No. 23 Kentucky men’s soccer (1-0-1) ended a Labor Day matchup against Virginia Tech (3-0) in a 2-2 draw at The Bell Soccer Complex Monday.
The Cats dedicated the match to raising awareness for pediatric cancer in a partnership with the UK Children’s Hospital, the Lexington Ronald McDonald House and All In for Miller.
In the 27th minute, Agustin Lopez from Argentina scored the first goal of the evening. The freshman’s first official Wildcat goal was a right-footed shot free kick that hit the crossbar before shooting down into the goal, giving UK a 1-0 advantage over the Hokies.
“I thought in the second (half), in the first half, he was really good, great free kick goal,” Kentucky head coach Johan Cedergren said. “He scored lots of those in practice, so we weren’t surprised.”
Nearly 10 minutes later, another newcomer, Nick Zielonka, also recorded the first goal of his Kentucky career. The fifth-year senior from UMass was assisted by freshman Bertil Alban, who passed the ball from his right in a cross that connected with Zielonka, who sent the ball into the goal.
Virginia Tech answered with a penalty kick after a foul in the box in the 41 minute as senior Ethan Hackenberg shot the ball to the bottom center of the net. The goal put the Hokies on the board leading into the halftime period
Former Kentucky player Mathias Yohannes suited up for the Hokies as well, with Cedergren having an opportunity to reconnect with his former player. The UK gaffer expressed satisfaction with seeing Yohannes succeed as a starter at an ACC institution.
“Matty and I, you know, we met at the end of the spring and I kind of explained where I saw him, (what) his role would be for us in the fall, and that’s probably not something that he wanted to do,” he said. “So then it was like, okay, we’re going to help you find another team and, you know, to be a starter for an ACC team, I think that just kind of shows of quality we have in our squad. So really happy for him.”
With the second half clock nearing the 90-minute mark of finish, Virginia Tech found a scoring opportunity to equalize the match in the 88th minute. Ian Marcano, a freshman from Gaithersburg, Maryland, shot the ball past Casper Mols into the top left corner of the net. The match ended with a final draw of 2-2.
The Kentucky Wildcats will kick off next in a revenge match against Wisconsin from right at home at The Bell Soccer Complex on Friday, Sept. 6th, at 7:30 p.m. ET.