‘This game is so special to us.’ Home support spurs No. 2 UK to Sun Belt soccer finals.
The University of Kentucky men’s soccer team has given up as many as three goals in a match only one time during this historic, undefeated 2022 season.
That happened Oct. 15 when the Wildcats played West Virginia to a 3-3 draw in Morgantown, W.Va.
Clearly, all those goals allowed did not sit well with the Cats.
In the six matches since that game, UK has surrendered one goal — total.
Kentucky’s defensive dominance came full circle Wednesday night at the Bell Soccer Complex when the Wildcats faced a rematch with the Mountaineers in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
This match was a mismatch.
Second-ranked Kentucky blanked West Virginia 3-0 in front of a crowd announced at 2,093 in Lexington.
The victory earned the No. 1-seeded Wildcats the opportunity to host No. 7 James Madison in the Sun Belt championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The winner claims the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
James Madison upset No. 2 seed Marshall, 1-0, and No. 3 seed Georgia State, 5-0, to reach the finals.
Kentucky (13-0-5) defeated James Madison (8-7-4), 3-1, when the teams met during the regular season on Oct. 1 at Harrisonburg, Va.
On Wednesday night, Kentucky’s defense limited West Virginia to four shots, none of which required a save by goalkeeper Casper Mols. Meanwhile, UK generated 14 shots.
Casper Grening put Kentucky on the board with an unassisted goal in the 22nd minute. It was his ninth goal this season, second best on the team.
Senior Eythor Bjorgolfsson secured Kentucky’s lead in the 81st minute, taking a diagonal pass from fellow senior Nick Gutmann and scoring his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Two minutes later, Enzo Mauriz completed the scoring, taking a cross from Gutmann and driving it into the net.
Gutmann’s two assists Wednesday night increased his nation-leading total to 16 this season.
“To score two goals in the second half to go up three-nil was a great performance,” assistant coach Ryan Zinkhan said. “This game is so special to us. Any time we’re able to play for another conference championship that means something so we’re super proud.”
Kentucky and top-ranked Washington (15-0-3) were the only two NCAA Division I men’s soccer programs still undefeated entering Thursday’s play.
The field of 48 for the NCAA Tournament will be drawn Monday at 1 p.m. (NCAA.com).
“What’s really special about (reaching the Sun Belt finals) is we get to share it with Big Blue Nation,” Zinkhan said. “Being able to play in front of our home fans, the crowd was unbelievable tonight. So thanks again to Big Blue Nation. They really showed up and showed out tonight.”
Sunday
James Madison at Kentucky
What: Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship match
When: 1 p.m.
TV: ESPN Plus (online only)
Records: No. 7 seed James Madison 8-7-4; No. 1 seed Kentucky 13-0-5
Last meeting: Kentucky won 3-1 on Oct. 1 at Harrisonburg, Va.
At stake: Winner earns automatic berth in NCAA Tournament
