The No. 1/3 Louisville men’s soccer team defeated Rutgers 2-1 on Saturday evening at Yurcak Field. The Cardinals remain unbeaten with an overall record of 8-0-2 and a BIG EAST record of 3-0-0.
“It was a tough gutsy win under difficult conditions tonight,” said head coach Ken Lolla. “It was a very good road win for us.”
Rutgers wasted no time putting pressure on the Cardinals as Brennan McNicoll has a shot blocked by the Cardinal defense in the 13th minute. Then in the 19th minute, Robbie McLarney had a shot go wide. The Cardinals turned up the offensive heat as Charlie Campbell, Dylan Mares and Colin Rolfe all had shots blocked by the Scarlet Knights’ defense in a two minute span.
The Cardinal defense held the Scarlet Knights to just one shot in the final 21 minutes finishing the first period scoreless. Louisville finished the first period with a slight 5-4 shot advantage while neither keeper was tested.
In Louisville fashion, the Cards scored early in the second period. In the 47th minute Kenney Walker sent a corner kick into the box finding Austin Berry who headed the ball in for the goal. It was Berry’s third goal of the season.
The Cardinals continued to maintain possession until the 60th minute when Yannick Salmon’s shot was saved by Cardinal keeper Andre Boudreaux. The Scarlet Knights were rewarded a free kick 40 yards out in the 66th minute. Salmon was able to head the free kick from McNicoll in for the equalizer.
The Cardinals did not wait long in the 68th minute freshman Aaron Horton played a pass ahead to Andrew Farrell who beat the keeper for the game-winner. Louisville kept possession while the defense tightened up in the final minutes, holding Rutgers to just one shot for the win.
Louisville finished the game with a 13-8 shot advantage and Rutgers held a 6-5 corner kick advantage. Boudreaux finished the game with one.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Wed., Oct. 13 as the travel to Cincinnati.
