CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's soccer team fought back from a 1-0 deficit against the Kentucky Wildcats to tie the match 1-1 at the CCU Soccer Stadium on Saturday night.
The match was in favor of the Wildcats in the opening 15 minutes of action as they took three shots on goal while denying the Chants of a single shot but the Coastal defense held strong to keep the score at 0-0.
Kentucky broke open the match in the 19th minute when Max Miller crossed the ball to Isaiah Chisolm, who made a quick turn and smashed the ball into the bottom right corner to make the score 1-0.
The Chants answered back in the 30th minute when
Evan Howard was dragged down inside the box to give Coastal a penalty kick. Howard then stepped up to the spot and buried the ball into the bottom left corner to level the score at 1-1.
At the end of the first half, the Wildcats led 7-3 in shots, 2-0 in corner kicks, and each team had one yellow card apiece.
Coastal looked to attack early in the second frame when
Noe Santos took aim on goal in the opening 10 seconds of the half but the shot pulled wide to hold the score 1-1.
Coastal's keeper
Kilian Vallant made two big saves in the 56th and 59th minute to keep the Chants in the match and hold the score at 1-1.
In the final 20 minutes of action, the Wildcats put immense pressure on the Chants, taking nine shots to Coastal's one but Kentucky was unable to break through the CCU backline to take the lead.
The Chants threatened to score a last-minute winner when
Noah Lechelt pinged the ball to
Robert Valdimarsson at the front post, who put the shot just wide with the final kick of the half to conclude the match with a 1-1 draw.
"I was very pleased with how hard we competed again tonight against a very good Kentucky team. I was also very impressed how we fought back from a goal down and had chances to win it in the second half," stated head coach
Shaun Docking. "We are making very good progress as a group, and getting better each week!"
The Chanticleers will next face No. 1 Marshall in Huntington, W.Va., on Oct. 14. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. ET.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media at @CoastalMSoccer (Twitter), Facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at www.GoCCUsports.com.
