Aug. 27, 2010

Box Score (html) | Box Score (PDF)

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Junior midfielder Calum Mallace scored the equalizer on a free kick with 47 seconds remaining in regulation, as the Marquette University men's soccer team played to a 2-2 draw at Kentucky in the final preseason match for both teams Friday afternoon at UK Soccer Complex.

Freshman midfielder Charlie Hoover tallied Marquette's first goal of the afternoon. Hoover was waiting backpost where he was on the opposite end of a perfectly played cross by senior winger Anthony Colaizzi. Hoover leaped above his marker and headed it in from eight yards out.

"It was exciting, I didn't know how to react," said Hoover after tallying his first collegiate goal. "I was just in the right place at the right time. I saw it building, and I had a couple steps on my guy, so I just made a run."

Marquette led 1-0 at the half, but allowed the Wildcats to score twice less than five minutes apart early in the second period.

Kentucky leveled the match in the 48th minute when Drew Midkiff picked up a loose ball inside the right corner of the box and blasted a shot into the far corner of the net. Midkiff struck again with a first-timer taken at the top of the box at 52:09 to make it 2-1 in favor of the Wildcats.

MU, which outshot Kentucky 12-11 in the match, struggled to create chances in the second half until Mallace's set-piece goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper David Check, who played the entire second half, hardly had a chance on either of the two shots by Midkiff but still finished with five saves. Senior Keenan Flynn was the starting keeper and managed two saves on the afternoon. Flynn has not allowed a goal in 210 minutes of action this preseason.

The two teams played an extra 20 minutes following regulation with Marquette adding a goal from freshman defender Paul Dillon.

Marquette now switches gears and prepares for its home opener from Valley Fields. MU will host the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Wednesday, Sept. 1, opening the season with the annual Milwaukee Cup match versus the Panthers.

homepage photo courtesy of Chet White, UK Athletic Communications