Men’s soccer wins regular season title

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By Arpan Dixit

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Senior night could not have ended better for a surging UK men’s soccer team against the Florida International University Panthers.

Having a share of the C-USA regular season title is something Johan Cedergren’s men’s soccer team hasn’t accomplished in a long time, but the Cats weren’t satisfied with sharing the title.

Being the outright winner of the conference sounds more superior, and every team hopes to stand alone at the top for the end of the season.

The Cats defeated the FIU Panthers 1-0 to close out the regular season and clinch the outright C-USA regular season championship, its first under Cedergren.

Junior forward Ryan Creel, assisted by sophomore defender Grant Mook and junior defender Charlie Reymann, scored the go-ahead goal of the game.

Reymann was happy for his teammates after winning the regular season title.

“It’s a great feeling for the team. My freshman year, two years ago was a rough season, and to get from that point to here its an unbelievable feeling,” Reymann said. “The team has worked hard all season and we definitely deserved this.”

The goal came at a pivotal point in the match, in the 79th minute, as both teams were aggressively looking to score with just ten minutes left in the game.

The Cats started off the game looking anxious with the title on the line, but settled down after the first five minutes.

Both teams exchanged possession through the first ten minutes, with each club getting off a couple shots.

FIU, showing why they have won nine games this season, began the game with precision passing, which led to a couple opportunities against one of the best goalkeepers in the nation.

UK couldn’t find their rhythm early on and struggled to get shots amidst the FIU defense.

The two schools went into halftime tied 0-0. FIU ended the half having taken two more shots than UK, while also having the lone shot on goal.

UK senior goalie Callum Irving has made his stamp on the game, saving the only shot that was on goal for the Panthers. With a shot that looked like it was heading for the back of the net, Irving made a diving save to keep the game tied.

Irving, whose last regular season game at the Bell came Saturday night, was filled with emotions after the game.

“It’s a bit bittersweet,” Irving said. “For senior night, there is a lot of emotions running through, but most I’m just happy for the guys because we have put in a lot of work to get to this point.”

At the end, the Cats were the better team. When it came down to it, during crunch time, UK delivered just as it has done all year.

Senior midfielder Kristoffer Tollefsen couldn’t believe this was his last regular season game at the Bell.

“I’m lost right now. I don’t really know how to feel. I’m happy but I’m also sad,” Tollefsen said. “This is the best place to play in the country. We still have everything to play for like the conference tournament and the NCAA tournament so the motivation to do even better is there.”

UK will be faced with adversity heading into postseason play, however. Junior midfielder and the Cats’ best playmaker Napo Matsoso was injured and didn’t return to the game on Saturday. The good news for UK is Matsoso is expected to be ready for the C-USA tournament.

The Cats ended the regular season 12-3-2, sitting atop the conference. C-USA tournament play will be held in Charlotte, N.C., starting on Wednesday.