UK MSOC: Week in Review Sept. 10, 2018

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Upcoming Schedule (times eastern)

·        Tuesday, Sept. 11 – at Xavier – 7 p.m. – Cincinnati – Xavier All-Access Stream

·        Tuesday, Sept. 18 – at Lipscomb – 8 p.m. – Nashville, Tenn.

TEAM NOTES

·         Kentucky won two matches by a collective score line of 5-0 last week.

o   Kentucky defeated No. 7/6 Louisville 3-0 in front of 1,827 members of the Big Blue Nation last Tuesday. That result became all the more impressive when Louisville defeated No. 2 Duke 3-0 on Sunday.

o   The Wildcats won their Conference USA opener and first road game of 2018, 2-0 at UAB on Saturday.

·         Junior co-captain JJ Williams, reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, scored two goals against Louisville and another one at UAB.

·         Sophomore center back Aimé Mabika scored a penalty against Louisville midweek, and assisted a goal Saturday v UAB. He of course was dominant in defense during each of UK’s clean-sheet performances last week.

·         Freshman Brock Lindow scored the opening goal on Saturday.

·         The two wins last week improved Kentucky’s 2018 win-loss-draw record to 4-0-0, marking their best start since 2009.

o   UK has started 3-0-1 through the first four games each of the past two years.

·         The Wildcats will play one game next week, at Xavier on Tuesday.

·         Sophomore goalkeeper Enrique Facusse kept two more clean sheets last weekend as the reigning Conference USA Golden Glove Award winner now has 11 career shutouts from 22 starts.

o   He’s remained without a blemish through 360 minutes of play this season

o   Against Louisville, Facusse had to make two saves playing behind an experienced, but mostly young, back line of (from left to right)sophomore co-captain Keyarash Namjoupanah, sophomore Leon Jones, sophomore Aimé Mabika – who was making his season debut – and senior Tanner Hummel.

§  He made six saves Saturday v UAB and has made 12 saves through four games this season.

Offensive Player of the Week Nominee: JJ Williams — Junior – Forward –  

Mobile, Ala.

·         Scored three goals in two games last week.

·         Scored a first-half brace against Louisville, giving the defense of the No. 7/6 team in the country absolute fits all game.

§  On his first goal, four minutes in, he beat two defenders in behind the UofL defense, drawing the Cardinal goalkeeper way out of his net, finding space around him and finishing with an impressive strike from super long distance.

§  He finished his second chance, 10 minutes before halftime, he smashed a header in at the near post through plenty of traffic in the box.

o   He also won the penalty kick that was converted by Mabika in the second half to make it 3-0.

·         Scored Kentucky’s second in a 2-0 win over UAB in the conference and road opener.

·         Has scored four goals in four games this season, in fact four in the last three games.

o   Four goals is the most he’s scored in a season at UK as he finished three times in each of his previous two years.

·         Now has a team-best 10 career goals.

Defensive Player of the Week Nominee: Aimé Mabika – Sophomore – Defender – Lexington, Ky.

  • Mabika scored midweek and assisted a goal at the weekend.
  • These offensive contributions were in addition to being a dominating presence in the heart of the Kentucky defense that shut out the No. 7/6 team in the nation, Louisville (one which would go on to drop three goals on the No. 2 team in the country on Sunday) and then again shut out C-USA-foe UAB on Saturday.
  • Mabika kept up his near 74 percent rate of challenges won.
  • The 6-6, 215-pound center back won more than 80 percent of the aerial challenges he made.
  • He made 19 interceptions.
  • He also showed of his exceptional skill on the ball helping start Kentucky attacks from the back, and at one mesmerizing moment against Louisville, working his way all the way into the opposing side’s box only to pull his shot a tad wide.