The Cats took on Dayton in the season opener Friday night and walked away with a 2-0 victory.

Senior midfielder C.J. Tappel played well in his return to the lineup by adding a well-deserved goal and an assist. After missing the 2010 season due to injuries, the senior used this as a welcome back party.

“(It’s) great to be back at home in front of the fans and getting a goal,” Tappel said.

Kentucky dominated the opening half regularly, completing upwards of five passes during the build-up to a single attack. It paid off in the 30th minute, when Tappel played an inch-perfect ball to sophomore Tyler Riggs to open the season’s account.

This was the second consecutive opener in which Riggs has scored. The second came just after four minutes with Tappel finishing off a great corner by junior Charlie Pettys by putting it well out of the goalkeeper’s reach. Pettys was another “star performer,” head coach Ian Collins said. He also added some impressive passes in the attacking third.

The backline played well throughout the game with Dayton only threatening twice on some audacious efforts. The backline helped snuff out everything quickly, which helped sophomore keeper Tyler Beadle notched his fifth career clean sheet after posting four as a freshman.

The win was Collins’ 200th career victory.

The win made UK 12-8-1 all time in season openers.