A sudden-death goal breaks a scoreless tie, and No. 4 Kentucky remains undefeated

For all the acclaim and admiration that came to the Kentucky men’s soccer team thanks to its unbeaten run to start the season, there was still a gap on the résumé.

The No. 4-ranked Wildcats began the season with a program-best 11-match unbeaten streak, but they hadn’t scored, much less won, against a ranked opponent. UK recorded three scoreless draws in 110 minutes played against each of Coastal Carolina, Marshall and Florida International, all ranked opponents that UK faced in Conference USA play.

Tuesday night’s non-conference home match against No. 25 West Virginia, which will join C-USA for men’s soccer next season, followed a familiar script, with few scoring chances for either side and the match needing sudden-death overtime.

But at the fourth time of asking, and after 434 minutes of scoreless soccer against some of the nation’s best teams, Kentucky finally broke through.

In the 105th minute of the match, Kentucky senior forward Daniel Evans placed his shot through the legs of West Virginia goalkeeper Steven Tekesky, and wheeled away to the corner flag to be tackled by a teammate as part of the celebrations of a long-awaited signature win for the Wildcats.

Evans’ goal came from a transition attack with sophomore forward Ben Damge and junior midfielder Nick Gutmann, with Evans exploiting space on the right side of West Virginia’s defense to receive a pass, control the ball and strike it through Tekesky.

The Mountaineers, who were ranked as high as No. 3 in the country earlier this season, play a 3-4-3 and 3-4-2-1 formation.

Those three West Virginia defenders were caught playing too compact and narrow on Evans’ goal, allowing him the space and time to deliver UK the 1-0 victory.

“All week we were talking about that formation, how it’s going to cause us problems. But at the same time it leaves some spaces open for them where we can exploit,” Evans said postgame. “It’s really just trying to stay wide, find little half-spaces, find pockets where we can really penetrate them and put some passes and get some shots in behind them.”

Kentucky is now undefeated through 12 matches to start a season for the first time in program history, with a 9-0-3 (W-L-D) overall record and a perfect 7-0-0 mark in non-conference matches, which includes a 3-1 rivalry win at Louisville.

The statistics behind this record are equally impressive for head coach Johan Cedergren and his team.

UK has outscored opponents 20-4 this season, with 11 different Wildcats and one opposition own goal contributing to Kentucky’s scoring output. Evans is now tied with Luke Andrews and Eythor Bjorgolfsson for the team lead in goals with three.

The defensive figures are also strong.

Kentucky still hasn’t allowed more than one goal in any game this season and has limited opponents to just 27 shots on target.

The Wildcats are currently on a stretch of not allowing a goal in their last 389 minutes of soccer.

This is the third stretch of the season in which the Wildcats have gone at least 250 minutes without allowing a goal.

Goalkeeper Jan Hoffelner recorded his eighth shutout in 10 matches Tuesday night, although the clean sheet came with a scare as West Virginia’s Ryan Crooks curled a long-range shot past Hoffelner and off the right post in the 80th minute.

“It is definitely a confidence booster, knowing that we are solid in the back. Not just Jan (who is) having a great season, but the rest of our back line,” Evans said.

Kentucky’s performance on the pitch has also translated into the stands, as 1,309 fans, the second-largest home crowd of the season, saw Tuesday’s match at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.

Only four matches remain in the regular season for Kentucky: C-USA matchups against South Carolina, Charlotte and Florida Atlantic and a home non-conference match against Bellarmine.

But even with the Wildcats still at least 360 minutes away from putting together an undefeated regular season, comparisons will naturally be made to the best team in UK history.

The 2018 Kentucky team won 19 games and made the deepest postseason run in the program’s history, reaching the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Cedergren, who is now 61-18-13 over the last five seasons at Kentucky, told the Herald-Leader before the season that this year’s UK team is the best squad he’s had since he came to Lexington from Dartmouth in December 2011.

“(2018) probably had more top-end talent, but I’m only saying that because we haven’t played any games that matter yet,” Cedergen said in August. “There are guys in this squad that could match that team.”

Evans, Tuesday’s match-winning scorer, was a freshman on the 2018 team that previously had the record for the longest unbeaten run to start a season at 10 matches.

How does he compare the two statistically best teams in UK men’s soccer history?

“I really feel a good atmosphere that’s similar to that, if not even better,” Evans said of the 2021 team compared to the 2018 team. “I think a lot more guys are involved. We’ve changed our starting lineup a lot ... that’s a comparison I see, a lot of guys contributing.”

“We’re unbeaten still, so I think that’s the mentality. We’re the number four team in the country, hopefully ascending, and just keep going from there.”

Next match

South Carolina at No. 4 Kentucky

When: 7 p.m. Saturday

Live video broadcast: ESPN Plus (online only)

Records: Kentucky 9-0-3 (2-0-3 C-USA), South Carolina 5-7-1 (1-3-1)