DALLAS – No. 15-ranked Kentucky (15-1-4) used first-half goals from Marcel Meinzer and Lucca Rodrigues to defeat No. 16 Santa Clara (12-2-4) 2-0 in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship in Lexington, Kentucky.
 
The No. 9 national seed Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead over the Broncos in the fifth minute of the game when Meinzer scored from an assist by Mason Visconti. UK doubled its advantage to 2-0 in the 10th minute when Rodrigues scored off Visconti’s second assist of the contest.
 
C-USA Goalkeeper of the Year and Golden Glove winner Jan Hoffelner and the Wildcats’ defense posted their 12th shutout of the season. Santa Clara had four shots overall, but none reached the Kentucky goal. UK outshot Santa Clara 12-4 overall, including 4-0 on shots on goal.
 
The Wildcats move to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will play No. 9-ranked and No. 8 national seed Clemson (14-5-0) at a date and site to be announced.
 
In other second-round NCAA action involving C-USA teams, defending 2020 national champion and No. 4-ranked Marshall (11-4-3) was eliminated by No. 18-ranked Providence 2-1 in double overtime and 2021 C-USA regular-season champion and No. 14-ranked FIU (12-4-2) was defeated by Wake Forest 3-2.
 
The No. 14 national seed Herd took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Alex Adjetey in the 56th minute, but the Friars tied the game in the 85th minute and won in the 104th minute in the second OT to advance to the third round.
 
The No. 13 national seed Panthers rallied from a 1-0 first-half deficit when Mauro Bravo scored an unassisted goal in the 39th minute. After Wake Forest scored late in the first half for a 2-1 halftime lead, Matteo Gasperoni scored from an assist by Julian Hodek in the 63rd minute to tie the game 2-2. Just 24 seconds later, the Demon Deacons scored to go back in front 3-2, and FIU could not find the equalizer.
 
(RV) Charlotte (10-6-1) lost in the first round Thursday to Georgia State 1-0. The Panthers scored in the 26th minute, and the Georgia State defense held up against eight overall Charlotte shots, including four on goal by the 49ers.