Soccer: Cards grab a chippy 2-1 win over UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In a match filled with yellow cards and play stoppages typical of a heated rivalry, the University of Louisville men's soccer team got a goal from Tim Kubel in the 79th minute to slip past rival Kentucky 2-1 on Tuesday night at the Bell Soccer Complex.

For No. 9-ranked U of L (4-1-1), the win was its fourth over UK (4-3-1) in five years. The match before a UK-record crowd of 3,368 in its new soccer complex included eight yellow cards.

"With it being a close game, you can understand the physical aspect of it," Cardinals coach Ken Lolla said. "You just throw a little fuel onto it and it's Kentucky and Louisville. It's going to have a little bit more energy to it.

"I give them (the Wildcats) a lot of credit. They battled tonight. But we made it harder than it needed to be. I give our guys a lot of credit because we found a way to get it done."

With the score 1-1 and the ball deep in the U of L offensive zone, Kubel fired a shot into the net at the 78:13 mark.

"It's a funny story because I was kind of tired. Against Saint Louis two weeks ago I had the same opportunity but I missed it," said Kubel, a freshman from Stuttgart, Germany. "(This time) I hit it perfectly to the inside of the post. The ball was in the net, and I was simply too happy. To score a goal in such a rivalry, it's unbelievable. It's a great feeling.

"It's a special game. I was kind of pumped up for this game."

Earlier in the second half, as UK appeared to be putting a bit more pressure on the Cardinals, U of L used some nifty passing to surge ahead.

Inside the box, U of L's Ben Strong rolled the ball behind him to a wide-open Ricardo Velazco, who fired a shot into the left side of the goal at the 63:35 mark for a 1-0 lead.

"They're very creative players," Lolla said.

UK came back with the equalizer at the 71:54 mark. Matt Quick fed Justin Laird, who headed the ball toward Bryan Celis. Celis didn't let it fall to the ground, quickly whipped it toward the right side for the tying goal.

"They can be dangerous," Lolla said of the Wildcats, who won at No. 1 Notre Dame on Sept. 5. "They've got enough weapons up top. You have to be tuned in."

The first half was a defensive struggle as the teams seemed to be feeling each other out. Neither had much in the way of a solid scoring chance.

"We got caught up in the emotion," Lolla said. "We didn't really settle down until the second half, and the soccer started to get a little better."

UK coach Johan Cedergren said a strenuous nonconference schedule has his team prepared for Saturday's Conference USA opener at Florida Atlantic.

"We're Kentucky," he said. "We're not afraid of anyone. We want to play the best teams in the country. That's why we go and play Notre Dame at Notre Dame. ... At this point in the season there's no doubt that we belong. We are a top-20 team."