No. 8 Cardinals Win Battle of the Bluegrass

Tuesday, September 23

Lexington, Ky.

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

4-1-1 (2-0ACC)

Kentucky

4-3-1 (0-0CUSA)

Louisville

Kentucky

September 24, 2014 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 23, 2014

The Cardinals celebrate with Louisville fans following Tuesday's road win at Kentucky.

Box Score | Photo Gallery

CardsTV: Match Highlights
CardsTV Post-Match Interview: Ken Lolla

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Freshman Tim Kubel delivered the decisive goal in the 79th minute of play to lift the No. 8 Louisville men's soccer team to a 2-1 road triumph over Kentucky in Tuesday night's Battle of the Bluegrass match at the Bell Soccer Complex.

Less than seven minutes after the host club had evened the score at 1-1, Kubel (Stuttgart, Germany) scored his first collegiate goal connecting on a rocket shot from just inside the 18-yard box to push Louisville (4-1-1) ahead for good. Junior Ricardo Velazco (Casa Grande, Ariz.), who scored Louisville's first goal of the night earlier in the second half, also started the scoring chance on Kubel's game-winner with a cross from the left side to earn his third assist of the season.

Tuesday's victory marked the third straight win overall for the Cardinals, including their second consecutive road triumph. It was also Louisville's third straight win in Lexington over the Wildcats (4-3-1).

"I thought early, we weren't very sharp and a lot of that probably had to do with the emotion of the game. When you play rivalries games like that, the emotion is going to be a part of it," said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla. "Once we got through that, in the second half, we started putting some plays together. I thought the energy was better and we started taking it to them and created some good goals."

The two teams played a scoreless opening half on Tuesday with neither club organizing a strong offensive attack in the first 45 minutes. That changed in the second half when the teams combined to score three goals in a span of less than 15 minutes.

Freshman Tim Kubel scored his first collegiate goal to lift Louisville in the Battle of the Bluegrass.

Louisville struck first in the 64th minute when Velazco finished inside the left post from 10 yards out for the 1-0 advantage. The goal, which ended a span of 478 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal by the Wildcats, started with a ball into the box from the right side by senior Will Vitalis (Crestwood, Ky.) and continued when junior Ben Strong (Mendham, N.J.) redirected it to the Velazco for the finish. It was second goal of the season for Velazco, the third assist for Vitalis and the first assist for Strong.

Less than nine minutes later, Kentucky pulled even when Bryan Celis scored from 13 yards out after corralling a pass from the right side in the 72nd minute. Matt Quick and Justin Laird were credited with assists on what was the first goal of the season for Celis.

Kentucky finished the match with an 11-10 edge in shots, including a 5-4 advantage on goal. The Wildcats also had a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Joachim Ball (Villingen-Schwenninge, Germany) finished with four saves in the victory for the Cardinals, while Kentucky's Callum Irving stopped just two of the four shots he faced in the match.

Up next, No. 8 Louisville returns to Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium to host ACC foe Pittsburgh on Friday at 7:30 p.m., ET. At 2-0-0 in conference matches, the Cardinals are atop the Atlantic Division table and are the only conference team without a loss or tie in league play.

Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.

Single Game, Season Tickets on Sale
Single game tickets for Louisville's debut season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium and in the ACC are available through the UofL Ticket Office and can be purchased online here through My Cardinal Account. Ticket prices are $12 for reserved chairback seats (preferred seating) and $9 for general admission berm and bleacher seats. More information on Louisville men's soccer single game tickets is available online here or by calling (502) GO-CARDS.

Season tickets, which will provide admission to both men's and women's regular season matches, remain on sale through the UofL Ticket Office. Visit GoCards.com to learn more about 2014 Louisville soccer season tickets. Group tickets for all Louisville matches can be requested by completing the group ticket application online here or by calling (502) 852-0120. Groups consist of 10 or more and tickets start at $4.