggs’ eight goals rank No. 6 in the NCAA, while
Lodge’s seven goals rank No. 10.
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