West Virginia
Men’s Soccer Earns Draw at No. 6 West Virginia
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Kentucky men’s soccer (1-2-4, 0-0-2 Sun Belt) earned the second consecutive draw of Sun Belt Conference competition with a 0-0 tie against No. 6 West Virginia (5-0-3, 1-0-1 Sun Belt) at the Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.
The first half of the contest remained scoreless as both programs were unable to get a ball in the net. West Virginia held most of the possession in the first 45’ recording nine shots to Kentucky’s four. With only two of the nine shots on goal for the Mountaineers, junior goalkeeper Ryan Jack denied the WVU offense with a save in the second minute and at the 25’ mark.
With the halftime period complete, the Wildcats and Mountaineers faced off once again for the second half of the match. Shortly after play resumed, freshman Bertil Alban found a shot opportunity which was saved by WVU’s keeper, Marc Bonnaire. Followed by two Kentucky corner kicks, the ball was repossessed by West Virginia. A battle in the box did not phase Jack as he recorded his third save of the night in the 55th minute.
The remaining 35 minutes of time presented unsuccessful scoring opportunities for both the Cats and Mountaineers. Joel Gonzalez was the second Wildcat to shoot a shot on goal which was saved. Despite effort to get a point on the scoreboard, regulation concluded resulting in a 0-0 scoreless draw. UK tallied 12 total shots throughout the match with eight in the second half while WVU only added two to their total of 11. Jack recorded the Cats’ second clean sheet of the season improving his junior record to 0-0-2.
Kentucky opened Sun Belt Conference competition last week also with a 0-0 draw against Georgia Southern at The Bell Soccer Complex. Friday’s match in Morgantown, W.Va. marked the second road contest of the regular-season schedule and the first of conference play for the Cats. The Mountaineers opened their Sun Belt schedule with a road test and 1-0 victory at Old Dominion.
Kentucky and West Virginia hold an updated all-time series record of 3-0-2 UK following the evening’s battle. The first face-off between the programs was took place in 2001.
The Wildcats will continue their two-match road trip in Columbia, S.C. taking on the Gamecocks of South Carolina in a match commonly dubbed the men’s soccer Southeastern Conference Championship.
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.