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NOV. 16, 2023



Ben Damge Hammers a Brace to Advance Cats to Second Round

Kentucky defeats Xavier 2-0 in Cincinnati in first round of NCAA Tournament


CINCINNATI, Ohio. – Kentucky men’s soccer (8-7-4, 3-3-3 Sun Belt) advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Xavier (9-3-6, 4-1-3 Big East) 2-0 at Corcoran Field on Thursday evening.

Ben Damge scored a brace to secure the victory for the Wildcats to advance Kentucky to its fifth consecutive second round appearance. In his 12 seasons at the helm of the program, head coach Johan Cedergren has led Kentucky to 10 NCAA Tournaments to tally 14 appearances in program history.

In the first 15 minutes of the contest, keeper Casper Mols recorded a save to begin the momentum for the Cats. Nearly 10 minutes later in the 26’, Damge drilled in his first goal of the night. He was assisted by freshman Josh Gordon who recorded his first assist of the season.

The Wildcats entered the halftime period with the 1-Nil advantage, four shots and one save recorded.

As the second half of regulation commenced, Kentucky was locked in to secure the win. Damge, in the 68th minute, scored his second goal of the night to put UK up 2-0. From a free kick into the box, freshman Marqes Muir connected to pass the ball to the hometown kid. The Mason, Ohio native sent the ball into the net earning the new nickname “The Hammer” from Cedergren.

Kentucky ended the contest with eight total shots and two saves as Mols earned his 7th clean sheet of his sophomore season. The keeper is now 8-5-4 on the year.

Kentucky and Xavier now hold an all-time series record of 9-5-3 (UK) following this evening’s contest. The two programs first went head-to-head in 2000 which ended in a 3-1 win for the Musketeers.

I was on the road traveling and had to listen to the game. Finally had time last night to sit down and watch it. In my opinion, one thing that has been lost with all the discussion about playing time, Wagner and Edwards poor play, Reeves shooting way too much, substitution patterns, etc, is what I think was a breakout performance from Adou Thiero. Man, this kid is coming on like gangbusters. All he needs is to keep working on his outside shooting and the sky is the limit. I have to admit, I never saw this coming. He reminds me of the way things used to be here, when a guy would come in and work for his playing time, keep improving and be something special by his junior/senior year. A building block of a program. I can see this kid playing in the NBA down the road too, never would've thought that from last year. Also, seems like a great young man,

Because November wins and losses don't matter. When did we become IU basketball and put such an emphasis on regular season games? If we had won last night, would we celebrate that one regular season win for the next decade like it had actually accomplished something? We are UK. We are the gold standard. No gold is won in November.

Our goal is winning the national championship. That is won in April, not November. In order for this team to achieve it's goal, we need DJ and Justin playing at a high level in March and April. This loss was a teaching moment for Cal and a chance for these kids to learn and grow and come out better on the other side. Sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward.

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Some really interesting points in this video. Self putting Dickinson on Theiro and having Adams guard Mitchell was a really key decision. Clearly they scouted that our best PnR offense came from Mitchell ball screens so they put a far superior defender on him and "hid" Dickinson by putting him on a non shooter, allowing him to play free safety in the paint and clog the lane.

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Sounds like they are about to be in big big trouble

Hop over to KSR and read Freddie Maggard’s latest article, then lift him up in whatever way you choose.

Really hate to hear he’s struggling.

1-6 in our last seven. That’s absurdly bad. Time for us to bow out.

Nothing drives me more crazy than the 2 foul automatic sit rule. I don’t think it should be a one size fits all strategy. It should depend on how hot the player is, the dynamics of the game, how likely the player is to get another foul (are they foul prone), how much time is left in the half, etc. It just amazes me in the world of analytics and paying coaches millions of dollars, that there is this tradition of always sitting a player when they get 2 fouls in the first half because….well, we alway have. What say you?

I admit I came down on Edwards and DJ like a ton of bricks.

I won't apologize for it, but I'll make you guys a deal.

No more bashing until after the Miami game. You guys say they need "time to develop" or fix their issues, fine.

The next three games are too easy for DJ and Edwards to shine. The Miami game will show if they really improve.

If they lay an egg in that game then all bets are off.

But if they deliver, then I'll eat crow.

Fair enough or not?

I remember Wall and Bledsoe out of control early on. DeAaron Fox couldn’t finish a layup. Knight missed several big shots early on. Marques Teague was really struggling early.

They all came around after gaining college experience.

Learn from that history and give DJ, Justin plus Reed and Rob time. They have the tools will be fine.

This board is so reactionary! Lighten up it’s a marathon.

I'm willing to live with it for now because I think the taketh away part will get smaller as he gains experience. This kid is going to be special.

Trilly Donavan's predictions have been somewhat accurate; I noticed he entered a Kentucky prediction for J.Q today! Another fun year coming!

Expecting the former Buckeye commit to pick Kentucky tomorrow. Very nice OL piece.

Hear Auburn, Oklahoma, Mizzou, Boston College, and then UK are the finalists

A friend of mine is in town and wanting to take his young kids to their first UK game? Anyone looking to sell 4 together?

Quarterback 2024, who will it be? Who has Coen got in mind? Does Sheron have a shot? Boley play from day one?

accepts invitation to the East-West Shrine game. That squashes any chance of return, correct? Per 'A Sea of Blue" fb page

Anyone have lowers for sale for tonight game?

I have two tickets for sale for the Kentucky vs St. Joe's game that is on Monday Nov. 20th. If you are interested message me.

There was a video posted Tuesday night of the screen that goober set on Dillingham where he was never still for even a fraction of a second. I can't find it now. Can someone point me in the right direction?