UK men’s soccer looks to reverse fortunes against No. 5 Indiana

By Boyd C.M. Hayes

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When UK men’s soccer takes on Indiana in the 13th annual Mike Berticelli Memorial Tournament on Friday, the Cats will not have history on their side.

Since 1992, UK is 1-17-3 against the Hoosiers, having allowed 60 goals and only scoring 12 in those 21 matches.

If there is any glimmer of hope for UK to glean from its record against the eight-time national champions, it’s the lone victory over the Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind. On that night in September, 1995, UK freshman Sean Mondelli scored a late stunner in the final minutes of the second overtime period to put the Cats past the No.5 Hoosiers. UK went on to a 16-5-1 record that year, one of their best seasons in program history, with Mondelli taking All-MAC honors.

With a starting lineup of mostly underclassmen this season, UK head coach Johan Cedergren will be hoping for an unlikely Mondelli-esque performance from one of his young players.

Such a performance could be produced by freshman forward Andrew McKelvey.

The Columbus Crew Academy product has yet to net a goal for UK, but his timely runs from the left side of the pitch into the final third often can cause trouble for opposing defenses.

If McKelvey is able to score, expect sophomore midfielder Napo Matsoso to feature largely in the buildup play.

Cedergren’s 4-2-3-1 formation routes most of the offense through Matsoso in the center of the attacking midfield, and the Lesotho-born midfielder has many mobile passing options up front.

Freshman forward Stefan Stojkovic and sophomore forwards Sam Miller and Ryan Creel will make up Matsoso’s other main targets, with the Swede starting as the Cats’ lone striker and with Creel and Miller sharing time on the right wing.

However, possibly more vital to UK’s success will be the defensive capabilities of sophomores Jordan Wilson and Kaelon Fox, who will have their hands full trying to contain Hoosier junior forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen.

Hollinger-Janzen netted five goals for Indiana last season, tied for most on the team, and he is the team’s top returning goal scorer. He has already scored this season, in Indiana’s 1-1 draw with No. 9 Georgetown. He was also a goal scorer against the Cats in the teams’ last meeting in 2012.

Joining him in the Hoosier’s attack is sophomore midfielder Tanner Thompson, who has already taken seven shots, including a couple near misses, in two matches this season.

Though history may not be on UK’s side against Indiana, the Cats’ will be hoping that their young talent can write another page in the program’s history books, and that another young scorer will put his name next to Mondelli’s.

The game kicks off at 5 p.m. in South Bend, Ind. UK will then play Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on Sunday.