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UK men’s soccer was dominant in its road match against Evansville on Wednesday, winning 5-1 against the Purple Aces.

Both teams struggled to get their offense going in the first 15 minutes of the match. But UK broke through first in the 25th minute when senior forward Justin Laird scored off a pass from sophomore midfielder Napo Matsoso. It was Laird’s team-leading fourth goal of the season and Matsoso’s team-leading fourth assist of the year.

Sophomore midfielder Ryan Creel gave UK an insurance goal 10 minutes later when he scored his second goal of the year off an assist from sophomore defender Charlie Reymann. The assist put Reymann in a tie with Matsoso in assists on the year.

The Cats would score two more goals early in the second half, with junior midfielder Kristoffer Tollefsen recording the first goal, and sophomore midfielder Paul Sime scoring the second goal nearly 30 seconds later.

Junior goalkeeper Callum Irving held Evansville scoreless for nearly 70 minutes before the Purple Aces broke the shutout in the second half. It was Irving’s first allowed goal in his last three games.

UK tacked on another goal with nearly five minutes left in the game when freshman midfielder Kevin Barajas scored his first goal of the season.

The Cats dominated the Purple Aces in shots, forcing them to make seven saves off of 12 shots on goal. Evansville recorded only four shots on goal against the Cats.

UK (7-3-3) has now won three straight matches and will return home on Saturday to take on New Mexico at the Bell Soccer Complex.

Staff Report