By Joshua Huff

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The lights were too bright for UK men’s soccer Tuesday night as No. 9 Louisville (4-1-1) defeated the Cats 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 3,368 at the Wendell and Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.

Missed opportunities doomed UK (4-3-1) as the Cardinals used a combination of speed and deft passing to break apart the Cats’ defense. The loss ended UK’s four-game winning streak and was the first loss for the men’s team at the Bell Soccer Complex.

“The problem playing with really, really good teams,” UK head coach Johan Cedergren said, “is (that) if you make an easy mistake they’re going to punish you.”

The Cats and the Cardinals played their way to a scoreless tie at the half, with Louisville coming out on top in the shots category with five. The Cardinals had an abundance of opportunities to jump out to a lead, but were hampered by missed chances.

The Cardinals opened the game controlling the time of possession, forcing UK to sit on defense for a good portion of the first half. A narrowly-missed shot by Louisville at the 16-minute mark was saved by UK junior goalkeeper Callum Irving. Solid defense from both teams limited the number of shots in the first half; UK had only one shot on goal, and Louisville had zero.

Louisville junior forward Ricardo Velazco started the second half with a free kick at the 49-minute mark, but his shot on goal was caught by Irving. The Cardinals amped up the pressure in the first 10 minutes of the half, notching another shot on goal.

But UK responded with a strong defense and a few shots of its own. UK’s senior forward Justin Laird  hit a header in the box as UK’s opportunities began to come in spurts. Two subsequent corner kicks were turned away by Louisville’s senior goalie Joachim Ball around the 80-minute mark.

The Cardinals withstood the Cats’ onslaught and were rewarded with a goal by Velazco at the 63- minute mark.

The game then got chippy after the 60-minute mark with both teams combining for eight yellow cards in the final 30 minutes.

Yet the Cats stayed composed, and at the 72-minute mark evened out the game with a shot by junior midfielder Brian Celis on an open goal. Celis was assisted by Laird and sophomore defender Matt Quick. The shot opportunities continued to increase for UK as the Cats attempted two more goals within the next few minutes that just missed, to the dismay of a boisterous UK crowd.

But once again, Louisville had an answer when Cardinals freshman defender Tim Kubel drilled a 15-footer past Irving to give Louisville the 2-1 lead and eventual win.

Despite the loss, Cedergren was happy with how his team responded to adversity.

“We’re Kentucky,” he said. “We want to play the best teams in the country. We want to go and play good teams as often as possible.”